Senate Staff Levels, 1977-2022
August 2, 2023
The way staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the missions and
priorities of that organization. This report provides staffing levels in Senators’ Senate
R. Eric Petersen
committee, leadership, and other offices since 1977. From 1977 to 1986, Senate staff,
Specialist in American
excluding state-based staff, increased from 3,397 to 4,180, or 23.05%. From 1987 to
National Government
2022, all Senate staff grew from 4,916 to 6,019, or 22.44%. The changes in both time

periods were characterized in part by increases in the number of staff working in
Tyler L. Wolanin
chamber leadership offices, and, except for apparent declines in 2016-2018, increases in
Research Assistant
the staffing of chamber officers and officials. Additionally, staff working for Senators

have shifted from committees to personal offices. Some of these changes may be
indicative of the growth of the Senate as an institution, or the value the chamber places

on its various activities.
This report is one of several CRS products focusing on congressional staff. Others can be accessed through CRS
Report R44688, Congressional Staff: CRS Products.

Congressional Research Service

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he way staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the missions and priorities of
that organization.
T In Congress, employing authorities hire staff to carry out duties in Member office,
committee, leadership, and other settings. The extent to which staff in those settings change may
lend insight into the Senate’s work over time. Some of the insights that might be taken from staff
levels include
• an understanding of the division of congressional work between Senators
working individually through their personal offices, or working collectively,
through committee activities;
• similar divisions of labor between committee and leadership settings, which
could have implications for the development and consideration of legislation, the
use of congressional oversight, or deployment of staff; and
• the extent to which specialized chamber administrative operations might have
grown over time.
This report provides staffing levels in Senators’, committee, leadership, and other offices since
1977.1 No Senate resource appears to provide a publicly available, official, and authoritative
count of the actual number of staff working in the chamber by office or entity. Data presented
here are based on staff listed by chamber entity (offices of Senators, committees, leaders, officers,
officials, and other entities) in Senate telephone directories. Figure 1 displays overall staffing
levels in the Senate.
Table 1 in the “Data Tables” section below provides data for all staff listed in chamber directories
in the Senate through 2022.
Senate Staffing
Senate Staff Data Collection
Data compiled for this report are based on a count of staff listed in the Senate telephone
directories published since 1977.2 Like most sources of data, telephone directory listings have
potential benefits and potential drawbacks. Telephone directories were chosen for a number of
reasons, including the following:
• telephone directories published by the Senate are an official source of
information about the institution that are widely available;
• presumably, the number of directory listings closely approximates the number of
staff working for the Senate;

1 Discussions of how many staff are based in Washington, DC, and state facilities distinguish only between locations in
Washington, DC, and in the state.
2 The Senate did not publish a directory in 2019 and published a directory covering 2021-2022 in 2022.
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Senate Staff Levels, 1977-2022

• while arguably not their intended purpose, the directories provide a consistent
breakdown of Senate staff by internal organization at a particular moment in
time;3 and
• the directories afford the opportunity to compare staff levels at similar moments
across a period of decades.
At the same time, however, data presented below should be interpreted with care for several
reasons, including the following:
• There is no way to determine whether all staff working for the Senate are listed in
the chamber’s telephone directories. If some staff are not listed, relying on
telephone directories could lead to an undercount of staff.
• Staff working in Senators’ state offices were not listed until 1987. This could
result in an undercount of staff, and makes comparisons pre-1987 and post-1987
difficult.
• It is not possible to determine if staff who are listed were employed by the Senate
at the time the directories were published. If the directories list individuals who
are no longer employed by the Senate, then relying on them could lead to an
overcount of staff.
• The extent to which the criteria for inclusion in the directories for the Senate
have changed over time cannot be determined. Some editions of the directory do
not always list staff in various entities the same way. This may raise questions
regarding the reliability of telephone directory data as a means for identifying
congressional staff levels within the Senate over time.
• Some Senate staff may have more than one telephone number, or be listed in the
directory under more than one entity.4 As a consequence, they might be counted
more than once. This could lead to a more accurate count of staff in specific
entities within the Senate, but multiple listings may also lead to an overcount of
total staff working in the chamber.
• Chamber directories may reflect different organizational arrangements over time
for some entities. This could lead to counting staff doing similar work in both
years in different categories, or in different offices.
Senate Staff Data
It appears that the Senate telephone directories started listing Senate staff working in Senators’
state offices in 1987. Given the lack of consistent staff data from Senators’ offices prior to 1987,
comparisons between data from those offices from 1977-1986 and 1987-2022, as well as any
analysis of total staffing levels in the Senate before 1987, would be incomplete. Staff levels from
committees, leadership, and officers and officials, however, can be evaluated across the entire
1977-2022 time period. Analysis of total staffing levels, as well as staff distribution, since 1987 is
discussed below.
In the Senate, the number of staff has grown steadily, from 4,916 in 1987 to 6,019 in 2022, or
22.44%. Each year since 1987, the number of Senate staff has grown by an average of 33

