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How to become an electrician in Connecticut

Electricians must be licensed by Connecticut's Department of Consumer Protection to perform electrical work, and the Department licenses individuals, not electrical companies. The E-2 unlimited journeyperson license takes a registered apprenticeship or at least four years of equivalent experience and training, and an exam; an E-2 works only while employed by a licensed contractor. Electricians in Connecticut earned a median $77,540 a year in May 2025 ($37.28 an hour).

State license for workers

Required

a passage on the pages read says so

On-the-job hours

8,000 hours

for E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson, the first license on the main path that takes 2,000 or more

Published fees, first steps

Not published

no fixed published fee for Registered apprentice

Median pay

$77,540

$37.28 an hour, May 2025

Electrician licensing in Connecticut

The licensing authority is Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection (Electrical Work Examining Board). The pages each row was read from are listed under the table, with the date each was read.

License	What it takes	Experience	Exam	Fee
Registered apprentice (Connecticut Department of Labor)	Apprenticeship rests on an employer-employee relationship: a sponsor employer registers its apprentices with the Connecticut Department of Labor's Office of Apprenticeship Training through e-Apprenticeship. In the licensed trades, registered apprenticeship lets an employer hire workers other than licensed journeypersons. The pages read do not publish a registration fee.	—	—	not published
E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson	Complete a registered apprenticeship program, which the Department's chart of trade licenses lists at 8,000 on-the-job training hours, or at least four years of equivalent experience and training; an equivalency applicant proves the classroom hours for the license with transcripts, degrees and diplomas (work experience does not replace classroom hours) and the on-the-job training hours with notarized letters from employers. Then the exam: the journeyperson application fee is $90, nonrefundable, and the exam vendor charges its own fee at registration. An E-2 holder may do all electrical work, only while employed by a properly licensed contractor. Electrical licenses expire every year on September 30; the journeyperson renewal fee is $120. Renewal takes 4 continuing education credit hours each year, completed by June 30; none are required before the first renewal. Failing to complete the continuing education may bring civil fines and suspension or revocation of the license.	8,000 hrs (≈ 4 yrs)	Connecticut E-2 journeyperson license exam (through the exam vendor)	$90
E-1 Unlimited Electrical Contractor	Two years as an unlimited licensed journeyperson or at least six years of equivalent experience and training, then the contractor exam; the contractor application fee is $150, nonrefundable, and the contractor renewal fee is $150. Renewal takes 4 continuing education credit hours each year. Only contractors can obtain permits and sign contracts.	—	Connecticut E-1 contractor license exam (through the exam vendor)	$150

Reciprocity. Connecticut has no reciprocal agreements with any other jurisdiction. The Department takes journeyperson applications under an equivalent out-of-state license.

Renewal. Every year: electrical licenses expire September 30 ($120 for a journeyperson); continuing education is not required before the first renewal, and after that it is due by June 30 each year, with 4 hours of continuing education.

Years to this license at your hours a week → · Every fee here, itemised and totalled → · Compare time and cost across trades and states →

Common questions

Do you need a license to work as an electrician in Connecticut?

What does it cost to get licensed as an electrician in Connecticut?

The published fees in the table above run from $90 to $150 depending on the tier. Read each tier's requirements for any exam or license-issue fee charged on top.

How long does it take to become an electrician in Connecticut?

You can be licensed as E-2 Unlimited Electrical Journeyperson after 8,000 hours of on-the-job training. The time-to-journeyman calculator turns the hours into years at your own hours a week.

How much do electricians make in Connecticut?

Electricians in Connecticut earned a median $77,540 a year in May 2025, $37.28 an hour. That median is 23% above the national figure of $63,190, and Connecticut ranks 10 of 51 by pay for this trade.

What electricians earn in Connecticut

Electricians in Connecticut earned a median $77,540 a year in May 2025, $37.28 an hour. 7,710 people held the job, 4.5 for every 1,000 jobs in the state. That median is 23% above the national figure of $63,190, and Connecticut ranks 10 of 51 by pay for this trade.

