What Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earn in Capitol Planning Region, CT
According to the latest federal wage data for the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metropolitan area, the median pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Capitol Planning Region, CT is $44,000 a year, or $21.15 an hour. After federal income tax, Social Security, Medicare and state income tax, the paycheck shrinks to $35,798 a year, and rent, food and energy take another bite. The sections below walk through each step with the actual math for Capitol Planning Region, CT.
The mean wage is $44,390, which is 0.9% above the median, so pay is spread fairly evenly. The survey counts about 10,770 people working in this occupation across the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metropolitan area, so the estimate rests on a substantial pool of workers. Capitol Planning Region, CT has roughly 977,290 residents, according to the population figures used by the rent data.
The salary range, from entry level to top earners
Pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metropolitan area is not one number. The lowest-paid tenth of workers earn up to $35,590 a year ($17.11 an hour), while the highest-paid tenth earn $53,460 or more ($25.70 an hour). That is a gap of $17,870 between the bottom and the top of the scale. The middle half of workers falls between $38,650 at the 25th percentile and $48,390 at the 75th percentile. A top-tier earner makes 1.5 times what someone at the bottom makes, so experience, certification and employer all matter.
What the hourly rate looks like
Employers quote this occupation by the hour or by the year, so here are both: $21.15 an hour or $44,000 a year at the median for Capitol Planning Region, CT. Before any deductions, that is $3,667 a month, $1,692 every two weeks and $846 each week. After taxes the same job pays $17.21 per hour of take-home income, which is the number that actually has to cover rent and groceries.
How pay in Capitol Planning Region, CT compares
Compared with the Connecticut average
Pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Capitol Planning Region, CT is in line with the statewide figure: $44,000 locally against an employment-weighted Connecticut average of $43,652, a difference of only $348 (0.8%).
Compared with the national average
The national employment-weighted average for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $41,056 across the contiguous United States. At $44,000, Capitol Planning Region, CT pays $2,944 more, which is 7.2% above that benchmark. Keep in mind that a higher salary only helps if living costs do not rise faster, which is why the cost sections below matter as much as the headline number.
Where this job ranks in Capitol Planning Region, CT
Among the 510 occupations with published wages in Capitol Planning Region, CT, Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand ranks number 435 by median pay, ahead of about 15% of them. The best-paying occupation we track here is General and Operations Managers at $148,080 a year, which is $104,080 more than the median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand.
From gross pay to take-home pay
Three separate tax bills sit between the gross salary and the bank account: federal income tax, FICA, and state income tax. For Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earning the Capitol Planning Region, CT median of $44,000, they add up to $8,203. The result is $35,798 of take-home pay a year ($2,983 a month), based on a single filer using the standard deduction.
Put another way, of every $100 earned, about $19 goes to taxes and $81 reaches the paycheck. The overall effective tax rate is 18.6%.
Federal income tax
After the $15,750 standard deduction, taxable income is $28,250. Federal brackets are marginal, so only the slice of income above each threshold is taxed at the higher rate; the last dollars of this salary fall in the 12% bracket. The resulting federal income tax is $3,152, an effective 7.2% of gross pay, well below the 12% marginal rate because the lower brackets are cheaper.
Social Security and Medicare (FICA)
Payroll taxes are a flat percentage of wages. Social Security takes 6.2% up to a wage base of $176,100, which costs $2,728 on this salary. Medicare takes 1.45%, or $638. FICA totals $3,366, which is 7.6% of gross pay.
State income tax in Connecticut
Connecticut income tax on this salary is $1,685 a year, or 3.8% of gross pay, after the state's own deductions and exemptions are applied. That is 53% of the federal income tax bill, and it comes out to $140 a month. Local taxes such as county or city income taxes are not included, so a few jurisdictions may withhold slightly more.
A cross-check with IRS data for Capitol Planning Region, CT
IRS Statistics of Income data for Capitol Planning Region, CT show an average adjusted gross income of $99,115 per return and an average effective federal income tax rate of 14.6% across all filers. Filers in the $25,000 to under $50,000 bracket, where this salary falls, paid an average of 5.2%, compared with the 7.2% estimated here for a single filer taking the standard deduction. Gaps between the two reflect filing status, dependents, credits and other income, none of which a single-person wage estimate includes.
Cost of living in Capitol Planning Region, CT
Take-home pay only means something next to what life costs. We price four basics for one adult in Capitol Planning Region, CT: a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline. All of them are converted to annual figures first, then compared with the $35,798 of take-home pay.
