A new Pew Research Center study finds there were 1,761 journalists assigned to U.S. state capitol buildings as of late 2021 and early 2022. The number of reporters covering the statehouse varies widely from state to state, with some capitols filled with dozens of full-time reporters and others hosting only four or five. As in the Center’s 2014 study of statehouse reporting, the number of full-time statehouse reporters in a state is closely related to the size of the state’s population and legislative session length. State-by-state data is available below in a sortable database.
You can also read the full report, which provides a detailed accounting of the nation’s statehouse press corps and how it has changed since 2014.
| State |
Full-time (incl. session-only) |
Part-time |
Students/
interns |
Other |
Total |
Avg. legis. session (months) |
Population (2020) |
| Alabama |
15 |
4 |
2 |
|
21 |
3.14 |
5,024,279 |
| Alaska |
6 |
|
|
|
6 |
3.98 |
733,391 |
| Arizona |
16 |
15 |
7 |
|
38 |
4.44 |
7,151,502 |
| Arkansas |
7 |
11 |
|
|
18 |
1.94 |
3,011,524 |
| California |
65 |
24 |
5 |
16 |
110 |
8.50 |
39,538,223 |
| Colorado |
17 |
12 |
|
1 |
30 |
4.60 |
5,773,714 |
| Connecticut |
18 |
8 |
|
|
26 |
3.70 |
3,605,944 |
| Delaware |
5 |
6 |
|
|
11 |
5.65 |
989,948 |
| Florida |
36 |
8 |
1 |
7 |
52 |
1.98 |
21,538,187 |
| Georgia |
20 |
17 |
2 |
4 |
43 |
4.03 |
10,711,908 |
| Hawaii |
3 |
9 |
1 |
3 |
16 |
4.69 |
1,455,271 |
| Idaho |
13 |
15 |
|
|
28 |
2.80 |
1,839,106 |
| Illinois |
18 |
11 |
6 |
1 |
36 |
4.61 |
12,812,508 |
| Indiana |
18 |
6 |
7 |
|
31 |
2.93 |
6,785,528 |
| Iowa |
16 |
10 |
|
|
26 |
4.25 |
3,190,369 |
| Kansas |
13 |
8 |
4 |
1 |
26 |
4.37 |
2,937,880 |
| Kentucky |
18 |
11 |
10 |
3 |
42 |
3.02 |
4,505,836 |
| Louisiana |
14 |
14 |
11 |
3 |
42 |
2.34 |
4,657,757 |
| Maine |
9 |
10 |
|
|
19 |
4.40 |
1,362,359 |
| Maryland |
19 |
10 |
10 |
1 |
40 |
2.65 |
6,177,224 |
| Massachusetts |
17 |
13 |
11 |
2 |
43 |
11.94 |
7,029,917 |
| Michigan |
26 |
14 |
9 |
3 |
52 |
11.40 |
10,077,331 |
| Minnesota |
19 |
13 |
7 |
7 |
46 |
3.79 |
5,706,494 |
| Mississippi |
9 |
4 |
|
|
13 |
5.89 |
2,961,279 |
| Missouri |
17 |
8 |
26 |
|
51 |
4.45 |
6,154,913 |
| Montana |
26 |
9 |
2 |
2 |
39 |
3.61 |
1,084,225 |
| Nebraska |
9 |
19 |
40 |
1 |
69 |
5.94 |
1,961,504 |
| Nevada |
11 |
13 |
|
7 |
31 |
3.96 |
3,104,614 |
| New Hampshire |
10 |
9 |
1 |
|
20 |
7.26 |
1,377,529 |
| New Jersey |
28 |
10 |
1 |
|
39 |
12.00 |
9,288,994 |
| New Mexico |
11 |
40 |
|
4 |
55 |
1.52 |
2,117,522 |
| New York |
39 |
31 |
1 |
|
71 |
8.58 |
20,201,249 |
| North Carolina |
20 |
31 |
3 |
|
54 |
4.94 |
10,439,388 |
| North Dakota |
4 |
6 |
|
|
10 |
3.77 |
779,094 |
| Ohio |
34 |
13 |
10 |
1 |
58 |
11.74 |
11,799,448 |
| Oklahoma |
13 |
17 |
|
2 |
32 |
3.72 |
3,959,353 |
| Oregon |
8 |
19 |
|
1 |
28 |
3.24 |
4,237,256 |
| Pennsylvania |
28 |
10 |
|
9 |
47 |
11.16 |
13,002,700 |
| Rhode Island |
5 |
12 |
|
10 |
27 |
6.85 |
1,097,379 |
| South Carolina |
12 |
8 |
|
|
20 |
6.92 |
5,118,425 |
| South Dakota |
7 |
5 |
|
2 |
14 |
2.60 |
886,667 |
| Tennessee |
13 |
13 |
1 |
|
27 |
4.17 |
6,910,840 |
| Texas |
44 |
18 |
12 |
4 |
78 |
4.61 |
29,145,505 |
| Utah |
14 |
24 |
|
3 |
41 |
1.53 |
3,271,616 |
| Vermont |
5 |
17 |
|
|
22 |
6.63 |
643,077 |
| Virginia |
20 |
13 |
11 |
|
44 |
1.83 |
8,631,393 |
| Washington |
10 |
5 |
2 |
|
17 |
2.72 |
7,705,281 |
| West Virginia |
10 |
14 |
10 |
|
34 |
1.98 |
1,793,716 |
| Wisconsin |
30 |
8 |
2 |
|
40 |
11.95 |
5,893,718 |
| Wyoming |
5 |
5 |
1 |
|
11 |
1.39 |
576,851 |
Note: “Full-time” statehouse reporters include those who report on the statehouse full time all year and those who report on the statehouse full time only during the legislative session. N=1,761 statehouse reporters in 2022.
See Methodology for more details.
Source: Pew Research Center data collected Sept. 23, 2021-March 11, 2022, U.S. Census Bureau 2020 population estimates, and The Book of the States 2020, 2021.
Pew Research Center
