State pay transparency posting laws: which states require a pay range in the job posting

A range in the posting, set in good faith

Pay transparency is a bucket that holds three different rules. Treating them as one is why the state count you see runs from a dozen to nearly twenty. The first rule is the one this note covers. The employer has to put a pay range in the job posting itself, so an applicant sees it before applying. The second is disclosure on request, where the range is handed over only after an applicant asks or reaches a certain point in hiring. The third is the salary-history ban, which stops an employer from asking what a candidate earned before. A state can have one of these, two, or all three.

What follows is the first rule only. Eleven states and the District of Columbia now require a pay range in the posting, with three more on the calendar. Some states only disclose a range on request, such as Connecticut and Nevada. Others only ban salary-history questions. Those are real laws worth knowing, but they do not put a number in the ad, so they sit outside this list.

The posting laws share a spine. The range has to be set in good faith, meaning it reflects what the employer expects to pay. It cannot be open-ended, like "$60,000 and up," or so wide it tells the applicant nothing. Most reach internal postings and promotions, not just outside ads. Most reach a remote role a covered-state resident could fill. From there the details diverge, and the differences are where employers get caught.

1. A range in the posting. The minimum and maximum pay for the role goes in the ad itself, not after an offer or only on request.
2. Good faith, not guesswork. The range has to reflect what the employer realistically expects to pay. Open-ended or unusually wide bands do not comply.
3. Internal moves usually count. Most laws cover promotions, transfers, and internal postings, not just public job ads.
4. Remote roles reach in. A role a covered-state resident could perform is generally covered, even when the employer sits in another state.
5. Third-party posts still count. A posting placed through a recruiter or a job board on the employer’s behalf carries the same duty as one the employer posts directly.

Where a range is required in the posting today

Here are the thirteen states and the District of Columbia that require a pay range in a covered posting as of July 2026. Each entry gives the employer size that triggers it, the date it took effect, and the core rule. The governing statute is noted on each. The thresholds are the headline difference: New York reaches an employer with four employees, while Hawaii does not bite until fifty.

California 15+ employees

In force since January 1, 2023. A covered posting needs the pay scale, the salary or hourly range the employer reasonably expects to pay, a standard tightened on January 1, 2026. Any employer, of any size, must give the pay scale on request. Remote roles fillable in California are covered, and so are promotions.

Colorado All employers

In force since 2021, expanded January 1, 2024. The posting needs the range and a general description of bonuses or other compensation. It also needs a general description of benefits and the date applications are expected to close. Job opportunities must be announced to employees.

District of Columbia All employers

In force since June 30, 2024. The listing needs the minimum and maximum projected pay. Before the first interview, the employer has to tell the applicant that health-care benefits exist for the role. That health-coverage notice is unique to DC.

Hawaii 50+ employees

In force since January 1, 2024. A covered posting needs an hourly or salary range that reflects the pay the employer expects. The fifty-employee floor is the highest of any current posting state.

Illinois 15+ employees

In force since January 1, 2025. The posting needs the pay scale and a general description of benefits. A promotion has to be announced to current employees within fourteen days of posting the role externally. Records of the posting, pay scale, and benefits run five years, the longest span of any state.

Maine 10+ employees

In force since July 29, 2026, for employers with ten or more employees. A covered posting needs a statement of the prospective pay range for the role. A commission-only role may say so instead of listing a range. The recordkeeping duty runs three years past separation and applies to every employer regardless of size. Any employer must also disclose the range for a current employee’s role on request. Enforcement is by the state.

Maryland All employers

In force since October 1, 2024. The posting needs a wage range plus a general description of benefits and other compensation. Enforcement starts with a warning, and the posting and range are kept at least three years past the role.

Massachusetts 25+ employees

Posting rule in force since October 29, 2025. A covered posting needs a pay range, and so do promotions and transfers. Employers with 100 or more also file a separate pay-data report.

Minnesota 30+ employees

In force since January 1, 2025. The posting needs a fixed pay or a salary range that is not open-ended, plus a general description of benefits and other compensation.

New Jersey 10+ employees

In force since June 1, 2025. The posting needs the hourly or salary pay or a range, plus a general description of benefits and other compensation.

New York 4+ employees

In force since September 17, 2023. The posting needs the minimum and maximum pay for the job, promotion, or transfer, set in good faith. A role performed partly in New York, or reporting to a New York office, is covered even if remote. The four-employee threshold is the lowest in the country.

