Membership of the 114th Congress: A Profile
Released: 2016-12-05T00:00:00

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, 12,179 individuals have served in Congress: 10,886 in the House and 1,963 in the Senate. Of these Members, 669 have served in both chambers. These numbers do not include an additional 176 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 114 th Congress (2015-2016).

Party Breakdown

In the 114 th Congress, the current party alignments as of December 5, 2016, are as follows:

House of Representatives: 248 Republicans (including one Delegate), 192 Democrats (including 4 Delegates and the Resident Commissioner) and one vacancy. Senate: 54 Republicans, 44 Democrats, and 2 Independents who caucus with the Democrats.

Age

The average age of Members of the 114 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 114 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 114 th Congress was 30-year-old Elise Stefanik (R-NY), born July 2, 1984. The oldest Representative was John Conyers (D-MI), born May 16, 1929, who was 85 at the beginning of the 114 th Congress.

Senators must be at least 30 years old when they take office. The oldest Senator in the 114 th Congress is Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), born June 22, 1933, who was 81 at the beginning of the Congress. The youngest Senator is Tom Cotton (R-AR), born May 13, 1977, who was 37.

Occupations

According to the CQ Roll Call Guide to the New Congress , in the 114 th Congress, public service/politics is the dominantly declared profession of Senators, followed by law, then business; for Representatives, public service/politics is first, followed by business, then law.

Table 2 uses data from the CQ Roll Call Guide to the New Congress and the CQ Roll Call Member Profiles to show the following occupations most frequently listed for Members at the beginning of the 114 th Congress.

A closer look at the prior occupations and previously held public offices of Members of the House and Senate at the beginning of the 114 th Congress, as listed in their CQ Roll Call Member Profiles , also shows the following:

53 Senators with previous House service; 100 Members who have worked in education, including teachers, professors, instructors, school fundraisers, counselors, administrators, or coaches (85 in the House, 15 in the Senate); 3 physicians in the Senate, 15 physicians in the House, plus 3 dentists and 3 veterinarians; three psychologists (all in the House), an optometrist (in the Senate), a pharmacist (in the House), and four nurses (all in the House); seven ordained ministers, all in the House; 41 former mayors (33 in the House, 8 in the Senate); 10 former state governors (9 in the Senate, 1 in the House) and 8 lieutenant governors (4 in the Senate, 4 in the House, including 1 Delegate); 15 former judges (all but 1 in the House) and 43 prosecutors (11 in the Senate, 32 in the House) who have served in city, county, state, federal, or military capacities; one former Cabinet Secretary (in the Senate), and three ambassadors (one in the Senate, two in the House); 267 state or territorial legislators (44 in the Senate, 223 in the House); at least 102 congressional staffers (21 in the Senate, 81 in the House), as well as 7 congressional pages (3 in the House and 4 in the Senate); two sheriffs and one deputy sheriff (all in the House), two police officers in the House and one in the Senate, one firefighter in the House, and one CIA agent in the House; four Peace Corps volunteers, all in the House; one physicist, one microbiologist, one chemist, and eight engineers (all in the House, with the exception of one Senator who is an engineer); 22 public relations or communications professionals (2 in the Senate, 20 in the House), and 10 accountants (2 in the Senate and 8 in the House); five software company executives in the House and two in the Senate; 14 management consultants (4 in the Senate, 10 in the House), 6 car dealership owners (all in the House), and 2 venture capitalists (1 in each chamber); 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 16 Members who have worked in the construction industry (2 in the Senate, 14 in the House); two social workers in the Senate and six in the House and four union representatives (all in the House); six radio talk show hosts (one Senate, five House); eight radio or television broadcasters, managers, or owners (two Senate, six House); nine reporters or journalists (two Senate, seven House); and a public television producer in the House; 19 insurance agents or executives (4 Senate, 15 House) and 3 stockbrokers (2 in the Senate, 1 in the House); one screenwriter and comedian and one documentary filmmaker (both in the Senate), and an artist in the House; 29 farmers, ranchers, or cattle farm owners (4 in the Senate, 25 in the House); two almond orchard owners in the House, as well as two vintners; and 10 current members of the military reserves (8 House, 2 Senate) and 7 current members of the National Guard (6 House, 1 Senate).

Other occupations listed in the CQ Roll Call Member Profiles include emergency dispatcher, letter carrier, urban planner, astronaut, flight attendant, electrician, auto worker, museum director, rodeo announcer, carpenter, computer systems analyst, Foreign Service officer, and software engineer.

Education

As has been true in recent Congresses, the vast majority of Members (94% of House Members and 100% of Senators) at the beginning of the 114 th Congress hold bachelor's degrees. Sixty-four percent of House Members and 74% of Senators hold educational degrees beyond a bachelor's. The CQ Roll Call Member Profiles at the beginning of the 114 th Congress indicate the following:

20 Members of the House have no educational degree beyond a high school diploma; eight Members of the House have associate's degrees as their highest degrees; 82 Members of the House and 16 Senators earned a master's degree as their highest attained degrees; 159 Members of the House (36% of the House) and 54 Senators (54% of the Senate) hold law degrees; 23 Representatives and 1 Senator have doctoral (Ph.D., D.Phil., Ed.D., or D.Min) degrees; and 22 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. Fifty-four years ago, in the 87 th Congress (1961-1962), 71% of House Members and 76% of Senators held bachelor's degrees.