Median annual

$77,540

$37.28 an hour

Rank by pay

#10

of 51 with a published median

Employed in CT

7,710

4.5 per 1,000 jobs

Location quotient

0.93

1.00 = national concentration

The full wage spread in Connecticut

Point	Hourly	Annual	Meaning
10th percentile	$22.92	$47,680	A tenth of the workforce earns less than this.
25th percentile	$27.91	$58,060	A quarter earn less.
Median	$37.28	$77,540	Half earn less, half earn more.
75th percentile	$45.71	$95,070	A quarter earn more.
90th percentile	$50.13	$104,280	A tenth earn more than this.
Mean	$37.21	$77,390	The average. Pulled up by the top earners.

Annual figures are the hourly rate times 2,080 hours, BLS's full-time year. Overtime is inside the survey's earnings but not separated out.

Pay by metro area in Connecticut

Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT employs the most electricians of the 5 metro areas based in Connecticut that BLS publishes, 2,870, at a median $77,680 a year. The best-paid is Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT at $79,560.

Metro	Employed	Median annual	10th pct	90th pct
Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT	2,870	$77,680	$46,220	$99,610
Bridgeport-Stamford-Danbury, CT	1,630	$79,560	$50,040	$124,510
Waterbury-Shelton, CT	1,030	$75,850	$47,680	$96,260
New Haven, CT	990	$77,410	$45,180	$104,640
Norwich-New London-Willimantic, CT	700	$72,240	$47,970	$97,040

Metropolitan statistical areas as BLS publishes them in the same May 2025 estimates. A metro that crosses a state line is listed only under its primary state, so part of a neighboring state's metro can sit outside this table. Areas outside any metro are not shown.

Connecticut against its neighbors on the pay ladder

#	State	Median annual	Employed
7	District of Columbia	$78,970	2,440
8	New York	$78,750	40,130
9	Minnesota	$78,160	14,350
10	Connecticut	$77,540	7,710
11	New Jersey	$77,250	13,520
12	Montana	$76,760	2,750
13	Wisconsin	$76,540	14,310

The complete ranking is on the Electricians page.

Against the national figure

Figure	Connecticut	United States
Median annual	$77,540	$63,190
Median hourly	$37.28	$30.38
10th percentile, annual	$47,680	$42,640
90th percentile, annual	$104,280	$108,510
Employed	7,710	757,220

Apprenticeships in Connecticut

U.S. Department of Labor records list 24 registered apprentices active in Connecticut in fiscal year 2024 (October 2023 to September 2024) under the occupation titles DOL maps to electricians (SOC 47-2111). The file's fiscal 2024 records largely stop after February 2024. In fiscal 2023, the latest year the file holds in full, 9 apprentices started; 6 have a starting wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs here. Of those who completed that year, 4 have an exit wage DOL counts, fewer than the 50 a median needs.

Find a registered program: DOL's Apprenticeship Finder → · Every state's count and wages for this trade →

Which wages DOL counts, which titles count and how the state is assigned are on the data page.

Other trades in Connecticut

Plumbers and pipefitters ($77,280) · HVAC technicians ($76,610) · Welders ($64,880) · Truck drivers (CDL) ($60,490) · Lineworkers (power-line installers) ($126,850) · Ironworkers ($62,400) · Sheet metal workers ($78,750) · Carpenters ($64,060) · Brickmasons and blockmasons ($67,960) · Auto service technicians ($60,220) · Diesel mechanics ($67,300) · Heavy equipment operators ($78,750) · Machinists ($62,130)

See all 14 ranked by pay in Connecticut.

The pay and employment figures on this page are the May 2025 BLS estimates, apart from the apprenticeship figures, which are DOL's; the licensing detail is read from the pages listed in the licensing section, each with the date it was read. See how the numbers are built.