10 min read
For most of working history, you found out what a job paid after you'd spent four hours interviewing for it. That's changed in a lot of the country, and most job seekers still aren't using it.
Salary transparency laws by state now cover a large share of US postings, either directly or because national employers apply one policy everywhere rather than maintaining fifty. The practical effect is that you can research pay before you apply rather than after you've been anchored. This guide covers who's covered, what the rules actually say, and the parts that trip people up.
One thing worth doing before you use any of it: make sure your file can survive the screening that comes before a pay conversation. Run it through the free ATS resume checker . A published range is no use if your application never reaches a human.
This is general information rather than legal advice, and these laws change. Verify current rules with your state labor department before relying on them.
Quick Wins
- Search your job title plus a covered state today and note five ranges.
- Screenshot every range you find. Postings disappear, and you'll want them later.
- Check whether your own employer is advertising your role, and at what number.
What these laws actually require
The core idea is simple: employers have to publish a good-faith pay range for a role, usually in the job posting itself. Beyond that, the details vary quite a bit.
- Where the range appears. Some laws require it in the posting itself. Others require it on request, or at the point an offer is made.
- Which employers are covered. Several states apply the rule only above an employee threshold, so small businesses may be exempt.
- What counts as the range. Base pay is almost always included. Bonus, commission, and equity are sometimes described separately or not at all.
- Whether internal postings count. Many laws cover promotion and transfer opportunities too, which is useful if you're looking internally.
The phrase that matters is "good faith." A range has to be one the employer genuinely expects to pay. That said, enforcement varies, and you'll still see ranges wide enough to drive a bus through.
The knock-on effect is bigger than the law. Large employers hiring across multiple states often publish ranges everywhere, because maintaining separate posting rules by jurisdiction is more expensive than just disclosing. So you benefit from these laws even in states that don't have one.
Salary transparency laws by state
Here's the landscape in broad strokes. Treat this as a map rather than a legal citation, and confirm the current position before relying on any single line.
| Type of rule | Where you'll typically find it | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Range required in the posting | Colorado, California, Washington, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont, New Jersey, Massachusetts, plus cities including New York City and Washington DC | You can research before applying |
| Range on request or at offer | States including Connecticut, Nevada, and Rhode Island | You have to ask, and asking is expected |
| Salary history ban | Many states and cities, sometimes alongside a posting rule | Your old salary can't anchor the new one |
Colorado was the first mover here and the rest followed over several years, which is why you'll sometimes see older articles listing three states. The direction of travel has been consistently toward more disclosure, not less.
Employee thresholds are the detail that catches people out. Several states apply the posting rule only to employers above a certain size, so a small local business may legitimately post nothing while a national chain in the same town publishes a range.
For the mechanics of using published ranges in a negotiation, the pay transparency range guide goes deeper on interpretation.
Salary history bans: the other half
Transparency laws make the employer show their number. Salary history bans stop them extracting yours. Together they change who has the information advantage.
Why it matters: if an employer knows you currently earn $62,000, an offer of $68,000 feels generous, regardless of whether the role is worth $85,000. Anchoring is powerful and mostly invisible. Remove the anchor and the conversation runs on the role instead.
In a state with a ban, you'll typically see the question replaced with "what are your salary expectations?" That's a legitimate question and you should have an answer ready, ideally a range anchored to posted data rather than to your current pay.
"Based on what this level is posting at locally, I'm looking at $X to $Y. I'm flexible depending on the full package and the scope of the role."
If you're asked outright for your current salary in a state with a ban, you can redirect without confrontation. There are more scripts for that in answering salary expectations .
How remote roles are covered
This is the most confusing part, and it's where the most value is hiding.
Several states take the position that if a remote role could be performed by someone in that state, the posting rule applies. So a company headquartered somewhere with no disclosure requirement still has to publish a range if it's open to candidates in a covered state.
That produces two patterns you'll recognise. Some employers publish one national range. Others publish tiered ranges by location, with a higher band for expensive metros and a lower one elsewhere. A third group quietly excludes covered states from remote postings, which is worth noticing when a "fully remote" role lists a set of states it won't hire in.
If you're remote and being paid on a location band, the question of which market you're benchmarked against matters enormously. How location affects remote pay covers how those policies typically work.
