House gets younger, Senate gets older: A look at the age and generation of lawmakers in the 118th Congress
The median age of voting House lawmakers is 57.9 years, while the new Senate’s median age is 65.3 years.
Numbers, Facts and Trends Shaping Your World
Drew DeSilver
Senior Writer/Editor
Drew DeSilver is a senior writer at Pew Research Center.
Publications
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Freedom Caucus likely to play a bigger role in new GOP-led House. So who are they?
In the U.S. House, Freedom Caucus members and allies have less seniority than other Republicans and are more likely to come from the South.
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118th Congress has a record number of women
Women make up 28% of all members of the 118th Congress, a considerable increase from where things stood even a decade ago.
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New Congress will have a few more veterans, but their share of lawmakers is still near a record low
The new House will have 80 members who’ve served in the military, or 18.4% of members. That’s up from 75, or 17.2%, in the 117th Congress.
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Few former presidents have run for their old jobs – or anything else – after leaving office
Donald Trump’s decision to seek the White House again puts him among a small group of ex-presidents who have then run for elective office.
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Turnout in U.S. has soared in recent elections but by some measures still trails that of many other countries
When comparing turnout among the voting-age population in recent national elections in 50 countries, the U.S. ranks 31st.
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Around one-in-five candidates for Congress or governor this year are veterans
21% of the roughly 1,000 candidates for U.S. Senate, House or state governor on the fall ballot claim some degree of military experience.
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Finding 60 votes in an evenly divided Senate? A high bar, but not an impossible one
The current Senate has managed to clear the 60-vote hurdle to avoid a filibuster on several of its main legislative achievements.
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Republicans in Congress are about three times as likely as Democrats to indicate that they own a gun
At least 110 representatives and senators in the current 117th Congress have publicly stated or otherwise confirmed that they own a gun.
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After dropping in 2020, teen summer employment may be poised to continue its slow comeback
Last summer, businesses trying to come back from the COVID-19 pandemic hired nearly a million more teens than in the summer of 2020.
