Short answer: in October 2026, 70% of US job postings in our sample stated pay, as either a salary range or a specific figure. In the 13 states plus DC with a pay-range law in force, that rose to 82%. In states without one it was 40%. Washington (89.5%) and Maryland (89.3%) had the highest disclosure rates. Louisiana (10.7%), Indiana (22.4%) and South Carolina (28.2%) had the lowest, among states with at least 100 postings. Texas, the largest state with no pay-range law, stood at 40.9%.
Pay disclosure by state
We checked 31,776 US job postings from employers using Greenhouse, Lever and Ashby on 12 October 2026. A posting counted as disclosing pay if the ATS published a structured pay range, or if the description stated a salary range, an hourly rate or a specific salary figure. States in bold had a law requiring pay ranges in job postings in force on that date.
| State | Postings stating pay | Postings | Pay-range law in force since |
|---|---|---|---|
| Washington | 1,038 | Jan 2023 | |
| Maryland | 769 | Oct 2024 | |
| District of Columbia | 577 | Jun 2024 | |
| Colorado | 581 | Jan 2021 | |
| New York | 3,853 | Sep 2023 | |
| California | 10,786 | Jan 2023 | |
| Virginia | 903 | Jul 2026 | |
| Illinois | 788 | Jan 2025 | |
| Minnesota | 142 | Jan 2025 | |
| Massachusetts | 1,276 | Oct 2025 | |
| New Jersey | 271 | Jun 2025 | |
| Georgia | 517 | — | |
| Michigan | 242 | — | |
| Florida | 588 | — | |
| Nevada | 229 | — | |
| Alabama | 112 | — | |
| Arizona | 303 | — | |
| Texas | 2,041 | — | |
| Wisconsin | 154 | — | |
| North Carolina | 405 | — | |
| Pennsylvania | 498 | — | |
| Ohio | 326 | — | |
| Utah | 270 | — | |
| Tennessee | 147 | — | |
| South Carolina | 149 | — | |
| Indiana | 183 | — | |
| Louisiana | 196 | — |
Hawaii, Vermont and Maine also have pay-range laws in force but had fewer than 100 postings in the sample, so they are not listed. Delaware's law has been signed but does not take effect until September 2027. Some cities have their own rules regardless of state law, such as Jersey City and Cleveland.
States with pay laws disclose about twice as often
Across the jurisdictions with a law in force, 81.7% of postings stated pay. In states without one it was 39.9%. Counting each employer once narrows the gap to 75.8% versus 50.5%, because national employers often publish a range on every posting regardless of location. That explains a good part of the disclosure in Texas, Florida and Georgia.
A law in force doesn't mean every posting complies or is covered. Most laws exempt small employers (Massachusetts applies from 25 employees, Maine from 10), and some postings cover several locations at once. The trend is still clear: the newest laws show up in the data quickly. Virginia's took effect in July 2026, and its postings were already at 79.7%.
Senior roles state pay most often, internships least
| Seniority | Postings stating pay |
|---|---|
| Internships | |
| New grad and entry level | |
| Mid level or unspecified | |
| Senior, staff, lead and above |
Internships are the least likely to state pay (53.4%). Senior and leadership roles are the most likely (79.1%). Outside the US, only 17.7% of postings in the sample stated pay. That figure is shaped by EU, UK and Canadian employers, whose rules are changing: the EU Pay Transparency Directive's deadline for national adoption was June 2026.
Using a posted range when the form asks your salary
The same employers often ask you to state a number anyway. In our analysis of 9,401 application forms, 31.7% of employers ask for your salary expectations and 28.0% make it required. Posted ranges are wider than most people expect: the median range is 34% wide. For what to type in the box itself, see how to answer "salary expectations". When the posting lists a range:
- Answer inside the range. The range is what the employer has budgeted. A number far above it can get you screened out, and a number far below it can cost you money.
- Place yourself by level. Ranges are often wide, and the top is usually for candidates who exceed the posted requirements. If you meet the requirements, the middle is the defensible answer.
- Check which location the range is for. Multi-location postings often list several ranges by city or zone. Use the one for where you'd work.
How we measured this
On 12 October 2026 we pulled open postings from the public job-board APIs of Ashby and Lever (all postings) and Greenhouse (a random sample of up to 15 postings per employer, since Greenhouse descriptions require one request per job), for 1,691 employers taken from two public early-career US tech job lists (SimplifyJobs on GitHub). That gave 48,354 postings checked, of which 31,776 were in the US. Pay counted as disclosed if the ATS returned a structured range (Greenhouse pay_input_ranges, Lever salaryRange, Ashby compensation shown on the posting) or the description stated a dollar range, hourly rate or salary figure. Benefit amounts such as 401(k) match caps or stipends were excluded. Matches were checked by hand on random samples. State comes from the posting's location text. Fully remote postings with no state are counted as US but not assigned to a state. Laws in force are those requiring ranges in job postings statewide as of 12 October 2026. The sample leans toward US technology employers. Aggregated data: pay disclosure by state (CSV).
Frequently asked questions
What percentage of job postings include a salary range?
In October 2026, 70% of US job postings in our sample of 31,776 stated pay. In states with pay-range laws it was 82%, and in states without them 40%. Outside the US it was 18%.
Which states require salary ranges in job postings?
As of October 2026: California, Colorado, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New York, Vermont, Virginia, Washington and the District of Columbia. Delaware's law takes effect in September 2027.
Which state's job postings show salary the most?
Washington (89.5% of postings) and Maryland (89.3%), followed by Washington DC (85.6%), Colorado (84.7%) and New York (83.4%).
Do Texas job postings include salary ranges?
Texas has no pay-range law, and 40.9% of Texas postings in our sample stated pay, mostly from national employers that publish ranges everywhere.
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