How do you set a pay range for a new role in California?

Last updated September 23, 2026. What changed: Market figures moved from the May 2023 federal release to California state data updated to the first quarter of 2026, now shown as medians by Bay Area region.

Step 1: Price the job, not the person

Write down what the role does, who it reports to, what decisions it owns and what level it sits at. A “people operations manager” can mean a coordinator with a title or the head of HR. Level first, because level drives the number more than the title does.

Pricing the job before you have a candidate in mind is also what California law expects. You cannot use salary history to set pay, and SB 642 requires the posted range to be a good-faith estimate of what you expect to pay on hire.

Step 2: Pull at least three market sources

• Government data. The Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey for your metro area, published in California by the Employment Development Department and nationally by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. Updated to the first quarter of 2026, the median HR manager in San Francisco and San Mateo earns $219,798 and the median HR specialist earns $110,205; in Oakland and the East Bay the same roles pay $196,112 and $99,876. The Bay Area salary map shows 12 roles across eight regions.
• Posted ranges. California postings now carry pay scales. Ten current postings for the same role and level in your area are a live survey.
• Survey data. Paid compensation surveys segment by company size, industry and stage. Use one if the role is senior or hard to fill.

Adjust each source for date, since government data lags, and for company size. Note the market rate each source suggests.

Step 3: Set the midpoint and the spread

The midpoint is what a fully qualified person in the role should earn. Decide whether you pay at, above or below market, and set the midpoint there on purpose.

The spread is the distance from minimum to maximum. For posting purposes, keep it to what you realistically expect to offer a new hire, not the full lifetime band. A posted range of $95,000 to $120,000 for a role with a $108,000 midpoint is credible. $70,000 to $160,000 is not.

Step 4: Does it fit what you already pay?

This is the step most small employers skip, and it is the one that creates legal risk. Before posting, compare the new range to what current employees doing substantially similar work earn. If the new hire would come in above a longer-tenured employee without a job-related reason, you have created pay compression, and potentially an equal pay problem.

California’s Equal Pay Act requires equal pay for substantially similar work across sex, race and ethnicity unless the difference is explained by a seniority system, a merit system, a system measuring production, or a bona fide factor such as education or experience. Compute each person’s compa-ratio (pay divided by midpoint) and look at the outliers.

Step 5: Write down why

Save your sources, the midpoint decision and the internal comparison with the posting. If the range is ever questioned, the record shows good faith. If you later offer outside the range, note the reason at the time you make the offer.

When should you get help?

One role is manageable. Five new roles, a first-ever structure, or a team where current pay has grown by negotiation instead of design is where a pay equity review pays for itself. Knowing what a senior HR hire costs in the Bay Area also helps you decide whether to hire or bring in fractional support. And if a posting is already out without a range, start here.

McKinley holds a J.D. but is not a licensed attorney. Articles here are general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk with an employment attorney.

Data current as of September 2026. Sources are linked where each figure appears.