How to Use Salary Ranges to Improve Your Job Posts

Including a salary range in your job posts isn't just about attracting candidates or being compliant with local legislation. It's about creating better pay transparency overall, which will help your company strengthen its employer brand and push forward with pay equity.

But it’s important to strike the right balance. If pay transparency isn't handled correctly, it can ‌ lead to rivalry and bitterness between employees, which can create conflict and the risk of employees becoming disengaged, causing a spike in employee turnover.

Our compensation survey found most (82%) respondents felt pay transparency is essential when considering employers. Not sharing pay information may be driving away top talent. We also discovered that 54% of salaried employees work for companies that discourage discussions around pay.

If you’re looking to include salary ranges in job posts to encourage more applicants, consider how this decision goes beyond your recruiting strategy. We’ve considered the potential concerns you may have around including salary ranges in job posts and what you can do to tackle them.

Common concerns about posting job descriptions with salary ranges

Transparency leads to more diverse candidates, but some persistent concerns about posting salary ranges can get in the way of your recruiting efforts.

According to a recent survey, 70% of respondents believe that pay transparency reduces the gender and ethnic pay gap within organizations. Plus, 58% of workers state they would rather work for a company that publishes pay information publicly. But despite this, some companies continue to not share salary ranges for jobs.

A 2025 report also notes pay transparency decreased in early 2025 compared to 2024—and 20% of organizations revealed that they didn’t share their pay ranges. We’ve detailed the most common concerns about sharing salary ranges and why you should overcome them.

Candidates might reject you prematurely

Some companies may be concerned that a job posting with a salary range will encourage candidates with a specific number in mind to look elsewhere. However, by including a salary range, you may entice more candidates to apply—even if the numbers are lower than they would like. A survey from SHRM found that 70% of businesses that featured a salary in their job posts saw more applicants.

Benchmarking takes time

While researching and determining salary ranges can be a complex process, it’s the key to competitive, equitable compensation and retention. Additionally, establishing salary ranges in advance helps your organization prepare for pay conversations with prospective and current employees.

Employees will do their own research on what they think they should be paid. Your potential candidates may:

• Research similar roles online
• Base their desired compensation on past job history
• Ask other people in their industry about their compensation.

As an employer, you need to make sure your company remains competitive in the market—keep in mind that 73% of employees would consider leaving their current role for a higher paycheck.

Internal conflict

Some companies may choose to exclude salary ranges in job postings to avoid internal conflict. There's a chance that disclosing what you’re willing to pay new candidates could demotivate existing employees and lead to envy and resentment, especially those who started with a lower wage.

But the truth is, nearly half (47%) of workers discuss their salary, even if the company discourages it—in fact, discussing wages is a legal right, and it’s illegal for employers to try to stop it. Posting a salary range won’t change what they already know, but it'll make your commitment to transparency and equity clear!

Why you should add a salary range to your job posts

Having the salary range in the job description not only helps to attract potential candidates, but it also helps build trust on your teams, reinforcing a great company culture.

You’ll gain trust

Compensation and benefits are typically the main focus for candidates seeking a new job. Research from SHRM highlights that over 80% of US workers are more likely to consider applying to a position that has the salary range listed. Plus, 70% of organizations that list pay ranges report that doing so has led to more applications—66% even say the quality of applicants is higher.

Save your company time by embracing job descriptions with salary ranges and give interested job seekers a chance to consider your open position more seriously.

Your employer brand will get a boost

Disclosing salary information can help your organization stand out. Adding salary ranges on job postings is one way to build trust with job candidates during the recruitment process and build loyalty among your employees—a great way to build brand ambassadors and give your employer brand a boost.

You’ll save time and stress

Being straightforward about your company’s compensation allows job seekers to enter the interview process with an accurate idea of their compensation package. This is better than them creating a number they will then need to justify to you. If you already have a number or a range in mind; being open about it saves time and worry for everyone involved in the hiring process.

