How to Set a Salary Range for Any Job in 2026
A practical guide to building market-rate salary ranges — what data to use, how to structure the range, and what pay transparency laws require you to disclose.
Why Most Salary Ranges Are Wrong Before They're Published
Most employers set salary ranges the wrong way. They anchor to what they paid the last person in the role, add a small buffer, and call it a range. The result: ranges that don't reflect the current market, don't attract the candidates they need, and — in states with pay transparency laws — may not even be legally defensible.
Building a salary range correctly takes about 20 minutes if you know what you're doing. This guide walks through it.
What a Salary Range Is (And What It Isn't)
A salary range defines the minimum, midpoint, and maximum you're willing to pay for a role. The spread between minimum and maximum typically runs 30–50% for most professional positions.
What a range is:
- ✦A structured framework for making consistent, explainable compensation decisions
- ✦A market signal to candidates about what the role is worth
- ✦In many states, a legal disclosure requirement
What a range isn't:
- ✦A negotiating tactic (posting a wide range to "see where candidates land" backfires — it signals you don't know what the role is worth)
- ✦A ceiling you're truly committed to (if a candidate is worth more than the max, the range is probably wrong)
- ✦A substitute for a compensation philosophy
The Four Inputs You Need
1. Job title and scope
The same title means different things at different companies. "Marketing Manager" at a 12-person startup is different from the same title at a 200-person company with four direct reports. Be specific about: scope of responsibility, direct reports (if any), and whether the role is individual contributor or managerial.
2. State (and metro area)
Labor markets vary significantly by geography. A software engineer in San Francisco earns 40–60% more than the same role in rural Ohio. Even within a state, metro vs. rural matters — New York City vs. upstate New York, for example.
3. Industry
Finance pays more than nonprofits. Healthcare has different norms than retail. Technology companies typically pay 15–25% above market for equivalent roles. Your industry comparison should include both direct competitors and adjacent sectors where you compete for talent.
4. Experience level
Entry-level (0–2 years), mid-level (2–5 years), and senior (5+ years) typically represent distinct tiers with meaningful pay differences. A mid-level range shouldn't overlap heavily with either the entry or senior tier, or you've created compression problems.
How to Structure the Range
Once you have market data, build your range around a midpoint — the salary you'd pay a fully competent, performing employee in this role.
The formula:
- ✦Minimum: midpoint × 0.80 (where you'd start a new hire needing development)
- ✦Midpoint: your target market rate (typically 50th–65th percentile)
- ✦Maximum: midpoint × 1.20 (where a top performer with tenure lands)
For a role with a $75,000 midpoint: range of $60,000–$90,000.
Narrower ranges (20–30% spread) work for highly standardized roles where performance doesn't vary much. Wider ranges (40–50%) make sense for roles where experience and performance have a larger impact on output.
What Pay Transparency Laws Require You to Disclose
As of 2026, more than a dozen states require employers to include salary ranges in job postings. The threshold for who's covered varies by state — some apply to all employers, others only to those with 15+ or 25+ employees.
States currently requiring salary ranges in job postings: California, Colorado, Connecticut, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, and Washington DC (among others — this list continues to grow).
What you must typically disclose:
- ✦The pay range or fixed pay rate for the position
- ✦In some states: benefits information alongside the range
- ✦In some states: the range must be "good faith" — meaning you'll actually consider candidates within it
Common mistakes:
- ✦Posting ranges that are too wide ("$40,000–$150,000") — California regulators have specifically flagged this as non-compliant
- ✦Forgetting to update job postings when a range changes mid-search
- ✦Not tracking which roles were posted with which ranges for audit purposes
If you're hiring in a pay transparency state, the salary range you post needs to be the range you'll actually use — not a placeholder.
How to Position Your Range Competitively
Below market (10th–40th percentile): Works if you have compensating advantages — remote flexibility, mission-driven work, exceptional benefits, or equity. Be explicit about these in the posting. Without them, you'll see higher offer decline rates and shorter tenure.
At market (50th–65th percentile): The default target for most employers. Attracts candidates without overpaying, assuming your benefits and culture are competitive.
Above market (75th+ percentile): Appropriate for hard-to-fill roles, competitive markets, or when you need someone who's immediately productive with no ramp time. Justified when the cost of a slow hire or wrong hire is high.
The right answer depends on your talent strategy. If you're trying to build quickly and can't afford long searches, above-market ranges in key roles often pay for themselves.
A Note on Using AI for Salary Benchmarking
AI-powered salary benchmarking tools have gotten significantly more accurate. They pull from a broader set of data sources than most employers can access independently — labor market surveys, compensation databases, job posting data — and can generate state-specific, industry-specific guidance quickly.
People Practice Co.'s Salary Range Generator produces a market-rate range with pay transparency compliance language for your state — no account required. It's a good starting point, especially for roles you haven't benchmarked recently.
For more complex compensation work — building full pay structures, analyzing internal equity, or modeling the cost of a planned range adjustment — that's where a dedicated compensation project makes sense.
Common Questions
Can I post a range and then offer below it? In pay transparency states, no — the range you post must reflect what you're actually willing to pay. Offering below the posted minimum is a compliance risk and a trust problem.
How often should I update ranges? At minimum annually, and whenever you see unusual candidate feedback ("your range is well below market") or high offer decline rates. Markets move — 2–3 year old ranges are often significantly off.
What if my current employees are paid below the new range? This is the compression problem that pay transparency often surfaces. Employers who've been underpaying long-tenured employees face pressure to adjust once ranges are public. It's better to address this proactively than reactively.
Do remote roles need a range? If the role is remote but you're based in a pay transparency state, yes. Some states (California, Colorado) apply their requirements to any role that could be performed in the state.
People Practice Co. helps HR consultants build compensation frameworks for their clients. The Salary Range Generator is free — no account required.