Questions about the characteristics of Members of Congress, including their age, education, previous occupations, and other descriptors, are of ongoing interest to Members, congressional staff, and constituents. Some of these questions may be asked in the context of representation, in efforts to evaluate the extent to which Members of Congress reflect their constituencies and the nation at large. In other instances, questions arise as to how the characteristics of Members have changed over time, which may speak in part to the history of Congress. No government entity has collected data on Members in a consistent manner for all Congresses. This report provides profiles of Senators and Representatives based on selected characteristics since 1945. Data provided in this report are based on the number of Representatives and Senators who took seats on the first day of a new Congress. The report provides data on the following characteristics: age, including the oldest and youngest Members of the House and Senate; sex; previous occupation; race and ethnicity; education; religion; and military service. In some categories, the report provides data on the U.S. population that may be comparable to data available on Members of Congress, as discussed in more detail below. Following the characteristic summaries, the report provides a number of tables that provide the detailed data by the category on which the summaries are based. All data tables appear in the " Member Characteristics Data Tables " section. A detailed discussion of the methods used to develop the data presented in the report, and efforts to provide comparison between Member characteristics and the American public, is provided in an Appendix . Due to differences in data collection or characterization, data in other studies on Member characteristics may differ from those presented in this report. Members in 2013 are older, more likely to identify a religious affiliation, and include more women and members of racial and ethnic groups than Members in 1945. The data suggest that since the 79 th Congress, Members have had high levels of education, and worked in professional positions prior to coming to Congress. The number of Members who previously served in the military has risen and fallen, possibly in tandem with the levels of service in the broader population. Senator or Representative, the disclosure of details of a Member's race, education, previous occupation, or other characteristics over the years has been voluntary, and has not been collected by congressional or other governmental authorities. Data on religious affiliations of the U.S. population are taken from a private source, as discussed in the " Religion " section below.
Questions about the characteristics of Members of Congress, including their age, education, previous occupations, and other descriptors, are of ongoing interest to Members, congressional staff, and constituents. Some of these questions may be asked in the context of representation, in efforts to evaluate the extent to which Members of Congress reflect their constituencies and the nation at large. In other instances, questions arise about how the characteristics of Members have changed over time, which may speak in part to the history of Congress.
This report provides profiles of Senators and Representatives in selected Congresses since 1945. It includes data based on Representatives and Senators serving on the first day of the 79th – 113th Congresses for several demographic characteristics. The characteristics discussed include age, including the oldest and youngest Members of the House and Senate; sex; previous occupation; race and ethnicity; education; religion; and military service.
Following summaries of each characteristic, the report provides a number of tables that present the detailed data by the category on which the summaries are based. All data tables appear in the "Member Characteristics Data Tables" section.
In several categories, the report provides data on the U.S. population that may be comparable to data available on Members of Congress. A detailed discussion of the methods used to develop the data presented in the report, and efforts to provide comparison between Member characteristics and the American public, is provided in an Appendix.
The disclosure of details of a Member's race, education, previous occupation, or other characteristics has been voluntary, and no official, authoritative source has collected Member characteristic data in a consistent manner over time. Member data provided in this report are based on commercially collected information. Comparative data on the U.S. population are taken from the Census Bureau, and are supplemented by private sources.
Compared to Representatives and Senators in 1945, Members in 2013 are
older; more likely to identify a religious affiliation; include more women; and include members of minority racial and ethnic groups in greater numbers.
The data presented in this report suggest that since the 79th Congress, Members have had high levels of education, and generally worked in professional positions prior to coming to Congress. The number of Members who previously served in the military has risen and fallen, which may mirror the levels of service in the broader population.
Other Congressional Research Service reports also provide data and information on the characteristics of Members. These include CRS Report R42964, Membership of the 113th Congress: A Profile; CRS Report R41647, Membership of the 112th Congress: A Profile; and CRS Report R41545, Congressional Careers: Service Tenure and Patterns of Member Service, 1789-2013. Due to differences in data collection or characterization, data in other studies on Member characteristics may differ from those presented in this report.