You’ll contribute to a more equitable environment for everyone

Pay gaps among underrepresented groups are a widespread problem in the corporate sphere.
The Pew Research Center found on average, women earned 85% of what men earned in 2024. According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, Black women earned 85% of what White women earn, and Hispanic women earned 79% of what White women earned.

Your company can take a powerful stance on the wage gap by using better, more transparent methods of communicating salary information.

2025 state transparency laws

Pay transparency is more than just a “perk”—i in some states t’s the law. The exact rules around pay transparency vary between states and may depend on whether the employee is applying for an external or internal role.

In the following states, employers must disclose salary ranges in job openings or on request:

• California: Employers must provide an applicant with a pay scale for the position on request or provide an employee with a pay scale for their current position.
• Colorado: Organizations must inform current employees of new job openings and disclose who was selected. All salary information and compensation must be listed on job openings. They must also disclose how to advance through career progressions and keep records of wages and job descriptions.
• Connecticut: Employers must provide the salary or hourly pay range on request or when the applicant is made an offer. The Connecticut Public Act No.21-30 also prohibits employers from retaliating against employees for discussing pay.
• Hawaii: Act 203 requires employers with more than 50 employees to include hourly rates or salary ranges in certain job listings.
• Illinois: Illinois House Bill 3129 requires employers with more than 15 employees to provide a wage range and benefits on job listings.
• Maryland: According to the Equal Pay for Equal Work Act, employers must post salary ranges for both internal and external postings and provide them to applicants on request.
• Massachusetts: Employers with more than 25 employees must disclose salary ranges when hiring for a position.
• Minnesota: Employers with more than 30 employees must include the pay range and description of benefits and other compensation on job listings, following the Statute 181.173.
• Nevada: Bill 293 states that employers must share salary information and are prohibited from asking applicants for salary history.
• New Jersey: Organizations must post the salary range and other compensation to any job openings and make a reasonable effort to inform employees of promotion opportunities.
• New York: Organizations with over four employees need to disclose salary information and whether the role is commission-based.
• Rhode Island: The Pay Equity Act prohibits employers for asking about salary history and retaliating against employees for discussing pay. It ensures that employers provide salary pay ranges on request.
• Vermont: Employers with more than five employees must disclose the salary range in all job listings, and state whether the role is commission or tip-based.
• Washington: Employers with more than 15 employees must include salary ranges. They must also disclose pay for promotions on request.
• Washington D.C.: Employers must provide a salary range and healthcare benefit information. Employers are also prohibited from asking for wage history.

It’s always important to make sure you understand your state or city's legislation about pay transparency, and whether these rules apply to both remote and in-office positions, or just those living and working in your state.

How to disclose non-salary compensation on job posts

Not all salary ranges are created equal. Specific industries or job roles, like sales or account management roles, may offer compensation structures that aren’t strictly tied to a base salary.

Instead, these roles rely on bonuses or commissions to complete the total compensation package. As a result, the starting salary may seem very low when listed on a job post, yet the actual earnings could be closer to what candidates expect—or even higher.

Unfortunately, it’s too easy to miss commission-based listings on job search sites. Job seekers often filter by base salary when searching for open positions, so many candidates won’t even see the job opening if they aren’t looking at salaries that low.

Whether your state requires your organization to disclose salary information or not, if you opt to share wage ranges, try to get the figure as close to the total compensation as possible while being both realistic and crystal clear about your compensation structure. If you can’t include commission, or there’s no space to add supplemental wages, make the earning potential very clear in the wording of your job posting.

Pay transparency opens doors to more people

A salary is more than an exchange of money for labor. Salaries show how invested companies are in their employees’ wellbeing, fair and equitable compensation, and—when they’re made public—overall organizational transparency. Whether you make that information public or not shows how confident you are as a business in the idea of doing what’s right.

BambooHR can lend a helping hand to your recruitment efforts, ensuring you have a seamless hiring experience from application to offer. Level-up your hiring game and elevate the candidate experience.