Posting requirements have visibly changed the market: ranges are now normal on job advertisements well beyond the states that require them, because remote roles and multi-state employers pull the strictest rule everywhere. What the laws have done to actual pay levels is far less settled, and most of the confident numbers in circulation come from vendor surveys of their own customers rather than from independent measurement.
What is clearly true
Ranges are far more common than they were, including on postings with no legal obligation behind them. That is a direct consequence of coverage following where work can be performed, plus the simple fact that a posting without a range now looks unusual next to ones that have one.
Salary history questions have also become rarer, because bans apply in many jurisdictions and a national recruiting process is easier to run one way everywhere.
What is claimed and less well supported
That transparency has narrowed pay gaps by a specific amount. Figures like this circulate widely and most trace back to surveys run by compensation software vendors among their own users, which is a sample of employers who already care about this enough to buy the software.
That is not a reason to dismiss the direction. It is a reason not to repeat a decimal point you cannot check.
The second-order effects that are visible
Wider posted ranges, as employers hedge. More multi-level postings. More internal questions from existing employees who can now see what their own role is advertised at — which is frequently above what they are paid, and is one of the most predictable consequences of publishing a band.
What it means for you
You can now see a number before applying in much of the market, which is a real change in the balance of information. Use it as the anchor, and treat any claim about what transparency has done to aggregate pay with the same scepticism you would apply to any figure without a public method behind it.
Common questions
Have transparency laws changed the market?
Visibly, in what gets published. Ranges are now common well beyond the states requiring them, largely because remote roles pull the strictest rule everywhere.
Have they raised pay?
That is far less settled. Most confident figures come from vendor surveys of their own customers rather than independent measurement.
Why are posted ranges getting wider?
Employers hedge when a number is compulsory, and multi-level postings cover several titles at once.
What happens inside a company?
Existing employees can see what their own role is advertised at, which is frequently above what they are paid. It is the most predictable consequence of publishing a band.
How should I use a posted range?
As the anchor for the conversation, and with the level question attached so you know which part of it applies to you.