Levels of pay for congressional staff are a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data for multiple reasons, including assessment of the costs of congressional operations, guidance in setting pay levels for staff in Member offices, or comparison of congressional staff pay levels with those of other federal government pay systems. This report provides pay data for 17 staff position titles that are typically used in House Members’ offices. These positions are the following: Caseworker, Chief of Staff, Communications Director, Constituent Services Director, Constituent Services Representative, Deputy Chief of Staff, District Deputy Director, District Director, Field Representative, Legislative Assistant, Legislative Correspondent, Legislative Director, Operations Director, Press Secretary, Scheduler, Senior Legislative Assistant, and Staff Assistant. The following table provides 2023 median pay levels for positions for which data are available in constant 2024 dollars, and change in pay between 2022 and 2023. 2023 Median Pay and Percentage Change for Selected Staff Positions in House Members’ Offices in 2024 Dollars and Percentage Change, 2022-2023 Position 2023 Pay, 2024 $ Change, 2022-2023 Position 2023 Pay, 2024 $ Change, 2022-2023 Caseworker $68,910 -0.99% Legislative Assistant $74,783 -1.01% Chief of Staff $187,060 -4.15% Legislative Correspondent $65,568 2.89% Communications Director $107,565 6.10% Legislative Director $113,199 -3.03% Constituent Services Director $97,064 11.95% Operations Director $97,064 4.00% Constituent Services Representative $64,340 2.24% Press Secretary $72,649 -15.39% Deputy Chief of Staff $130,871 -6.32% Scheduler $77,163 -2.84% District Deputy Director $90,833 -8.35% Senior Legislative Assistant $90,150 1.64% District Director $120,302 -7.93% Staff Assistant $57,852 1.07% Field Representative $66,844 -5.62% Source: Statement of Disbursements of the House, as collated by LegiStorm, various years, and CRS calculations. Change is based on 2024 dollars per the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) for the first half of 2024. Report tables provide aggregate statistics on pay for each staff position for 2001, 2004, 2009, 2014, and 2019-2023, including quartiles, median pay, and average pay. Complete data for 2001-2023 are available to congressional staff upon request. Graphic displays are also included where data are available, providing representations of pay from the following two perspectives: a line graph showing change in median pay, 2001-2023, in nominal (current) and 2024 dollars; and distributions of 2023 pay in 2024 dollars, in $10,000 increments. The Congressional Research Service provides a number of products on staffing issues. These can be found in CRS Report R44688, Congressional Staff: CRS Products.
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Document ID: R44323