The Price of Transparency
How salary transparency laws drove a 5× increase in pay disclosures on HN — from 5.5% (2020) to 29.4% (2026)
% of Postings Including Salary
Jobs with Pay vs Total Jobs
Year-by-Year Breakdown
| Year | Avg Jobs/Mo | Avg w/ Pay/Mo | Pay % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 339 | 7 | 2.1% |
| 2021 | 428 | 14 | 3.2% |
| 2022 | 275 | 13 | 4.7% |
| 2023 | 152 | 12 | 7.7% |
| 2024 | 157 | 16 | 9.9% |
| 2025 | 158 | 22 | 13.9% |
| 2026 | 194 | 29 | 15.1% |
Monthly Detail
| Month | Law | Total Jobs | w/ Pay | Pay % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020-01 | 551 | 20 | 3.6% | |
| 2020-02 | 349 | 5 | 1.4% | |
| 2020-03 | 360 | 8 | 2.2% | |
| 2020-04 | 261 | 5 | 1.9% | |
| 2020-05 | 294 | 6 | 2% | |
| 2020-06 | 276 | 6 | 2.2% | |
| 2020-07 | 277 | 2 | 0.7% | |
| 2020-08 | 349 | 12 | 3.4% | |
| 2020-09 | 325 | 8 | 2.5% | |
| 2020-10 | 352 | 3 | 0.9% | |
| 2020-11 | 340 | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 2020-12 | 332 | 6 | 1.8% | |
| 2021-01 | CO Law effective | 353 | 10 | 2.8% |
| 2021-02 | 485 | 14 | 2.9% | |
| 2021-03 | 441 | 9 | 2% | |
| 2021-04 | 454 | 20 | 4.4% | |
| 2021-05 | 453 | 14 | 3.1% | |
| 2021-06 | 501 | 9 | 1.8% | |
| 2021-07 | 470 | 21 | 4.5% | |
| 2021-08 | 410 | 14 | 3.4% | |
| 2021-09 | 427 | 12 | 2.8% | |
| 2021-10 | 341 | 7 | 2.1% | |
| 2021-11 | 471 | 25 | 5.3% | |
| 2021-12 | 325 | 10 | 3.1% | |
| 2022-01 | 270 | 15 | 5.6% | |
| 2022-02 | 373 | 14 | 3.8% | |
| 2022-03 | 327 | 20 | 6.1% | |
| 2022-04 | 322 | 16 | 5% | |
| 2022-05 | 360 | 19 | 5.3% | |
| 2022-06 | 308 | 10 | 3.2% | |
| 2022-07 | 212 | 6 | 2.8% | |
| 2022-08 | 281 | 14 | 5% | |
| 2022-09 | 225 | 8 | 3.6% | |
| 2022-10 | 194 | 14 | 7.2% | |
| 2022-11 | NYC Law effective | 231 | 12 | 5.2% |
| 2022-12 | 202 | 7 | 3.5% | |
| 2023-01 | CA + WA Laws effective | 157 | 10 | 6.4% |
| 2023-02 | 189 | 11 | 5.8% | |
| 2023-03 | 180 | 11 | 6.1% | |
| 2023-04 | 151 | 9 | 6% | |
| 2023-05 | 141 | 11 | 7.8% | |
| 2023-06 | 131 | 9 | 6.9% | |
| 2023-07 | 142 | 11 | 7.7% | |
| 2023-08 | 155 | 17 | 11% | |
| 2023-09 | 130 | 18 | 13.8% | |
| 2023-10 | 150 | 13 | 8.7% | |
| 2023-11 | 166 | 14 | 8.4% | |
| 2023-12 | 134 | 5 | 3.7% | |
| 2024-01 | 114 | 6 | 5.3% | |
| 2024-02 | 168 | 21 | 12.5% | |
| 2024-03 | 145 | 8 | 5.5% | |
| 2024-04 | 136 | 13 | 9.6% | |
| 2024-05 | 203 | 18 | 8.9% | |
| 2024-06 | 163 | 17 | 10.4% | |
| 2024-07 | 176 | 23 | 13.1% | |
| 2024-08 | 162 | 13 | 8% | |
| 2024-09 | 136 | 19 | 14% | |
| 2024-10 | 166 | 16 | 9.6% | |
| 2024-11 | 161 | 22 | 13.7% | |
| 2024-12 | 153 | 13 | 8.5% | |
| 2025-01 | IL Law effective | 121 | 21 | 17.4% |
| 2025-02 | 200 | 31 | 15.5% | |
| 2025-03 | 176 | 16 | 9.1% | |
| 2025-04 | 132 | 15 | 11.4% | |
| 2025-05 | 152 | 25 | 16.4% | |
| 2025-06 | 154 | 18 | 11.7% | |
| 2025-07 | 154 | 20 | 13% | |
| 2025-08 | 137 | 19 | 13.9% | |
| 2025-09 | 131 | 19 | 14.5% | |
| 2025-10 | 169 | 26 | 15.4% | |
| 2025-11 | 198 | 18 | 9.1% | |
| 2025-12 | 169 | 33 | 19.5% | |
| 2026-01 | 112 | 16 | 14.3% | |
| 2026-02 | 224 | 36 | 16.1% | |
| 2026-03 | 280 | 40 | 14.3% | |
| 2026-04 | 160 | 25 | 15.6% |
Frequently Asked Questions
What percentage of tech jobs disclose salary?
As of early 2026, approximately 29.4% of tech job postings in HN Who is Hiring threads include salary information. This is up from just 5.5% in 2020, a nearly 5× increase driven primarily by state salary transparency laws.
Which salary transparency laws had the biggest impact?
New York City's Local Law 32 (effective November 2022) had the single largest immediate impact, causing a 2.5-point jump in one month. Colorado's Equal Pay for Equal Work Act (January 2021) was first but had limited initial effect as companies geo-fenced around it. California's SB 1162 (January 2023) further accelerated the trend.
Why is salary transparency increasing in tech?
The rise is driven by a combination of state legislation mandating pay disclosure, the prevalence of remote work making it harder to geo-fence around laws, and increasing worker expectations for pay transparency. Remote-first companies that post jobs nationally must comply with the strictest applicable law.
Related Research & Analysis
The Price of Transparency: Full Report
Long-form analysis with state-by-state law impact data.
Remote Jobs Trends
Remote work made geo-fencing salary laws nearly impossible.
Entry-Level Jobs Collapse
Junior roles fell 68% — and many don't disclose salary either.
Company Compensation Data
See compensation coverage rates for individual companies.