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