Salary range job posting examples: compliant wording for salaried, hourly, commission and remote roles
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Most pay transparency failures are wording failures. The employer had a range; the ad said "competitive," or "up to," or gave a range so wide it meant nothing. The examples below are written to satisfy the strictest common requirements: a real floor and ceiling, the pay unit stated, and the extra lines several states ask for. All dollar figures are examples, not market data. Swap in your own numbers and check the state guide for anything state-specific.
Not legal advice. These examples reflect the requirements described in our state, provincial and EU guides, checked as of October 2026. A posting can be compliant in one place and not another. Confirm the rules for each location the role covers.
The basic pattern
Every compliant pay line has three parts: the number or range, the unit, and the other compensation.
Pay: $85,000 to $100,000 per year (base salary)
Bonus: eligible for an annual bonus, target 8% of base salary
Benefits: medical, dental and vision insurance; 401(k) with company
match; 15 days paid time off plus 10 holidays; paid parental leavePut it near the top of the posting or in a clearly labeled section. A range buried in the last line of the legal boilerplate is technically present and practically invisible.
Examples by pay type
Hourly role
Pay: $21.00 to $24.50 per hour, based on experience and shift
Shift differential: +$2.00 per hour for overnight shifts
Benefits: medical and dental after 60 days; paid sick leave;
employee discountSingle fixed wage
Where only one amount is on offer, post that amount. Washington's RCW 49.58.110 requires the fixed figure rather than a range in that case.
Pay: $19.00 per hour (all new hires in this role start at this rate)Base plus commission
Base salary: $55,000 to $65,000 per year
Commission: uncapped, paid monthly on closed revenue; first-year
total earnings for reps meeting quota have been about $95,000
Benefits: medical, dental, vision; 401(k); 20 days paid time offOnly state an earnings figure you can support from actual results, and say what it assumes. Ontario's guidance allows commission to be described in general terms, such as an amount reps can expect to earn.
Commission only
Compensation: this role is paid solely on commission
(20% of first-year contract value for each account closed).New York's Labor Law 194-b accepts "a general statement that compensation shall be based on commission," and Vermont requires commission-only roles to say so.
Tipped role
Base wage: $11.00 to $12.50 per hour, plus tips
Benefits: shift meals; paid sick leaveVermont requires tipped roles to give the base wage or base wage range; see the Vermont guide.
Two levels in one posting
If you would hire at either of two levels, give each level its own range rather than one range that spans both. A candidate can tell which applies to them, and each range stays narrow enough to be an honest estimate.
Pay:
Software Engineer II: $118,000 to $136,000 per year
Senior Software Engineer: $140,000 to $162,000 per year
The level offered depends on the scope of work you have led,
assessed in the interview process.Part-time, per diem and seasonal roles
State the hourly rate and the expected hours, so the candidate is not left to guess whether a salary figure is pro-rated.
Pay: $24.00 to $27.00 per hour, per diem (about 2 to 4 shifts a month)
Seasonal role, June through September; no benefits eligibilityIf a role carries no benefits, say so. In states that require a general description of benefits, an honest "not eligible for benefits" line is better than silence.
Contract and contract-to-hire
Contract pay rate: $62 to $70 per hour (W-2, paid weekly)
Contract length: 6 months, with possible conversion to full-time
Expected salary on conversion: $125,000 to $140,000 per yearPost the worker's pay rate, never the bill rate. Label the conversion salary clearly so it is not read as a guarantee. More on agency postings in pay transparency for staffing agencies.
Equity-heavy roles
Base pay is the number the laws focus on. Describe equity in general terms (type of award, vesting schedule) rather than a dollar value you cannot know, and do not let the equity line crowd out the base range.
Base salary: $150,000 to $175,000 per year
Equity: stock options vesting over four years with a one-year cliffExamples by state requirement
Colorado: range, other pay, benefits and deadline
Pay (Colorado): $72,000 to $84,000 per year
Other compensation: annual discretionary bonus
Benefits: medical, dental, vision; HSA contribution; 401(k) with
4% match; 15 days paid time off
Application deadline: applications accepted through November 14, 2026If there is no deadline, say "This posting has no application deadline" rather than leaving the line out. Colorado also expects internal notice of the opening; see the Colorado guide.
New York: range plus job description
New York requires the range and the job description, if one exists. A posting that links to "full details" should make sure the description is actually in the ad.
Illinois: benefits by hyperlink
Pay: $64,000 to $76,000 per year
Benefits: see the benefits summary for this position at [link]Illinois allows benefits to be given through a hyperlink, but the link must go directly to that position's information, not a general careers page. See the Illinois guide.
District of Columbia: healthcare benefits
D.C. requires a minimum and maximum in every listing and requires the employer to say, before the first interview, whether healthcare benefits are offered. Putting it in the ad meets both.
Pay: $90,000 to $108,000 per year
Healthcare: this position includes employer-sponsored health insuranceRemote role with pay zones
Pay depends on where you live and work:
New York City and San Francisco Bay Area: $140,000 to $165,000
Other locations in CA, CO, IL, MA, NJ, WA and D.C.: $128,000 to $150,000
All other US locations: $115,000 to $135,000
Equity: stock options. Benefits: medical, dental, vision; 401(k);
flexible paid time off.Pay transparency for remote jobs explains when one range is enough and when zones are safer.
Canada
Ontario (employers with 25 or more employees)
Compensation: $78,000 to $92,000 per year
This posting is for an existing vacancy.
We use artificial intelligence to screen applications for this position.The range may not span more than $50,000. If AI is not used, no AI statement is needed; the vacancy statement is always required. Do not ask for Canadian experience.
British Columbia
Pay: $26 to $31 per hourBC requires only the expected wage or range, with no open-ended figures. Bonuses and benefits are optional. See pay transparency in Canada.
Examples that fail
| Wording | Problem |
|---|---|
| "Competitive salary" or "DOE" | No figure at all |
| "Up to $90,000" | No floor; Colorado, Washington and BC all treat open-ended figures as noncompliant |
| "Starting at $60,000" | No ceiling |
| "$40,000 to $200,000" | Too wide to be a good-faith estimate; breaches Ontario's $50,000 cap and New Jersey's proposed 60% spread rule |
| "$1 to $1,000,000" | New York's guidance uses this as an example of a range that fails on its face |
| "$45 per hour" (when this is the bill rate) | An agency must post what the worker will be paid, not what the client is billed |
| "Salary range available on request" | Meets on-request states only; fails every posting state |
Internal postings
Several states, including New York, Connecticut and Virginia, require the range in internal promotion and transfer postings too. Use the same pay line in the internal job posting template. For the rest of the ad, see how to write a job description that screens, and for arriving at the numbers in the first place, how to set salary ranges for job postings.
Before you publish
PAY LINE CHECK
[ ] Minimum and maximum both present (or one fixed figure if only one
amount is offered)
[ ] Unit stated: per year, per hour, per shift
[ ] Range is what you would genuinely pay at the level described
[ ] Bonus, commission or equity described in general terms
[ ] Benefits line, or "not eligible for benefits"
[ ] Location zones listed for remote roles
[ ] State extras: Colorado deadline, D.C. healthcare line, Ontario AI
and vacancy statements
[ ] Same range on every job board and on the agency's copy
[ ] Published version saved with the date
Questions people ask
How do you write a salary range in a job posting?
State a minimum and a maximum in the same unit, say whether it is annual salary or an hourly rate, and add a short line on bonus or commission and benefits where the state requires it. For example: Base salary: $85,000 to $100,000 per year. Annual bonus target of 8% of base. Benefits include medical, dental, 401(k) and paid time off.
Is 'competitive salary' or 'DOE' enough in a job posting?
Not in any state or province that requires pay in the posting. Those laws require an actual figure or range, and phrases like 'depending on experience' without numbers do not meet them.
Can a job posting list a single salary instead of a range?
Yes, in most laws, if that is the only amount on offer. Washington's 2025 amendment says an employer offering only a fixed wage must post that fixed amount, and British Columbia and Ontario both accept a single expected figure.
How should a commission-only job show pay in the posting?
New York accepts a general statement that compensation will be based on commission, and Vermont requires commission-only roles to say so. Where a role mixes base and commission, give the base range and describe the commission in general terms, with an earnings estimate if you can support it.