How Many States Have Pay Transparency Laws in 2025?

The number of states with pay transparency laws is growing. Check out how they differ and what they require from employers.

Authored by Paylocity's Compliance & Government Relations Team

Article

March 05, 2025

What is Pay Transparency?

Pay transparency involves informing employees about how and why they’re paid, including their salary range, pay structure, and the factors determining compensation (e.g., experience, performance, industry benchmarks, etc.). Additionally, it can cover other forms of compensation, such as bonuses, stock options, and salary increases linked to promotions.

Some employers share this information openly to promote trust and fairness, while others only disclose it to employees or job candidates at certain stages. Regardless, surveys show that most organizations (67%) now voluntarily list such information in their job openings.

Furthermore, studies show that providing such accountability impacts an employee’s productivity and likelihood of staying with an organization.

Key Takeaways

Pay transparency is the practice of openly sharing compensation information and the factors impacting it with affected employees.
Several states have laws requiring employers to provide wage transparency to current and/or prospective employees.
Salary transparency laws can apply to remote positions and often involve the use of wage information on job postings.

Pay Transparency Laws

Aside from its effects on employee productivity and retention, some employers operate in states with a pay transparency law requiring such practices. While each law is different, they frequently require salary information to be included in job postings and can apply to both on-site and remote positions.

Are There Federal Pay Transparency Laws?

Pay transparency laws are a relatively recent development at both state and federal levels. Colorado, for example, became the first state to enact such a law in 2021.

Despite some efforts in 2023 (Salary Transparency Act; Pay Equity for All Act of 2023), no federal pay transparency law currently exists, nor are there any active bills in Congress.

Pay Transparency Laws by State 2025

The total number of states with pay transparency laws will increase to 14 in 2025 (plus Washington D.C.), with new laws taking effect in Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Vermont.

State	Effective Date	Requirements
California	January 1, 2023	Employers with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale for a position in all job postings, including posts on third-party sites. When requested, employers must also provide employees with the pay scale for their current role.
Colorado	January 1, 2021	The Equal Pay Equal Work Act requires employers to include pay information in all job postings (including remote positions), allow employees to share pay information, notify current employees of all promotion opportunities, and keep records of job descriptions and wages.
Connecticut	October 1, 2021	When a candidate requests a salary range, employers must provide it before or while extending a job offer. Employers must also provide a pay range for any transferred or promoted employees.
D.C.	June 30, 2024	Employers with at least one person in the district must include the minimum and maximum projected salary or hourly pay in job advertisements and disclose the existence of healthcare benefits before the first interview.
Hawaii	January 1, 2024	Employers with at least 50 employees must disclose an hourly rate or salary range in job postings that reasonably reflects the actual expected compensation.
Illinois	January 1, 2025	Employers with 15 or more employees must provide pay scale and benefits information in all open job postings.
Maryland	October 1, 2024	In job postings, employers must include the position’s wage range, a general description of included job benefits, and any other offered compensation.
Massachusetts	July 31, 2025	Employers with 25 or more employees must include the position’s pay range on all job postings and provide the pay range information to applicants when requested.
Minnesota	January 1, 2025	Employers with 30 or more employees must include a pay range or fixed pay rate in all job postings and a general description of benefits and “other compensation” offered.
New Jersey	June 1, 2025	Employers with 10 or more employees must disclose in job postings the hourly wage, salary, or salary range, and a general description of benefits and other compensation.
New York	September 13, 2023	Employers with four or more employees must disclose the compensation or range of compensation in any job advertisement, promotion, or transfer opportunity. For positions compensated solely on a commission basis, employers can include a general statement that compensation will be based on commissions.
Nevada	October 1, 2021	Employers must automatically provide a salary range to candidates after the first interview, including promoted or transferred employees.
Rhode Island	January 1, 2023	Employers must provide wage information to certain job applicants and employees seeking a job transfer and are prohibited from asking about the applicant or employee’s salary history and/or relying on that wage history in the hiring decision process.
Vermont	July 1, 2025	Employers with five or more employees must include the compensation or range of compensation for a Vermont job opening, including job postings for positions either physically located in Vermont or remote positions that “predominantly perform work for an office or work location that is physically located in Vermont.”
Washington	January 1, 2023	The Equal Pay & Opportunities Act requires employers who employ 15 or more people to include the salary range in each job posting and the total list of benefits for the role. Employers must also provide a position's salary range upon request from a promoted or transferred employee.

2025 Local Pay Transparency Laws

In addition to the pay transparency states listed above, a few areas also have local salary transparency laws.

Area	Effective Date	Requirements
Jersey City, NJ	June 15, 2022	Employers with at least five employees must disclose a minimum and maximum salary or hourly range in job postings and advertisements.
Albany County, NY	March 9, 2023	Employers are prohibited from advertising a job, promotion, or transfer opportunity without stating the minimum and maximum salary or hourly wage for such position in such advertisement.
Ithaca, NY	September 1, 2022	Employers with four or more employees must include the minimum and maximum hourly or salary compensation in job postings.
New York City, NY	November 1, 2022	The New York City Human Rights Law (NYCHRL) requires employers who advertise jobs to be performed in New York City to include the minimum and maximum annual salary or hourly wage in job postings.
Westchester County, NY	November 6, 2023	Employers with at least four employees must include the minimum or maximum salary for a particular position in any job posting, including promotions and transfers.

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Avoid Compliance Headaches with Paylocity

Wage transparency requirements can vary significantly by state without a unified salary transparency guideline or federal law. Moreover, such laws sometimes apply to remote positions, even if the organization isn’t in a state with wage transparency laws. Things become even more complicated for multi-state organizations with employees and offices nationwide.

This is where having the best payroll compliance software can make a world of difference. Specifically, integrated platforms with tools dedicated to: