As we close out 2025, we’re keeping this week’s newsletter celebratory by rounding up the big wins for pay transparency this year!

So before we all log off, silence Slack, and pretend we don’t know what “inbox zero” is, let’s do a quick victory lap! 🏁

Manager (Ads Analytics), Best Buy: $88K-$156K (New York, NY)

Area Sales Manager, Capital One: $108K-$144K (Tampa, FL)

Software Tester, Mayo Clinic: $78K-$110K (Rochester, MN / Remote)

Electrician (University Housing), University of Illinois: $49/hr (Chicago, IL)

Sr. Creative Strategist, Liberty Mutual: $120K-$146K (Boston, MA)

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The Year Pay Transparency Went Mainstream

With legislation and enforcement picking up steam this year, 2025 was a breakout year for pay transparency in the U.S.

From celebrities and Senators disclosing their salaries to new statewide and city-mandated pay range requirements, workers are finally getting more salary information up front where it matters.

Let’s walk through which states and cities passed pay transparency laws in 2025, bills that could take effect in the future, and where this movement is headed in 2026 and beyond.

🤑 States and Cities That Enacted Pay Transparency Laws in 2025

These states and cities passed transparency laws that took effect this year:

• Cleveland, Ohio (10/27/25): All employers located within the city with 15 or more employees must provide the pay range for all jobs.

• Illinois (1/1/25): All employers with 15 or more employees must include pay ranges and benefits information in all job postings. We’re so glad we got to visit Chicago and interview workers to promote this new law in this video!

• Massachusetts (7/31/25): All employers with 25 or more employees must disclose pay ranges in job postings, provide the pay range of a position to an employee who is offered a promotion or transfer, and, on request, provide the pay range to employees who hold that position or are applying for it.

• Minnesota (1/1/25): All employers with 30 or more employees must disclose the minimum and maximum salary, or hourly wage range, and benefits for each job opening.

• New Jersey (6/1/25): All employers with 10 or more employees must disclose pay or pay ranges, as well as benefits, for each internal or external position, including promotions and transfer opportunities.

• Vermont (7/1/25): All employers with 5 or more employees must disclose the minimum and maximum salary or hourly wage range for each job opportunity, whether the work is performed in or remotely at an office or work location in VT.

👀 States and Cities to Watch

Momentum is building in these cities/states:

• Columbus, Ohio (1/1/27): All employers located within the city with 15 or more employees must provide a “reasonable” pay range for all job postings.

• Delaware (9/26/27): All employers with 26 or more employees must include pay ranges and benefits information in all job postings.

• Virginia (TBD): Outgoing Governor Glenn Youngkin will be replaced by pro-union Governor-elect Abigail Spanberger. Governor Youngkin had previously vetoed two pay transparency bills with bipartisan support, but with Spanberger in office, we expect these bills to pass.

Before we sign off for the holiday, we have to acknowledge the elephant in the room: for the first time in over 60 years, the gender pay gap widened again this year.

It’s a painful reminder that progress isn’t linear or automatic, but we have to celebrate the bigger shift: pay transparency is no longer fringe. Salary ranges are becoming standard, conversations about pay are louder, and workers are more empowered than ever to ask questions and push back.

Transparency won’t fix everything overnight, but it does change the rules of the game, and heading into the new year, those rules are finally starting to work in our favor. 🥂

In this episode of Two Cents, we’re revisiting some of our favorite interviews from the past year. From Senators on Capitol Hill to buskers, union laborers, and everyday workers across the country, these interviews reinforced one powerful truth: pay transparency changes lives when people are brave enough to speak up.

Thank you for listening, sharing, and supporting us all year long. We can’t wait to bring you even more transparency in 2026. 💚

• Is pay transparency legal where you live? 📍 Check here!

• $240K in-office vs. $120K remote 😵‍💫 Which would you take? 

• Second chances at work ⚖️ 8 careers for people with a criminal record

• Checking your list? 🎁 Shop union-made with this holiday gift guide

• Burned out? Let’s change that 💆 Low-stress jobs to watch in 2026

See you next week for more career tips, money moves, and transparent advice! 💚