Healthcare Companies Lead the Way Among State's Largest Employers

Companies in the healthcare sector dominate the list of Connecticut’s largest employers, led by Yale New Haven Health System, Hartford Healthcare, and CVS Health, ranked at number 2, 3 and 7 in a ranking of the state’s largest employers published by Hartford Business Journal.  The healthcare companies had 29,468, 27,804 and 9,724 employees respectively.

Three additional healthcare companies, UConn Health at #13 (5,380 employees), Trinity Health of New England at #15 (4,810 employees) and Athena Health Care Systems at #17 (4,401 employees) also made the list of the 22 largest employers. 

The data determining the rankings was based on the number of employees reported by companies as of November 2022.

No sector had more companies on the list than healthcare’s six.  Insurance wasn’t too far behind, with four.  Travelers ranked at #10, United Health Group was right behind at #11, The Hartford was next at #12, and CIGNA was #16.

The list of largest employers also included numerous well-known businesses in a range of fields, including Raytheon Technologies at #4 with 16,600 Connecticut employees, General Dynamics Electric Boat with 13,049 Connecticut employees at #6, Walmart, with 8,454 Connecticut employees, and Sikorsky with 7,900 employes at #9.  ESPN, headquartered in Bristol with 3,800 employees, ranked #21.

Government was also well-represented, with the State of Connecticut ranked #1 as the state’s largest employer, with 49,658 employees. Three municipalities – New Haven, Hartford, and Bridgeport – also made the list, ranked back-to-back-to-back at #, 18, #19 and #20.  The cities had 4,300, 4,200 and 4,150 employees respectively.

One entry from higher education earned a spot in the rankings – Yale University at #5, with 15,652 employees – as did two tribal casinos.  Mohegan Sun, with 5,000 employees ranked #14 and Foxwoods, with 3,000 employees, ranked #22.