Membership of the 115th Congress: A Profile
Released: 2018-12-20T00:00:00

Overview and Total Members in History

Congress is composed of 541 individuals from the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, American Samoa, the Northern Mariana Islands, and Puerto Rico. This count assumes that no seat is temporarily vacant.

Since 1789, 12,257 individuals have served in Congress, 10,955 in the House and 1,974 in the Senate. Of these Members, 672 have served in both chambers. These numbers do not include an additional 177 individuals who have served only as territorial Delegates or as Resident Commissioners from Puerto Rico or the Philippines in the House.

The following is a profile of the 115 th Congress (2017-2018).

Party Breakdown

In the 115 th Congress, the current party alignments as of December 20, 2018, are as follows:

House of Representatives: 238 Republicans (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner of Puerto Rico), 201 Democrats (including 4 Delegates), and 2 vacant seats. Senate: 51 Republicans, 47 Democrats, and 2 Independents, who both caucus with the Democrats.

Age

The average age of Members of the 115 th Congress is among the highest of any Congress in recent U.S. history.

Table 1 shows the average ages at the beginning of the 115 th and three previous Congresses.

The U.S. Constitution requires Representatives to be at least 25 years old when they take office. The youngest Representative at the beginning of the 115 th Congress was 32-year-old Elise Stefanik (R-NY), born July 2, 1984. The oldest Representative was John Conyers (D-MI), born May 16, 1929, who was 87 at the beginning of the 115 th Congress.

Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The oldest Senator in the 115 th Congress is Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), born June 22, 1933, who was 83 at the beginning of the Congress. The youngest Senator is Tom Cotton (R-AR), born May 13, 1977, who was 39.

Occupations

According to the CQ Guide to the New Congress , in the 115 th Congress, law predominates as the declared profession of Senators, followed by public service/politics, then business; for Representatives, business is first, followed by public service/politics, then law.

In contrast to the single declared profession of the Members, Table 2 uses data from the CQ Member Profiles to show the broader range of occupational experiences over the careers of the Members by presenting the occupations most frequently listed as prior careers.

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 115 th Congress, as listed in their CQ Member Profiles , also shows the following:

50 Senators with previous House service; 101 Members have worked in education, including teachers, professors, instructors, school fundraisers, counselors, administrators, or coaches (85 in the House, 16 in the Senate); 3 physicians in the Senate, 11 physicians in the House, plus 4 dentists and 3 veterinarians; 3 psychologists (all in the House), an optometrist (in the Senate), a pharmacist (in the House), and 2 nurses (in the House); 8 ordained ministers, all in the House; 43 former mayors (35 in the House, 8 in the Senate); 12 former state governors (10 in the Senate, 2 in the House) and 7 lieutenant governors (3 in the Senate, 4 in the House, including 1 Delegate); 15 former judges (all but 1 in the House) and 47 prosecutors (12 in the Senate, 35 in the House) who have served in city, county, state, federal, or military capacities; 1 former Cabinet Secretary (in the Senate), and 3 Ambassadors (all in the House); 266 former state or territorial legislators (44 in the Senate, 222 in the House); at least 96 former congressional staffers (18 in the Senate, 78 in the House; including 3 Delegates), as well as 6 congressional pages (3 in the House and 3 in the Senate); 3 sheriffs, 1 police chief and 5 other police officers, 1 firefighter, 1 CIA agent, and 1 FBI agent (all in the House); 2 Peace Corps volunteers, all in the House; 1 physicist, 1 microbiologist, and 1 chemist, all in the House; 8 engineers (7 in the House and 1 in the Senate); 21 public relations or communications professionals (3 in the Senate, 18 in the House), and 11 accountants (2 in the Senate and 9 in the House); 6 software company executives in the House and 2 in the Senate; 18 management consultants (4 in the Senate, 14 in the House), 6 car dealership owners (all in the House), and 3 venture capitalists (2 in the House, 1 in the Senate); 18 bankers or bank executives (4 in the Senate, 14 in the House), 36 veterans of the real estate industry (5 in the Senate, 31 in the House), and 14 Members who have worked in the construction industry (2 in the Senate, 12 in the House); 9 social workers (1 in the Senate, 8 in the House) and 3 union representatives (all in the House); 7 radio talk show hosts (1 Senate, 6 House); 7 radio or television broadcasters, managers, or owners (2 Senate, 5 House); 8 reporters or journalists (1 Senate, 7 House), a public television producer in the House, and a newspapers publisher in the House; 21 insurance agents or executives (4 Senate, 17 House) and 3 Members who have worked with stocks or bonds (1 Senate, 2 House); 1 screenwriter and comedian and 1 documentary filmmaker (both in the Senate), and 1 artist and 2 speechwriters (all in the House); 26 farmers, ranchers, or cattle farm owners (4 in the Senate, 22 in the House); 2 almond orchard owners in the House as well as 1 vintner; and 10 current members of the military reserves (9 House, 1 Senate) and 6 current members of the National Guard (all in the House).