How to actually read a posted range
A range is data, not an offer. Reading it correctly is a skill and most people get it wrong in the same two directions.
- Assume the midpoint, not the top. The top of a band is usually for someone with years in the role. New hires typically land in the lower half.
- A very wide range means levels are bundled. A posting spanning $90,000 to $180,000 is covering two or three levels in one advert. Ask which level they're hiring at.
- Compare five postings, not one. One outlier tells you nothing. Five ranges for the same title in the same metro tell you the market.
- Check whether it's base only. A lower base with real commission can beat a higher base without it, and the posting rarely makes that obvious.
- Screenshot everything. Postings come down. The one you want to quote in three months will be gone.
Do this now: search your title in one covered state, open five listings, and write the five ranges in a note. That single exercise is worth more than any salary estimate site.
Edge cases
Your own employer is hiring your job
The most useful posting you will ever read. If your company advertises your title at a range above what you earn, that's an internal fact, published by your own employer, and it makes for a very calm conversation. Save it before it comes down.
The range is obviously not good faith
A range from $50,000 to $250,000 is technically compliant and practically useless. Treat it as a signal about the employer rather than about the role, and ask early in the process which level and which part of the band they're targeting.
You're relocating between states
Ranges are location-specific, so comparing a New York posting to an offer in a lower-cost metro will mislead you. Compare like for like, and ask whether the employer adjusts pay if you move later.
Internal promotions and transfers
Many transparency laws cover internal opportunities as well as external hiring. If your company posts internal roles with ranges, that tells you what the next level pays before you ever raise it with your manager.
Public sector and unionised roles
Pay scales here are frequently published in full, independent of any transparency law. Look for the grade structure rather than a range, and find out which step you would start on.
Mistakes job seekers make
- Anchoring on the top of the band. Then feeling insulted by a normal offer. Expect the middle and be pleased if you beat it.
- Volunteering your current salary anyway. Even where it can't be asked, plenty of candidates offer it unprompted in the first call.
- Never saving the postings. The evidence disappears exactly when you need it.
- Ignoring the level question. A wide range usually means the employer hasn't decided which level to hire, and you can influence that.
- Assuming no range means no rule. In a covered state, it may just mean nobody asked. Ask.
Turn ranges into applications
Published pay data only helps if you get through the screening in front of it. That part hasn't got easier.
Start with the file. Upload your resume to the free ATS resume checker and see what a parser extracts before a recruiter ever reads it. If your titles, dates, or scope don't come through cleanly, the range on the posting is academic.
Then aim properly. Run a posting through the job match score to see whether you're competitive for the level that band is priced at, and use the cover letter generator to tie your scope to the seniority the range implies.
The short version
- Salary transparency laws by state now cover a large share of US postings, and national employers often disclose everywhere.
- Read ranges as a market signal, expect the midpoint, and compare five postings rather than one.
- Rules change and thresholds vary, so verify with your state labor department before relying on any of it.
Do this today: open five current postings for your title in a covered state and write down the ranges. That's your negotiation evidence, gathered in ten minutes.
Then make sure you get that far. Check your resume for free so a published salary range is something you can actually reach.
Read more
- How to use salary transparency laws to negotiate — turning published ranges into a better offer.
- Total compensation vs base salary — what the posted range leaves out.
- How salary bands work — what sits behind the number in the posting.
Frequently asked questions
A growing group including Colorado, California, Washington, New York, Hawaii, Maryland, Illinois, Minnesota, Vermont, New Jersey, and Massachusetts, alongside city-level rules such as New York City and Washington DC. The list changes as new laws take effect, so check your state labor department for current status before relying on it.
No. The range covers the whole role, and most new hires land in the lower half of it. What the range does tell you is the ceiling for that level, which is far more useful than a single number when you are deciding whether to apply or how to counter.
Often yes. Several states require ranges on any role that could be performed in that state, which is why you see ranges on remote postings from employers with no office there. Some listings show multiple ranges by location tier for exactly this reason.
A salary history ban stops employers asking what you currently earn, so an old low salary cannot anchor a new offer. Transparency laws are about employers disclosing pay. Many states have one, some have both, and they solve different halves of the same problem.
Ask for it directly, since employers subject to the rule are usually expected to provide it. A polite request early in the process is normal, and a refusal in a covered state is a useful signal about how the company handles compensation generally.