Pay range transparency laws requiring employers to provide the pay range for a position to job seekers and/or employees have been growing in popularity among the public and state lawmakers in recent years. Colorado was the first to enact a law requiring pay ranges in job announcements in 2021, and nine states have followed suit with similar laws. Pay range transparency empowers job applicants and current employees with pay information to aid in their job search, inform their employment decisions, and better manage pay negotiations with employers.
This factsheet compares trends in pay range transparency in states with pay range transparency laws and in states without such laws. This factsheet then looks deeper to compare pay range transparency across industries among states that require employers to post pay ranges directly in job announcements, states that require employers to provide pay range information at some point during the hiring process, and states that do not require any pay range transparency. Findings highlight:
- Among industries with relatively low pay disclosure, pay disclosure was highest among states with pay range transparency laws requiring pay ranges in job listings.
- Pay disclosure in job listings among industries were similar between states with pay range transparency laws that only require employers to share pay ranges at some point during the hiring process and states with no pay range transparency laws.
- States with pay range transparency laws requiring pay ranges in job listings experienced higher shares of job listings that include pay ranges compared to states without pay range transparency laws.
- Pay disclosure gained popularity in states without pay range transparency laws between March 2022 and December 2023, but still fell far below pay disclosure in states with pay range transparency laws.