What should I say when they ask my salary expectations in California?

What does California law give you?

California Labor Code section 432.3 does three things for you. An employer cannot ask about your salary history, directly or through an agent (the salary history ban). An employer must give you the pay scale for the position if you reasonably request it. And an employer with 15 or more employees must include the pay scale in the job posting itself.

Since January 1, 2026, SB 642 defines that pay scale as a good-faith estimate of what the employer reasonably expects to pay for the position upon hire. A posted range of $80,000 to $240,000 for a single role no longer passes the smell test, and you can say so politely.

That means the question “what are your salary expectations?” is not the start of the conversation. The posted range is. If the posting has no range and the employer has 15 or more employees, the posting is out of compliance. Here is what you can do about a posting with no range.

The words to use

When the question comes, try this: “Before I name a number, can you share the range budgeted for this role? I want to make sure we’re aligned.” If they give it, you know the ceiling.

If they push back, name a range with a source behind it: “Based on market data for this role and level in the Bay Area, I’m looking at $145,000 to $160,000.” Swap in your own figures from the posted range, the Bay Area salary map and offers you have seen for the same level.

Offers tend to land near the bottom of the range you state. So the bottom of your range has to be your real target, not your floor. Your floor is your walk-away number, and you keep that to yourself.

What if they insist on a single number?

Some recruiters will not move until you give one figure. Give the top of your researched range and attach the reason: “For this scope, $160,000. That reflects the range for senior roles in the Bay Area and the two areas I’d own on day one.” A number with a reason is harder to discount than a number alone, and it moves the conversation from what you want to what the role is worth.

If the recruiter says the budget is lower, ask what flexibility exists in the rest of the package before you respond. Base, signing bonus, equity, title and start date are separate levers. The cost of taking the first offer compounds for twenty years, so a pause here is worth it.

What should you not say?

• Do not state your current salary. You are not required to, and it anchors the offer to your past rather than to the role.
• Do not say “whatever is fair.” Fair to the employer is the bottom of the band.
• Do not give a single number with no source. A number with market data behind it reads as research; a number without it reads as a wish.
• Do not apologize for asking. The law already made the range your business.

Why this matters more for urban professionals

If you are the first in your family at this level, the inherited advice was probably to take what they give you. That advice kept earlier generations safe, and at your level it costs you. Salary history bans exist in part because anchoring pay to past pay carries old gaps forward.

Research on race and negotiation also shows the same ask can land differently depending on who makes it, which is why the way you frame the ask matters as much as the number. Using the range the law gives you, and knowing the other California rules that apply before you sign, is how you stop carrying old gaps into a new job.

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.