Legislator Demographics
Over the past thirty-five years, legislatures have been transformed from institutions of nearly complete homogeneity to diverse bodies that increasingly reflect the American population.
Since 1969, the number of women serving in legislatures has increased substantially from several hundred to 1,667-or 22.6 percent of the 7382 seats. About 60 percent of women legislators are Democrats, but Republican women have been closing the gap in recent elections.
The 2000 census revealed that the percentage of Americans reporting Hispanic heritage was roughly equal to the percentage of African-Americans at about 12.5 percent each. That equality is not evident in state legislatures where 8.1 percent of legislators are Black and only 2.9 percent are Latino.
Lawyers are still the largest occupational group in legislatures but they are an increasingly smaller percentage. Only about 15 percent of legislators are attorneys down considerably from the mid-seventies when one-quarter of legislators were lawyers.
The average age of a state legislator is 53 and has declined slightly in recent years with the advent of term limits.
NCSL's Legislative Management Program in Denver, Colo. studies legislator demographics, and may be reached at 303-364-7700 or mailto:legislatures-info@ncsl.org?subject=[Legislatordemographics:].
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