Summary
This report presents a profile of the membership of the 117th Congress (2021-2022) as of December 13, 2022, or at the beginning of the 117th Congress (January 3, 2021), where noted. Statistical information is included on selected characteristics of Members, including data on party affiliation, average age, occupation, education, length of congressional service, religious affiliation, gender, ethnicity, foreign birth, and military service.
In the House of Representatives, there are 222 Democrats (including 4 Delegates), 215 Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), and 4 vacant seats. The Senate has 50 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and 3 Independents, who all caucus with the Democrats. Additionally,
The portions of this report covering political party affiliation, gender, ethnicity, and vacant seats may be updated as events warrant. The remainder of the report will not be updated.
Overview and Total Members in History
Congress is composed of 541 individuals1 from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. Since 1789, 12,430 individuals2 have served as either Representatives (11,116 individuals) or Senators (1,994 individuals).3 Of these individuals, 680 have served in both chambers. An additional 178 individuals have served in the House in the roles of territorial Delegates or Resident Commissioners.4
The following is a profile of the 117th Congress (2021-2022).5
In the 117th Congress, the current party alignments as of December 13, 2022,6 are as follows:
The average age at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 58.4 years for Representatives and 64.3 years for Senators.8
Table 1 shows the average ages at the beginning of the 117th and three previous Congresses.
Table 1. Average Age of Members, 114th-117th Congresses
Average (mean) age at the beginning of the Congress
|
Congress |
Representatives |
Newly Elected Representatives |
Senators |
Newly Elected Senators |
|
117th 116th 115th 114th |
58.4 years 57.6 years 57.8 years 57.0 years |
50.6 years 47.9 years 50.8 years 52.3 years |
64.3 years 62.9 years 61.8 years 61.0 years |
56.1 years 58.1 years 54.8 years 50.7 years |
Source: CRS calculations based on CQ, "117th Congress: Birthdays," https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/birthdays.
Notes: Representatives' age data do not include the Delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Newly elected Members' data do not include those returning to the House or Senate for a second time.
The U.S. Constitution requires Representatives to be at least 25 years old when they take office.9 The youngest Representative in the 117th Congress, and the youngest House Member since 1965,10 is Madison Cawthorn (R-NC), born August 1, 1995, who was 25 at the beginning of the 117th Congress. The current oldest Representative is Hal Rogers (R-KY), born December 31, 1937, who was 83.11
Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The youngest Senator in the 117th Congress is Jon Ossoff (D-GA), born February 16, 1987, who was 33 at the beginning of the Congress. The oldest Senator in the 117th Congress is Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), born June 22, 1933, who was 87.
According to data on occupations provided by CQ.com, in the 117th Congress, public service/politics is the most commonly declared profession of Senators, followed by law, then business; for Representatives, public service/politics is first, closely followed by business, then law.12
Table 2 uses summary data from CQ.com to present the occupational categories most frequently listed as prior careers of Members of the 117th Congress.
Table 2. Most Frequently Listed Occupational Categories
by Members, 117th Congress
At the beginning of the 117th Congress
|
Occupation |
Representatives |
Senators |
|
Public Service/Politics |
297 |
64 |
|
Business |
273 |
47 |
|
Law |
173 |
57 |
|
Education |
85 |
28 |
Sources: CQ.com and the CQ Member Profiles.
Note: Most Members list more than one profession when surveyed by CQ Roll Call, and the professions listed are not necessarily the ones Members practiced immediately prior to entering Congress.
A closer look at the range of prior occupations and previously held public offices of Members of the House and Senate at the beginning of the 117th Congress, as listed in their CQ Member Profiles,13 also shows the following:
Other occupations listed in the CQ Member Profiles include emergency dispatcher, letter carrier, animal nutrition specialist, waiter, electrician, rodeo announcer, carpenter, video game developer, computer systems analyst, software engineer, R&D lab executive, and explosives expert.
As has been true in recent Congresses, the vast majority of Members (93.8% of House Members and 100% of Senators) at the beginning of the 117th Congress have earned at least a bachelor's degree. Sixty-seven percent of House Members and 76% of Senators hold educational degrees beyond a bachelor's.19 The CQ Member Profiles at the beginning of the 117th Congress indicate the following:
By comparison, 35 years ago in the 100th Congress (1987-1988), 85.5% of House Members and 89% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Forty-five years ago, in the 95th Congress (1977-1978), 82.7% of House Members and 87% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Sixty years ago, in the 87th Congress (1961-1962), 76% of House Members and 76% of Senators held bachelor's degrees.22
Four Representatives and one Senator are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, five Representatives and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, one Representative graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy, and one Senator graduated from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Five Representatives and one Senator were Rhodes Scholars, two Representatives were Fulbright Scholars, two Representatives were Marshall Scholars, and two Representatives and one Senator were Truman Scholars.23
The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 117th Congress was 8.9 years (4.5 House terms); for Senators, 11.0 years (1.8 Senate terms).