Other occupations listed in the CQ Member Profiles include emergency dispatcher, letter carrier, urban planner, astronaut, pilot, flight attendant, electrician, museum director, rodeo announcer, carpenter, computer systems analyst, software engineer, R&D lab executive, and explosives expert.

Education

As has been true in recent Congresses, the vast majority of Members (94.1% of House Members and 100% of Senators) at the beginning of the 115 th Congress hold bachelor's degrees. Sixty percent of House Members and 76% of Senators hold educational degrees beyond a bachelor's. The CQ Member Profiles at the beginning of the 115 th Congress indicate the following:

18 Members of the House have no educational degree beyond a high school diploma; 8 Members of the House have associate's degrees as their highest degrees; 100 Members of the House and 21 Senators earned a master's degree as their highest attained degrees; 167 Members of the House (37.8% of the House) and 55 Senators (55% of the Senate) hold law degrees; 22 Representatives and 2 Senators have doctoral (Ph.D., D.Phil., Ed.D., or D. Min) degrees; and 18 Members of the House and 3 Senators have medical degrees.

By comparison, approximately 35 years ago in the 97 th Congress (1981-1982), 84% of House Members and 88% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Approximately 45 years ago, in the 92 nd Congress (1971-1972), 77% of House Members and 87% of Senators held bachelor's degrees. Sixty years ago, in the 85 th Congress (1957-1958), 68% of House Members and 77% of Senators held bachelor's degrees.

Four Representatives and one Senator in the 115 th Congress are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, two Senators graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and one Representative graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. One Senator and two Representatives were Rhodes Scholars, two Representatives were Fulbright Scholars, two Representatives were Marshall Scholars, and one Senator and one Representative were Truman Scholars.

Congressional Service

The average length of service for Representatives at the beginning of the 115 th Congress was 9.4 years (4.7 House terms); for Senators, 10.1 years (1.7 Senate terms).

At the beginning of the 115 th Congress, 52 of the House Members, including the Resident Commissioner for Puerto Rico (11.8% of the total House Membership), had first been elected to the House in November 2016, and 7 of the Senators (7% of the total Senate membership) had first been elected to the Senate in November 2016. These numbers are lower than at the beginning of the 114 th Congress, when 13.8% of the House and 13% of the Senate were newly elected "freshmen."

At the beginning of the 115 th Congress, 116 House Members, including 2 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner (26% of House Members), had no more than two years of House experience, and 21 Senators (21% of Senators) had no more than two 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, 1789-2017 , by Matthew E. Glassman and Amber Hope Wilhelm.

Religion

Ninety-eight percent of the Members of the 115 th Congress are reported to be affiliated with a specific religion. Of the 98%, the vast majority (90.7%) are Christian.