3 The actual moment is the deadline that was set for the final collection of listings prior to publication. The exact date
for each year is not known, but the publication date for Senate directories was generally in the spring of each year.
4 For example, some congressional staff may work on a part-time basis for more than one Member, or for a Member
and a committee. State-based staff may be assigned to more than one state office.
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Senate Staff Levels, 1977-2022

individuals.5 From 1977 to 1986, excluding congressional staff from state offices, the number of
staff in the Senate grew steadily from 3,397 in 1977 to 4,180 in 1986, or 23.05%. Figure 1
displays staff levels for Senators’ staff, including Washington, DC- and state-based staff;
committees; leadership; and officers and officials since 1977.
Table 1 in the “Data Tables” section, below, provides detailed staff levels in those categories.
Figure 1. Senate Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2022

Source: Senate telephone directories, CRS calculations.
Notes: Data exclude Senate staff working for the President of the Senate and the President Pro Tempore. The
Senate did not publish a directory in 2019 and published a directory covering 2021-2022 in 2022.
Staff in Senators’ Offices
Staff in Senators’ offices grew from 2,068 in 1977 to 2,474 in 1986, or 19.63%. Due to the
addition of staff data in Senators’ state offices to the telephone directories beginning in 1987,
comparisons of total staff before 1986 are not possible, but staff in Senators’ Washington, DC,
offices continued to grow. In 2022, there were 2,507 staff in Senators’ DC offices, and in 1977,
there were 2,068, an increase of 21.23%. Staff in Senators’ offices, including state-based staff,
have grown from 3,286 in 1987 to 4,162 in 2022, an increase of 26.66%. In 1987, Member-office
staff comprised 66.84% of overall Senate staff. The average proportion between 1987 and 2022 is
61.85%.
Most of the growth in Senators’ staffs since 1987 appears to have been among state-based staff,
which nearly doubled in size from 935 in 1987 to 1,655 in 2022. More staff work in Washington,

