Community Corner

How CT Ranks Among Best Paying For Jobs: U.S. News

See which cities pay top dollar for jobs in Connecticut and throughout the United States.

California cities dominate when it comes to the top-paying jobs in the United States, according to a new set of rankings from U.S. News & World Report. Three of the top five cities that the publication designated as the best paying for jobs are in California while two cities in the Northeast take the No.3 and No.4 spots.

The rankings were released along with U.S. News’ annual list of the 100 best jobs and the list for best paying jobs in 2019.

To compile the best paying jobs by city list, U.S. News uses its 100 best jobs list. For each job, the publication prepares the top five best paying cities using annual mean salary figures from The Bureau of Labor Statistics. After that, U.S. News tallies which cities have the most jobs associated to them.

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In other words it pays well to have these particular jobs in the following Connecticut cities.

Among some of Hartford's best-paying jobs by mean salary are:

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  • Child and Family Social Worker ($72,430)
  • Optometrist ($198,120)
  • Veterinary Technologist and Technician ($49,340)

New Haven

  • Choreographer ($55,040)
  • Medical Secretary ($47,390)
  • Obstetrician and Gynecologist ($285,090)
  • Telemarketer ($43,010)

Waterbury

  • Speech Language Pathologist ($102,670)
  • Elementary School Teacher ($86,600)
  • Middle School Teacher ($85,750
  • Child and Family Social Worker ($68,130)
  • PReschool Teacher ($46,550)

Danbury

  • Computer Systems Analyst ($109,300)
  • School Counselor ($81,650)
  • Optician ($63,050)
  • Ophthalmic Medical Technician ($54,260)
  • Landscaper and Groundskeeper ($38,190)

Bridgeport

  • Business Operations Manager ($184,800)
  • Medical and Health Services Manager ($146,220)
  • Financial Manager ($187,580)
  • Actuary ($145,560)
  • Architect ($108,150)

Below is U.S. News’ full list of the top-paying cities for jobs:

  • San Francisco
  • San Jose, California
  • New York, New York
  • Bridgeport, Connecticut
  • Oakland, California
  • San Rafael, California
  • Nassau County, New York
  • Fairbanks, Alaska
  • Washington, District of Columbia
  • Salinas, California
  • Anchorage, Alaska
  • Newark, New Jersey
  • Vallejo, California
  • Silver Spring, Maryland
  • Urban Honolulu, Hawaii
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • Seattle, Washington
  • Kahului, Hawaii
  • Oxnard, California
  • Sacramento, California

U.S. News executive editor Kim Castro says wages aren’t the only thing working in employees’ favor in 2019.

“To lure and retain workers, companies are also boosting the benefits they provide, offering flexible hours and remote work opportunities while investing in individuals’ personal and professional development – all reasons why software developer continues to top the Best Jobs list,” Castro said in a press release. “Organizations are focused more on hiring workers who they can train rather than finding the ‘perfect candidate,’ giving more room for gig workers and freelancers.”

According to U.S. News, the top 10 jobs on its 100 best list are:

Software Developer (1)
Statistician (2)
Physician Assistant (3)
Dentist (4)
Orthodontist (5)
Nurse Anesthetist (5)
Nurse Practitioner (7)
Pediatrician (8)
Obstetrician and Gynecologist (9)
Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeon (9)
Prosthodontist (9)
Physician (9)


The list of the top 100 jobs is created by scoring seven components on a scale of 0 to 10. The measures include median salary, work-life balance, stress level and employment rate. (You can see the full methodology here.)

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