Statistics gathered by the Pew Research Center on Religion and Public Life, which studies the religious affiliation of Members, and CQ at the beginning of the 115 th Congress showed the following:

55.9% of the Members (241 in the House, 58 in the Senate) are Protestant, with Baptist as the most represented denomination, followed by Methodist; 31.4% of the Members (144 in the House, 24 in the Senate) are Catholic; 5.6% of the Members (22 in the House, 8 in the Senate) are Jewish; 2.4% of the Members (7 in the House, 6 in the Senate) are Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); 3 Members (2 in the House, 1 in the Senate) are Buddhist, 2 House Members are Muslim, and 3 House Members are Hindu; and other religious affiliations represented include Greek Orthodox, Pentecostal Christian, Unitarian Universalist, and Christian Science.

Gender and Ethnicity

Female Members

A record 115 female Members (21.2% of the total membership) serve in the 115 th Congress, 7 more than at the beginning of the 114 th Congress. Ninety-two women, including 4 Delegates as well as the Resident Commissioner, serve in the House and 23 in the Senate. Of the 92 women in the House, 67 are Democrats, including 3 of the Delegates, and 25 are Republicans, including 1 Delegate as well as the Resident Commissioner. Of the 23 women in the Senate, 17 are Democrats and 6 are Republicans.

African American Members

There are a record 52 African American Members (9.6% of the total membership) in the 115 th Congress, 4 more than at the beginning of the 114 th Congress. Forty-nine serve in the House, including 2 Delegates, and 3 serve in the Senate. This number includes one Representative, as well as one Senator, 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. Forty-seven of the African American House Members, including 2 Delegates, are Democrats, and 2 are Republicans. Two Senators are Democrats and one is Republican. Twenty-one African American women, including two Delegates, serve in the House, and one serves in the Senate.

Hispanic/Latino American Members

There are 46 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 115 th Congress, 8.5% of the total membership and a record number. Forty-one serve in the House and 5 in the Senate. These numbers include one House Member who is also of Asian descent, and one House Member of African ancestry; these Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of the Members of the House, 30 are Democrats (including 1 Delegate) and 11 are Republicans (including the Resident Commissioner). Ten are women, including the Resident Commissioner. Of the five Hispanic Senators (three Republicans, two Democrats), one is a woman.

Asian/Pacific Islander American Members

Eighteen Members of the 115 th Congress (3.3% of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry. Fifteen of them (14 Democrats, 1 Republican) serve in the House, and 3 (all Democrats) serve in the Senate. These numbers include one House Member and one Senator who are also of African American ancestry, and another House Member of Hispanic ancestry; these Members are counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Of those serving in the House, two are Delegates. Eleven of the Asian, Pacific Islander, or South Asian American Members are female: 8 in the House and all 3 in the Senate.

American Indian Members

There are two American Indian (Native American) Members of the 115 th Congress; both are Republican Members of the House.

Foreign Birth

Eighteen Representatives and 5 Senators (4.2% of the 115 th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, Japan, Peru, and India. Some of these Members were born to American citizens working or serving abroad. The U.S. Constitution requires that Representatives be citizens for seven years and Senators be citizens for nine years before they take office.

Military Service

At the beginning of the 115 th Congress, there were 102 Members (18.8% of the total membership) who had served or were serving in the military, 1 more than at the beginning of the 114 th Congress (101 Members), but 6 fewer than at the beginning of the 113 th Congress (108 Members). According to lists compiled by CQ , the House as of September 11, 2018, has 76 veterans (including 2 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate has 17 veterans, including 2 women. These Members served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, and combat or peacekeeping missions in Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, as well as during times of peace. Seven House Members and one Senator are still serving in the reserves, and six House Members are still serving in the National Guard. All of the female veterans are combat veterans.

The number of veterans in the 115 th 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 97 th Congress (1981-1982) were veterans, and in the 92 nd Congress (1971-1972), 73% of the Members were veterans.

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.