Rent
Housing is the largest line in most budgets. For Capitol Planning Region, CT, HUD sets the Fair Market Rent for a one-bedroom unit at $1,543 a month ($18,516 a year), and at $1,933 for two bedrooms. For Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand, a one-bedroom absorbs 51.7% of take-home pay and 42.1% of gross pay.
Food
The USDA Thrifty Food Plan (August 2026) puts the cost of a nutritious home-cooked diet for an adult at about $3,436 a year, which is $286 a month or $66.07 a week. That equals 7.8% of gross pay for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Capitol Planning Region, CT. It is a thrifty budget with no restaurant meals, so treat it as a floor.
Energy and gasoline
Using Connecticut residential prices from the Energy Information Administration and national household averages for consumption, electricity costs about $3,037 a year and other home energy such as natural gas about $667, for $3,704 in total. Gasoline in Connecticut averages $3.37 per gallon; at about 463 gallons a year (11,106 miles at 24 miles per gallon) fuel adds $1,559.
What is left over
Rent, food, energy and gasoline cost $27,215 a year in Capitol Planning Region, CT. Subtract that from $35,798 of take-home pay and $8,582 remains, which is $715 a month of breathing room. That margin equals 19.5% of gross pay, a workable but modest cushion.
Can Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand afford to live in Capitol Planning Region, CT?
The 30% rent guideline
A common rule of thumb says rent should stay under 30% of gross income. For a gross salary of $44,000 that ceiling is $1,100 a month. The one-bedroom Fair Market Rent of $1,543 is $443 over it, so rent breaks the guideline. Put as a wage, covering a one-bedroom at the 30% guideline takes $29.67 an hour; the median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $21.15, which is 29% below that mark. Another way to see it: at $17.21 of take-home pay an hour, a one-bedroom takes about 20.7 working hours every week.
Splitting a two-bedroom
Sharing a two-bedroom at $1,933 a month means $967 each. Compared with renting a one-bedroom alone, that saves $6,918 a year. With a roommate, the yearly margin after the basics becomes $15,500.
How fast you can save
At $715 a month of margin, building a $10,000 emergency fund would take about 14 months. Setting aside half of the margin stretches the same goal to about 28 months. These figures ignore interest, raises and any spending beyond the four basics.
Frequently asked questions about Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Capitol Planning Region, CT
How much do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand make per hour in Capitol Planning Region, CT?
The median is $21.15 per hour, based on $44,000 a year over 2,080 hours. Hourly pay runs from about $17.11 at the 10th percentile to $25.70 at the 90th percentile.
How much do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand take home after taxes in Capitol Planning Region, CT?
After federal income tax, FICA and state income tax, the median salary of $44,000 becomes $35,798 a year. That is $2,983 a month, $1,377 every two weeks or $688 a week.
How much tax do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand pay in Capitol Planning Region, CT?
Total taxes are $8,203 a year, an effective rate of 18.6%: $3,152 federal income tax, $3,366 FICA and $1,685 Connecticut income tax.
Do Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand earn more in Capitol Planning Region, CT than elsewhere in Connecticut?
It is about the same. The local median of $44,000 is within 0.8% of the Connecticut average of $43,652.
Can Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand afford a one-bedroom apartment in Capitol Planning Region, CT?
A one-bedroom costs $1,543 a month against take-home pay of $2,983, which is 51.7% of take-home pay. That does not meet the 30%-of-gross guideline, which allows up to $1,100 a month.
What is the monthly budget margin for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand in Capitol Planning Region, CT?
About $715 a month ($8,582 a year) remains after a one-bedroom apartment, food, home energy and gasoline, which together cost $27,215 a year.
What hourly wage covers a one-bedroom in Capitol Planning Region, CT at the 30% guideline?
$29.67 an hour for a full-time schedule, calculated as the $18,516 annual rent divided by 0.30 and by 2,080 hours. The median for Laborers and Freight, Stock, and Material Movers, Hand is $21.15.
How we calculated these numbers
Wages are May 2025 medians from the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for the Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, CT metropolitan area; hourly-only values are annualized at 2,080 hours. Rents are HUD Fair Market Rents, food costs come from the USDA Thrifty Food Plan, and energy prices come from the Energy Information Administration. County-level tax statistics come from the IRS Statistics of Income.
Taxes use tax-year 2025 federal brackets, FICA rates and the Connecticut rules for a single filer with wage income only. Figures are estimates for planning and comparison, not tax or financial advice, and they exclude local income taxes, benefits, retirement contributions and individual circumstances.