Vermont 5+ employees

In force since July 1, 2025. The posting needs a salary or hourly range that reflects the expected pay. A commission role has to say it is commission-based. A tipped role has to say so and show the base wage. Internal transfers and promotions are covered.

Virginia All employers

In force since July 1, 2026, with no size threshold. A covered posting, internal or external, needs the wage or salary range for each job, promotion, or transfer, set in good faith. A benefits description is not required. The law pairs the posting rule with a salary-history ban, and a non-compliant posting can be cured within fifteen business days of written notice. Enforcement runs two ways, by the attorney general and by a private lawsuit a prospective employee can bring within a year.

Washington 15+ employees

In force since January 1, 2023, amended July 27, 2025. The posting needs the range plus a general description of benefits and other compensation. A fixed amount is allowed only where no range applies. Through July 27, 2027, an employer gets five business days to fix a non-compliant posting after written notice before penalties attach. Remote roles a Washington resident could perform are covered.

What else has to go in the ad

A pay range is the floor. Several states require more in the posting itself, and three of those requirements trip people up because they are easy to miss.

A benefits line Six states

Colorado, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Washington want a general description of benefits and other compensation in the posting, not just the pay range. Delaware joins them in 2027. A short, plain summary is enough.

An application close date Colorado only

Colorado is the one state that requires the posting to state when applications are expected to close. Evergreen and rolling postings need a workable answer to this, which the state guidance addresses.

A health-coverage notice DC only

The District of Columbia is unique in requiring the employer to tell an applicant, before the first interview, that health-care benefits exist for the role.

A few states handle commission and tipped roles separately. Vermont requires a commission role to say it is commission-based and a tipped role to show the base wage. Maine lets a commission-only role skip the range as long as the posting says the job is paid solely on commission. When a role does not fit a clean range, read the specific state’s rule rather than guessing.

It is not only outside job ads

Two practical points decide whether these laws reach a posting more often than employers expect. The first is internal moves. Most of the posting states extend the range requirement to promotions and transfers and to internal postings, not just public job ads. New York, California, Vermont, Massachusetts, and the two 2026 laws all reach internal opportunities. Illinois adds a timing rule. A promotion has to be announced to current employees within fourteen days of posting the role externally.

The second is remote work, and it is the reason a small employer in a state with no law can still be covered. A role that a resident of a covered state could perform is generally subject to that state’s posting rule, even when the employer sits elsewhere. California and Washington both reach remote roles that could be filled from within the state. New York reaches remote roles that report to a New York office. An employer cannot dodge the rule by writing "not open to applicants in this state" into the ad.

A nationwide remote posting meets the strictest rule

A role open to applicants anywhere can be filled from a covered state. In practice, a single national posting is governed by the most demanding law it could reach. The clean build is one posting that carries a good-faith range and a short benefits line, which clears the broadest set of states at once.

Set a defensible range and keep the paper

Every posting law turns on the same two words: good faith. A compliant range reflects the pay the employer expects to offer at the time of posting. It is not a placeholder, and it is not open-ended. "$60,000 and up" fails. So does a band so wide it carries no information. California tightened its definition on January 1, 2026 to require the range the employer reasonably expects to pay, and Washington’s guidance rejects open-ended ranges outright. No statute fixes a width. A band of roughly twenty to forty percent from bottom to top is a defensible practice. A wider one should rest on a written reason.

Recordkeeping is where the states diverge most quietly. Illinois keeps the posting, pay scale, and benefits for five years, the longest. California holds job titles and wage history for the length of employment plus three years. Maryland keeps the posting and range at least three years past the role. Colorado runs two years. Where a state sets no specific period, a three-year wage-record practice is the common default, and Maine and Delaware both build in a three-year rule. The range you posted, and the reasoning behind it, is the record that answers a complaint.

One law in 2027

One more jurisdiction is signed and dated, and it is far enough out that an employer has time to prepare. Maine, which took effect on July 29, 2026, has moved to the map above.

Delaware September 26, 2027

Not in force until September 26, 2027, for employers with more than twenty-five employees. A covered posting will need the pay range and a general description of benefits and other compensation. That applies to Delaware-based roles and to US remote roles offered by a Delaware-based employer. The labor department enforces it, starting with a warning and rising to a penalty of up to $10,000.

More states debate these bills every session. Several cities and counties have their own versions that can run stricter than the state. Those include New York City, Jersey City, and Ithaca and Westchester County in New York. Treat any list, including this one, as a snapshot of a moving target.

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