Salary Range

How It Works

Pay transparency laws in Colorado, California, New York, Washington, and other states now require employers to include salary ranges in job postings. These ranges typically span 20-40% from minimum to maximum. A range of $80,000-$110,000 usually means: the minimum is for candidates who meet basic qualifications, the midpoint ($95,000) targets candidates with ideal experience, and the maximum is reserved for exceptional candidates or internal promotions. Employers set salary ranges using market data from BLS, compensation surveys (Radford, Mercer, Payscale), and internal equity analysis. Knowing the salary range before applying gives you critical negotiating leverage — you can target the upper half of the range if your qualifications are strong. If a posted range seems low, it may reflect a lower cost-of-living area, a different seniority level than expected, or an employer testing the market. SalaryTruth's percentile data helps you assess whether a posted salary range is competitive: if the range's midpoint falls below the BLS p50 for the role and location, the employer is paying below market.

Related Terms

• Base Salary — The fixed amount of money an employee earns before bonuses, benefits, overtime, or other additional compensation — the guaranteed floor of your total pay.
• Salary Percentile — Your position in the salary distribution — the 75th percentile (p75) means you earn more than 75% of workers in the same role. BLS reports p10, p25, p50, p75, and p90.
• Pay Transparency — The practice (and increasingly, legal requirement) of disclosing salary ranges in job postings — aimed at reducing pay gaps and giving workers better information for negotiation.