Knowing the pay range before you apply saves hours on roles you'd never accept, and gives you an anchor when you negotiate. More and more places now require it. This is a plain-English summary, not legal advice: rules vary by employer size and change often, so check the official text for anything that matters.
United States
As of October 2026, these places require pay ranges in job postings (often only for employers above a certain size): California, Colorado, Washington State, New York, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Hawaii, Vermont, Maine and Washington, DC. Several cities have their own rules too. Delaware's law is set to apply from 2027 (Jackson Lewis, Brightmine).
Remote roles are a grey area: many employers include ranges for any role that could be filled from a covered state.
Canada
British Columbia requires an expected pay or range in publicly advertised jobs, and Ontario's requirement for publicly advertised roles took effect in January 2026.
European Union
The EU Pay Transparency Directive applies from 7 June 2026. It gives applicants the right to information on the starting pay or range, either in the vacancy notice or before the interview, and bans employers from asking about your pay history. Only a handful of countries (including Slovakia, Italy, Lithuania and Malta) had passed national laws by the deadline, and others are still working on theirs (Morgan Lewis, Jackson Lewis).
United Kingdom
There's no legal requirement in the UK to include salary in job ads, though many employers do.
What a missing range tells you
- Where it's required, a missing range is a small red flag: the posting may be old, copied, or not tied to a budgeted role.
- Where it isn't required, it tells you little. Ask early so neither side wastes time.
- A very wide range (say $80k–$200k) usually means the level isn't decided yet. Ask which level the team is hiring for.