Four Representatives and one Senator in the 114 th Congress are graduates of the U.S. Military Academy, one Senator and one Representative graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy, and one Representative graduated from the U.S. Air Force Academy. Two Senators 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 Members of the House at the beginning of the 114 th Congress was 8.8 years (4.4 terms) and for Senators 9.7 years (1.6 terms).

At the beginning of the 114 th Congress, 61 of the Representatives, including 2 Delegates (13.8% of the total House Membership) had first been elected to the House in November 2014, and 13 of the Senators (13% of the total Senate membership) had first been elected to the Senate in November 2014. These numbers are lower than at the beginning of the 113 th Congress, when 17% of the House and 14% of the Senate were newly elected "freshmen."

At the beginning of the 114 th Congress, 131 Representatives, including 2 Delegates (30.4% of House Members), had no more than 2 years of House experience, and 27 Senators (27% 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, 1789-2015 , by [author name scrubbed] and [author name scrubbed].

Religion

Ninety-eight percent of the Members of the 114 th Congress are reported to be affiliated with a specific religion. Of the 98%, the vast majority (92%) are Christian.

Statistics gathered by the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life, which studies the religious affiliation of Members, and CQ Roll Call at the beginning of the 114 th Congress showed the following:

57% of the Members (251 in the House, 55 in the Senate) are Protestant, with Baptist as the most represented denomination, followed by Methodist; 31% of the Members (138 in the House, 26 in the Senate) are Catholic; 5.2% of the Members (19 in the House, 9 in the Senate) are Jewish; 3% of the Members (9 in the House, 7 in the Senate) are Mormon (Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints); two Members (one in the House, one in the Senate) are Buddhist , two House Members are Muslim, and one House Member is Hindu; and other religious affiliations represented include Greek Orthodox, Unitarian Universalist, and Christian Science.

Gender and Ethnicity

Female Members

A record 108 women (20% of the total membership) serve in the 114 th Congress as of November 2016, 7 more than at the beginning of the 113 th Congress. Eighty-eight women, including 4 Delegates, serve in the House and 20 in the Senate. Of the 88 women in the House, 65 are Democrats, including 3 of the Delegates, and 23 are Republicans, including 1 Delegate. Of the 20 women in the Senate, 14 are Democrats and 6 are Republicans.

African American Members

There are a record 48 African American Members (8.8% of the total membership) in the 114 th Congress, 3 more than at the beginning of the 113 th Congress. Forty-six serve in the House, including two Delegates, and two serve in the Senate. This number includes one Member of the House who is of African American and Asian ancestry and is counted in both ethnic categories in this report. Forty-four of the African American House Members, including two Delegates, are Democrats, and two are Republicans. There is a Senator of each party. Twenty African American women, including two Delegates, serve in the House.

Hispanic/Latino American Members

There are 38 Hispanic or Latino Members in the 114 th Congress, 7.0% of the total membership and a record number. Thirty-four serve in the House and four in the Senate. Of the Members of the House, 25 are Democrats (including 1 Delegate and the Resident Commissioner from Puerto Rico), 9 are Republicans, and 9 are women. There are four male Hispanic Senators (three Republicans, one Democrat). Two Hispanic Members, Representatives Linda Sánchez and Loretta Sanchez, are sisters.

Asian/Pacific Islander American Members

Fourteen Members of the 114 th Congress (2.5% of the total membership) are of Asian, South Asian, or Pacific Islander ancestry. Thirteen of them (11 Democrats, 1 Republican) serve in the House, and 1 (a Democrat) serves in the Senate. These numbers include one House Member who is also of African American ancestry and another of Hispanic ancestry; these Members are counted in both ethnic categories. Of those serving in the House, two are Delegates. Eight of the Asian Pacific American Members are female: seven in the House and one in the Senate.

American Indian Members

There are two American Indian (Native American) Members of the 114 th Congress, both of whom are Republican Members of the House.

Foreign Birth

Thirteen Representatives and three Senators (2.9% of the entire 114 th Congress) were born outside the United States. Their places of birth include Canada, Cuba, Guatemala, Japan, Peru, and Thailand. Many 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 114 th Congress, there were 101 Members (18.7% of the total membership) who had served or were serving in the military, 7 fewer than at the beginning of the 113 th Congress (108 Members) and 17 fewer than in the 112 th Congress (118 members). According to lists compiled by CQ Roll Call , the House currently has 82 veterans (including 3 female Members, as well as 1 Delegate); the Senate has 20 veterans, including 1 woman. These Members served in the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Persian Gulf War, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Kosovo, as well as during times of peace. Many have served in the reserves and the National Guard. Eight 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 114 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 [author name scrubbed].