diff --git a/pyproject.toml b/pyproject.toml
index 638dd9c54..80f094f19 100644
--- a/pyproject.toml
+++ b/pyproject.toml
@@ -1,3 +1,3 @@
 [build-system]
-requires = ["setuptools>=61.0"]
+requires = ["setuptools>=61.0,<82.0"]
 build-backend = "setuptools.build_meta"
diff --git a/setup.py b/setup.py
index 463af50c3..d832be730 100644
--- a/setup.py
+++ b/setup.py
@@ -44,6 +44,7 @@
     install_requires = [
         "numpy",
         "black>=22.1.0",
+        "setuptools>=61.0,<82.0",  # needed for hyperopt
         "hyperopt>=0.2,<=0.2.7",
         "jsonschema<=5",
         "jsonsubschema>=0.0.6",