Income & CareerIntermediate5 min read

Pay transparency and how to use it

More states now require salary ranges in job listings. Here's how to weaponize that information.

A growing number of states now require employers to post salary ranges in job listings. California, New York, Washington, Colorado, Illinois, and others have pay transparency laws. This is a revolution for workers, and most people aren't using it fully.

What the ranges actually mean

The posted range is typically the 'hiring range' — where the employer expects to land offers for that role. New hires generally come in around the middle to lower end of the range; experienced or harder-to-hire candidates land higher. Internal employees in that same role span the full range and sometimes higher. The range is data, not a straightjacket.

How to use it

Benchmark your current role. Find 3–5 listings for your exact title at peer companies. Compare to what you make. Significant gap? You may be underpaid.
Research before negotiating. Walking into a salary negotiation knowing the actual posted range for similar roles at the same company gives you a grounded anchor.
Know what to decline. If a role's posted range is below what you need, don't waste 6 interview rounds. Pass early.
Check listings in states that require transparency even if you're in a state that doesn't. A Google engineer role posted in California gives you the range regardless of where you'd work.

For current employees

When your company posts a job at a higher range than what you make in the same role, that's a legitimate data point for your next raise conversation. 'The external range for my title starts at X. I'm at Y. Can we talk about closing that gap?' It's not accusatory — it's market data. Many managers will quietly agree.

Put this into practice

Worth tracks your accounts, budgets, and goals — so the concepts in this article aren't just theory.

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