Table 3. Average Length of Service for Members of Congress, 113th-117th Congresses
Average (mean) at the beginning of the Congress, in years and numbers of terms
|
Congress |
Representatives |
Senators |
|
117th |
8.9 years (4.5 terms) |
11.0 years (1.8 terms) |
|
116th |
8.6 years (4.3 terms) |
10.1 years (1.7 terms) |
|
115th |
9.4 years (4.6 terms) |
10.1 years (1.7 terms) |
|
114th |
8.8 years (4.4 terms) |
9.7 years (1.6 terms) |
|
113th |
9.1 years (4.6 terms) |
10.2 years (1.7 terms) |
Source: CRS Report R41545, Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2021, by Sarah J. Eckman and Amber Hope Wilhelm.
Notes: Representatives are elected for two-year terms. Senators are elected for six-year terms. Note that 47 Senators in the 117th Congress have previously served in the House. Their House service is not included in this average, nor is the House service of Senators included in previous Congresses.
At the beginning of the 117th Congress, 57 of the House Members (12.9% of the total House membership) had first been elected to the House in November 2020, and 9 of the Senators (9% of the total Senate membership) had first been elected to the Senate in November 2020.24 At the beginning of the 116th Congress, 20.4% of the House and 9% of the Senate were newly elected "freshmen."
At the beginning of the 117th Congress, 131 House Members (29.7% of House Members) had no more than 2 years of House experience, and 18 Senators (18% of Senators) had no more than 2 years of Senate experience.
For more historical information on the tenure of Members of Congress, see CRS Report R41545, Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2021, by Sarah J. Eckman and Amber Hope Wilhelm.
Ninety-seven percent of the Members of the 117th Congress report an affiliation with a specific religion.25
Statistics gathered by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life, which studies the religious affiliation of Representatives and Senators, and CQ at the beginning of the 117th Congress showed the following:
One hundred fifty women Members (27.7% of the total membership) serve in the 117th Congress, 19 more than at the beginning of the 116th Congress.27 One hundred twenty-six women, including 3 Delegates as well as the Resident Commissioner, serve in the House and 24 in the Senate. Of the 126 women in the House, 92 are Democrats, including 2 of the Delegates, and 34 are Republicans, including 1 Delegate as well as the Resident Commissioner. Of the 24 women in the Senate, 15 are Democrats, 8 are Republicans, and 1 is an Independent.28
By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 100th Congress (1987-1988), 24 women served in the House, and 2 in the Senate. Approximately 45 years ago, in the 95th Congress (1977-1978), there were 18 women in the House, and 3 in the Senate.
There are a record 59 African American Members (10.9% of the total membership) in the 117th Congress, 2 more than at the beginning of the 116th Congress.29 Fifty-six serve in the House, including two Delegates, and three serve in the Senate. This number includes two Representatives who are of African American and Asian ancestry, and one Representative who is of African American and Hispanic ancestry. In this report, each of these three Members is counted as belonging to two ethnic groups. Fifty-four of the African American House Members, including two Delegates, are Democrats, and two are Republicans. Two of the Senators are Democrats and one is Republican. Twenty-seven African American women, including two Delegates, serve in Congress, all in the House.30
By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), 21 African American Members served in the House, and none in the Senate. Sixty years ago, in the 87th Congress (1961-1962), there were 4 African American Members of Congress, all serving in the House.
Hispanic/Latino American Members
There are 52 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 117th Congress, 9.6% of the total membership and a record number.31 Forty-five serve in the House, including two Delegates and the Resident Commissioner, and seven in the Senate. These numbers include two House Members who are also of Asian descent, and one House Member also of African ancestry; these Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of the Members of the House, 32 are Democrats (including 2 Delegates) and 13 are Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner). Sixteen are women, including the Resident Commissioner. Of the seven Hispanic Senators (three Republicans, four Democrats), one is a woman. By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), 14 Hispanic or Latino Members served in Congress. All 14 were male Members of the House.
Asian/Pacific Islander American Members
Twenty-one Members of the 117th Congress (3.9% of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry.32 Nineteen of them (16 Democrats, 3 Republicans) serve in the House, and 2 (both Democrats) serve in the Senate. These numbers include two House Members who are also of African American ancestry, two House Members also of Hispanic ancestry, and one Member who is also Native Hawaiian (Native American); these Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of those serving in the House, three are Delegates. Eleven of the Asian, Pacific Islander, or South Asian American Members are female: nine in the House, and two in the Senate. By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 99th Congress (1985-1986), there were 5 Asian/Pacific Islander Americans in the House, and 2 in the Senate.
There are six Native American (American Indian, Alaska Native, or Native Hawaiian) Members of the 117th Congress: three Republicans and three Democrats, all in the House.33 This is 1.1% of the total congressional membership, and a record number.
Twenty-nine Representatives and five Senators (6.3% of the 117th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Canada, Cuba, Germany, Guatemala, Japan, Peru, and India. Some of these Members were born to American citizens working or serving abroad.34 The U.S. Constitution requires that Representatives be citizens for seven years and Senators be citizens for nine years before they take office.35
At the beginning of the 117th Congress, there were 91 individuals (16.8% of the total membership) who had served or were serving in the military, 5 fewer than at the beginning of the 116th Congress (96 Members). According to lists compiled by CQ, the House as of January 2021 had 75 veterans (including 4 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate had 16 veterans, including 2 women.36 These Members' service included tours of duty in the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War, and combat or peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo. Six House Members and one Senator are still serving in the reserves, and seven House Members are still serving in the National Guard. Two of the six female veterans are combat veterans.
The number of veterans in the 117th Congress reflects the trend of steady decline in recent decades in the number of Members who have served in the military. For example, 64% of the Members of the 97th Congress (1981-1982) were veterans, and in the 92nd Congress (1971-1972), 73% of the Members were veterans. According to the Military Times, the 117th Congress veterans numbers are at the "lowest since the start of World War II."37
For summary information on the demographics of Members in selected past Congresses, including age trends, occupational backgrounds, military veteran status, and educational attainment, see CRS Report R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen.38
| 1. |
This 541 number is the maximum number of individuals who may currently serve in the House and Senate and assumes that no seat is temporarily vacant. As of December 13, 2022, there are four House vacancies. The 541 number includes the 535 Members from the 50 states (100 Senators, 435 Representatives), 5 Members who are Delegates (from the District of Columbia, Guam, American Samoa, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands), and 1 Member who is Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico. References in this report to "Representative(s)" include the 435 Members of the House from the 50 states and exclude the Members who are Delegates and the Resident Commissioner. Percentages in this report assume a full Congress of 541 Members. For more information on the status of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner, refer to CRS Report R40170, Parliamentary Rights of the Delegates and Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico, by Christopher M. Davis. |
| 2. |
U.S. Congress, House, Office of the Historian, "Total Members of the House and State Representation," at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Total-Members/Total-Members/, updated January 21, 2021, and CRS calculations. Information about all the Members who have served in Congress is available in the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress, a website maintained by the Clerk of the House and the Secretary of the Senate at http://bioguide.congress.gov. |
| 3. |
A cumulative, chronological list of all U.S. Senators is available on the Senate website at http://www.senate.gov/artandhistory/history/common/briefing/senators_chronological.htm. Information about all House Members is available on the House website at http://history.house.gov/Institution/Total-Members/Total-Members/. |
| 4. |
The Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico serves a four-year term, unlike other House members who serve two-year terms. The Philippines was represented in the House by Resident Commissioners from 1907 until 1946, when it became an independent nation. For more information, see CRS Report R40555, Delegates to the U.S. Congress: History and Current Status, by Christopher M. Davis. |
| 5. |
For background information on the previous Congress, refer to CRS Report R45583, Membership of the 116th Congress: A Profile, by Jennifer E. Manning. |
| 6. |
The 117th Congress began on January 3, 2021, with the following party alignments: House of Representatives: 226 Democrats (including 4 Delegates), 213 Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), and 2 vacant seats; Senate: 51 Republicans, 46 Democrats, 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats, and 1 vacant seat. |
| 7. |
One Senator changed their party affiliation from Democrat to Independent on December 8, 2022. |
| 8. |
For more information about age distributions in the 117th Congress, see Pew Research Center, "Boomers, Silents still have most seats in Congress, though number of Millennials, Gen Xers is up slightly," February 12, 2021, at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/02/12/boomers-silents-still-have-most-seats-in-congress-though-number-of-millennials-gen-xers-is-up-slightly/. |
| 9. |
Article I, Section 2, clause 2, of the U.S. Constitution. |
| 10. |
Rep. Jed Johnson Jr. (D-OK) was sworn into the 89th Congress (1965-66) 7 days after he turned 25. |
| 11. |
The former oldest Representative in the 117th Congress, Rep. Don Young (R-AK), passed away on March 18, 2022, at the age of 87. |
| 12. |
These data do not include the Delegates and Resident Commissioner. For more summary information on the occupational backgrounds of Members of Congress, 1953-present, see the "Prior Occupations" tables in Chapter 1, "Demographics of members of Congress" in Vital Statistics on Congress at https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/vital-statistics-on-congress/, a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and Brookings Institution. Please note that the data in these third-party resources are unlikely to be updated after publication. |
| 13. |
CQ Member Profiles are available on the CQ.com subscription database at http://www.cq.com/members/home.do. The CQ.com database is available in all House and Senate offices, as well as some academic libraries. The profiles are also available in print form in the CQ publication Politics in America. The professions listed here are not exhaustive and are not necessarily the ones practiced by Members immediately prior to entering Congress. Most Members list more than one profession in their CQ Member Profiles. |
| 14. |
One of the medical doctors in the Senate is an ophthalmologist. For more information on medical professionals serving in the House, see the Library of the House of Representatives' "Member Demographics" web page at https://clerk.house.gov/Members#Demographics. For Senators, see the Senate Historical Office's "Physicians in the Senate" web page at https://www.senate.gov/senators/PhysiciansintheSenate.htm. |
| 15. |
In addition, one Senator previously served as the U.S. Trade Representative, a position carrying the rank and title of Ambassador. |
| 16. |
National Conference of State Legislators, "Former State Legislators in the 117th Congress" (as of December 30, 2020), at https://www.ncsl.org/ncsl-in-dc/publications-and-resources/former-state-legislators-in-congress.aspx. |
| 17. |
Michael L. Koempel and Judy Schneider, Congressional Deskbook, 6th ed. (Washington: TheCapitol.Net, 2012), Figure 5.22, supplemented by data from CQ Member Profiles and House and Senate payroll documents. |
| 18. |
The job titles for these consultants in their CQ Member Profiles include "management consultant," "ethics consultant," and "nonprofit consultant." |
| 19. |
CQ, "117th Congress: Education," at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/education. |
| 20. |
An additional House Member with a doctoral degree was sworn in in April 2021. |
| 21. |
Four Senators and 14 Representatives have M.D. degrees, 1 Senator has an O.D. (doctor of optometry) degree, 5 Representatives have D.D.S. (doctor of dental surgery) degrees, and 1 Representative has a D.V.M. (doctor of veterinary medicine) degree. |
| 22. |
CRS Report R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen. |
| 23. |
Rhodes and Marshall scholarships fund study at British universities; Fulbright scholarships fund international exchange programs; Truman scholarships fund graduate study toward public service. One of the House Rhodes Scholars counted here resigned in May 2022, and one of the House Truman Scholars resigned in September 2022. |
| 24. |
In addition, one Senator was appointed to and sworn into the Senate in January 2021, after the 117th Congress began. |
| 25. |
Nineteen Members of the 117th Congress do not specify a religious affiliation, or report themselves as unaffiliated. Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life Project, "Faith on the Hill: The Religious Composition of the 117th Congress," January 4, 2021, at https://www.pewforum.org/2021/01/04/faith-on-the-hill-2021/. |
| 26. |
Detailed religious affiliation information for Members of the 117th Congress, and comparisons to the U.S. general population, are available at https://www.pewforum.org/2021/01/04/faith-on-the-hill-2021/. |
| 27. |
The 117th Congress began with 148 women Members; one woman House Member was sworn in in February 2021, one woman Senator resigned in January 2021 to become Vice President, and another woman Senator's temporary term ended in January 2021. In March 2021, two women House Members resigned to join the President's Cabinet, and an additional woman House Member was sworn in in April 2021, followed by another in June 2021, another in November 2021, another in January 2022, two more in June 2022, and one in September 2022. One woman House Member died in August 2022, and another resigned in December 2022 |
| 28. |
For more information, see CRS Report RL30261, Women in Congress, 1917-2022: Service Dates and Committee Assignments by Member, and Lists by State and Congress, by Jennifer E. Manning and Ida A. Brudnick, and the Office of the House Historian's Women in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/Exhibition-and-Publications/WIC/Women-in-Congress/. |
| 29. |
The 117th Congress began with 62 African American Members. In January 2021, after the 117th Congress began, one African American House Member resigned to become Senior Advisor and Director of Public Engagement in the Biden Administration, one Senator resigned to become Vice President, and another Senator was sworn in. In March 2021, one African American House Member resigned to become Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and in May 2022, another resigned to become lieutenant governor of New York. One African American House Member died in April 2021, and another died in November 2021. One African American House Member resigned in December 2022 to become mayor of Los Angeles. New African American House Members were sworn in in May 2021, November 2021, and January 2022. For more information, see the Office of the House Historian's Black Americans in Congress website at https://history.house.gov/baic/. |
| 30. |
For more information, see CRS Report RL30378, African American Members of the U.S. Congress: 1870-2020, by Ida A. Brudnick and Jennifer E. Manning, and the Office of the House Historian's Black Americans in Congress website at https://history.house.gov/baic/. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, demographic data in other studies on Members of Congress may differ from those presented in this report. |
| 31. |
This number includes three House Members and one Senator who are of Portuguese ancestry and belong, or have belonged, to the Congressional Hispanic Caucus or the Congressional Hispanic Conference. One House Member of Portuguese ancestry resigned in January 2022, another Hispanic House Member resigned in March 2022, and another resigned in May 2022; one Hispanic House Member was sworn in in June 2022. For more information, see the Office of the House Historian's Hispanic Americans in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/Exhibitions-and-Publications/HAIC/Hispanic-Americans-in-Congress/. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, demographic data in other studies on Members of Congress may differ from those presented in this report. |
| 32. |
The 117th Congress began with a record 22 Asian/Pacific Islander American Members; one Senator resigned in January 2021 to become Vice President of the United States. For more information, see the Office of the House Historian's Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Congress website at http://history.house.gov/apa/. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, demographic data in other studies on Members of Congress may differ from those presented in this report. |
| 33. |
The 117th Congress began with six Native American (American Indian, Alaska Native, and Native Hawaiian) Members. One Native American House Member resigned in March 2021 to become Secretary of the Interior. One Alaska Native House Member was sworn in in September 2022. One Native Hawaiian Member is also of Asian ancestry and is counted in both ethnic categories in this report. This number includes only Members who are enrolled members of federally recognized tribes. For more information, see CRS congressional distribution memorandum, Members of Congress of American Indian Descent, by Jennifer Manning, available to congressional offices upon request. |
| 34. |
For more information, see Pew Research Center, "Immigrants and Children of Immigrants make up at least 14% of the 117th Congress," February 12, 2021, at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/02/12/immigrants-and-children-of-immigrants-make-up-at-least-14-of-the-117th-congress/; Office of the Senate Historian's Senators Born Outside the United States list at https://www.senate.gov/senators/Foreign_born.htm; and the Library of the House of Representatives' Foreign Born list at https://clerk.house.gov/documents/Foreign-Born.pdf. |
| 35. |
Article I, Section 2, clause 2, and Article I, Section 3, clause 3 of the U.S. Constitution. |
| 36. |
CQ, "117th Congress: House Military Veterans," at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/house-veterans; and "117th Congress: Senate Military Veterans," at https://plus.cq.com/members/factfile/senate-veterans. Both lists are frequently updated to reflect changes since the 117th Congress convened. |
| 37. |
For more information and a list of current veteran Members, see the Military Times, "Veterans in the 117th Congress, by the numbers," December 28, 2020, at https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2020/12/28/veterans-in-the-117th-congress-by-the-numbers. |
| 38. |
Because of differences in data sources used, some demographic information may differ between CRS Report R42365, Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945, coordinated by R. Eric Petersen, this report, and other demographic studies of Congress. In addition to the CQ Member Profiles, other sources of demographic information for the 117th Congress include Vital Statistics on Congress at https://www.brookings.edu/multi-chapter-report/vital-statistics-on-congress/, a joint project of the American Enterprise Institute and the Brookings Institution; and the Library of the House of Representatives' "Member Demographics" web page at https://clerk.house.gov/Members#Demographics, which features lists of House Members such as "117th Congress—Lawyers" and "117th Congress—Former Mayors." The Secretary of the Senate also maintains a collection of lists about Senators at https://www.senate.gov/reference/Senators.htm. For summary information, see Pew Research Center Fact Tank's "Racial, ethnic diversity increases yet again with the 117th Congress," at https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2021/01/28/racial-ethnic-diversity-increases-yet-again-with-the-117th-congress/. |
Document ID: R46705