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Connecticut operating engineer prevailing wage, town by town

An operating engineer's prevailing wage on Connecticut public works is $91.61 an hour in every town that has one (170), for the main classification.

Main operating engineer classification in each town (Group 1: crane handling or erecting structural steel or stone, hoisting engineer (2 drums or over), deep shaft over 14". (trade license required)), CTDOL schedules as of July 1, 2026. Rates are not fixed for the life of a contract: contractors must adjust wages and benefits every July 1 to CTDOL's new rates (CGS § 31-55a, as amended by PA 25-168). Checked October 25, 2026.

Middlesex County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourNew Haven County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourWindham County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourNew London County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourFairfield County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourTolland County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourLitchfield County operating engineer: $91.61 per hourHartford County operating engineer: $91.61 per hour
$91$91$91$91$91$91Operating Engineer, main rate, base + benefit per hour (median of each county's towns). Each shade holds about a fifth of the counties.

How much does an operating engineer make on prevailing wage in Connecticut?

1 group of towns with identical rates and 2 with rates of their own, highest main rate first. The table below lists which towns are in each group.

  1. Bridgeport group169 towns · Group 1: Crane Handling or Erecting Structur$91.61
  2. Killingworth1 town · Group 1: Crane Handling or Erecting Structur$91.61
  3. Statewide1 town · Group 1: Crane Handling or Erecting Structur$91.61

Which towns pay which rate

TownsMain classificationBase + benefitBase
Bridgeport group, 169 towns: Andover, Ansonia, Ashford, Avon, Barkhamsted, Beacon Falls, Berlin, Bethany, Bethel, Bethlehem, Bloomfield, Bolton, Bozrah, Branford, Bridgeport, Bridgewater, Bristol, Brookfield, Brooklyn, Burlington, Canaan, Canterbury, Canton, Chaplin, Cheshire, Chester, Clinton, Colchester, Colebrook, Columbia, Cornwall, Coventry, Cromwell, Danbury, Darien, Deep River, Derby, Durham, East Granby, East Haddam, East Hampton, East Hartford, East Haven, East Lyme, East Windsor, Eastford, Easton, Ellington, Enfield, Essex, Fairfield, Farmington, Franklin, Glastonbury, Goshen, Granby, Greenwich, Griswold, Groton, Guilford, Haddam, Hamden, Hampton, Hartford, Hartland, Harwinton, Hebron, Kent, Killingly, Lebanon, Ledyard, Lisbon, Litchfield, Lyme, Madison, Manchester, Mansfield, Marlborough, Meriden, Middlebury, Middlefield, Middletown, Milford, Monroe, Montville, Morris, Naugatuck, New Britain, New Canaan, New Fairfield, New Hartford, New Haven, New London, New Milford, Newington, Newtown, Norfolk, North Branford, North Canaan, North Haven, North Stonington, Norwalk, Norwich, Old Lyme, Old Saybrook, Orange, Oxford, Plainfield, Plainville, Plymouth, Pomfret, Portland, Preston, Prospect, Putnam, Redding, Ridgefield, Rocky Hill, Roxbury, Salem, Salisbury, Scotland, Seymour, Sharon, Shelton, Sherman, Simsbury, Somers, South Windsor, Southbury, Southington, Sprague, Stafford, Stamford, Sterling, Stonington, Stratford, Suffield, Thomaston, Thompson, Tolland, Torrington, Trumbull, Union, Vernon, Voluntown, Wallingford, Warren, Washington, Waterbury, Waterford, Watertown, West Hartford, West Haven, Westbrook, Weston, Westport, Wethersfield, Willimantic, Willington, Wilton, Winchester, Windham, Windsor, Windsor Locks, Wolcott, Woodbridge, Woodbury, WoodstockGroup 1: Crane Handling or Erecting Structural Steel or Stone, Hoisting Engineer (2 drums or over), Deep Shaft over 14". (Trade License Required)$91.61 $60.66 
KillingworthGroup 1: Crane Handling or Erecting Structural Steel or Stone, Hoisting Engineer (2 drums or over), Deep Shaft over 14". (Trade License Required)$91.61 $60.66 
StatewideGroup 1: Crane Handling or Erecting Structural Steel or Stone, Hoisting Engineer (2 drums or over), Deep Shaft over 14". (Trade License Required)$91.61 $60.66 

1 group of counties with identical CTDOL rates, and 2 counties with rates of their own.

CTDOL's schedules list journeyperson rates only. A registered apprentice may be paid the program's percentage of the journeyperson base rate plus the full fringe benefit, at a ratio of at least one journeyperson per apprentice (CTDOL Important Information sheet).

Questions about Connecticut operating engineer pay

What is the operating engineer prevailing wage in Bridgeport?

$91.61 an hour: a $60.66 base wage plus $30.95 in benefits, under CTDOL schedules as of July 1, 2026. Overtime and every operating engineer classification in Bridgeport.

Does operating engineer prevailing wage include fringe benefits?

Yes. In Bridgeport the $91.61 total is a $60.66 base wage plus $30.95 in benefits, about 34% of the total. The employer owes the full amount for every hour worked.

Does operating engineer prevailing wage pay overtime in Connecticut?

CTDOL's schedules print no overtime rates. Connecticut's general rule applies: at least 1½ times the regular rate after 40 hours in a workweek (CGS § 31-76c). Daily or weekend overtime under a union agreement isn't on CTDOL's schedules.

Do apprentice operating engineers get this rate?

CTDOL's schedules list journeyperson rates only. A registered apprentice may be paid the program's percentage of the journeyperson base rate plus the full fringe benefit, at a ratio of at least one journeyperson per apprentice (CTDOL Important Information sheet).

Why do some towns have the same operating engineer rate?

CTDOL often publishes the same operating engineer rates for several towns. Across Connecticut, the 170 towns with an operating engineer rate fall into 3 distinct sets of rates, and 1 of those sets are shared by more than one town; the largest covers 169 towns (the Bridgeport group).