5 Rounded to reflect a whole number.
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DC, offices than in state offices, but the percentage of Senators’ staff based in states has grown
steadily since 1987, while the number of staff in Senators’ Washington, DC, offices has remained
relatively flat. In 2022, 60.24% of staff listed in the Senate telephone directory as working in
Senators’ offices did so in Washington, DC, down from a high of 72.18% in 1988. Table 2 in the
“Data Tables” section below provides the number of staff working in Senators’ offices in
Washington, DC, and state offices.
Committees
Senate committee staff levels have shown the smallest change among Senate staff categories,
increasing from 1,084 in 1977 to 1,194 in 2022, or 10.15%. Change among Senate committee
staff may be characterized in five stages: an increase during 1977-1980 (20.57%); a period of
decline in 1980-1999 (-27.93%); a period of growth from 1999 to 2011 (33.97%); a decline in
2011-2013 (-11.57%); and growth from 2014 to 2022 (5.57%).
Between 1987 and 2020, committee staff comprised a decreasing proportion of Senate staff,
falling from a peak of 23.39% of Senate staff in 1987 to a low of 17.49% of staff in 1995. The
proportion of Senate committee staff grew to 19.80% in 2022.
In the “Data Tables” section below, Table 3 provides staff levels in various Senate committees for
2013-2022. Committee staff data since 1977 are available to congressional staff upon request.
Leadership Offices
The number of staff in Senate leadership offices grew from 44 in 1977 to 191 in 2022. Most of
the growth in leadership staff occurred between 1977 and 1981, from 44 to 119, or 170.45%. The
number of leadership staff peaked in 2012 at 234. Leadership employees were 2.69% of overall
Senate staff in 1987 and 3.20% in 2022.
Officers and Officials
Staff working in the offices of Senate officers and officials has increased 132.34% since 1977.
Staff levels have grown from 201 in 1977 to 467 in 2022, but were characterized by sharp
decreases in 1988, from 1998 to 2001, in 2012, and in 2016. Increases were observed in 2013,
2018, 2020, and 2022. In 2022, the proportion of officers and officials’ staff was 7.76%.
Presiding Officers
The smallest category of staff includes those working in the Senate for the President of the Senate
and the President Pro Tempore. Staff in those offices ranged from a high of 14 in 1981 to a low of
3 in 2013 and 2014. The average number of staff in the Senate offices of presiding officers
between 1977 and 2022 was 9.
Discussion
Since 1987, the number of staff working for the Senate has grown. There have been increases in
the number of staff working in Senate leadership offices, and larger increases in the staffing of
officers and officials. Staff working for Senators have shifted from committee settings to
leadership settings or Member offices. Some of these changes may be indicative of the growth of
the Senate as an institution, or the value the chamber places on its various activities.
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Senate Staff Levels, 1977-2022

One example that may arguably indicate institutional development is found in the growth of the
number of staff working in the offices of leadership, officers, and officials. A potential
explanation for this change may be found in what some might characterize as an ongoing
professionalization and institutionalization of congressional management and administration.
Some note that as organizations such as governing institutions develop, they identify needs for
expertise and develop specialized practices and processes. In Congress, some of those areas of
specialization arguably include supporting the legislative process through the drafting of
measures, oversight and support of floor activities, and the management of legislation in a
bicameral, partisan environment. Another potential explanation related to a more institutionalized,
professionalized Congress could be increased demand for professional management and support.
This could arise as a result of congressional use of communications technologies, and the
deployment of systematic, professionalized human resources processes, business operations, and
financial management. Increased specialized support of congressional legislative and
administrative activities may explain increases among staff working for chamber leaders, and
officers and officials.
In another example that may indicate changes in the value the chamber places on various
activities, the distribution of staff working directly for Senators has shifted from committee
settings to personal office settings. Staff in Member offices has grown while staff in Senate
committees has decreased, both in real numbers and in percentage of total staff. This may
represent a shift from collective congressional activities typically carried out in committees,
including legislative, oversight, and investigative work, to individualized activities typically
carried out in Senators’ personal offices, including direct representational activities, constituent
service and education, and political activity.
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Data Tables
Table 1. Senate Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2022
Year
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
1987
1988
Senators’ Offices
2,068
2,215
2,173
2,296
2,308
2,385
2,454
2,430
2,409
2,474
3,286
3,393
Committee
1,084
1,244
1,209
1,307
1,161
1,228
1,200
1,191
1,137
1,177
1,150
1,147
Leadership
44
103
55
49
119
132
136
138
121
131
132
133
Officers and Officials
201
213
230
261
253
264
327
354
376
398
348
276
Totals
3,397
3,775
3,667
3,913
3,841
4,009
4,117
4,113
4,043
4,180
4,916
4,949
Year
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
Senators’ Offices
3,354
3,445
3,612
3,707
3,593
3,826
3,771
3,773
3,678
3,876
3,801
3,823
Committee
1,167
1,174
1,176
1,216
1,141
1094
915
929
899
955
942
979
Leadership
138
144
146
156
147
163
157
156
166
162
166
159
Officers and Officials
350
340
321
362
425
393
388
353
353
280
282
279
Totals
5,009
5,103
5,255
5,441
5,306
5,476
5,231
5,211
5,096
5,273
5,191
5,240
Year
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
Senators’ Offices
3,639
3,855
3,915
4,091
4,047
4,232
4,044
4,221
4,029
4,346
4,180
4,219
Committee
915
1,071
1,047
1,126
1,078
1,146
1,147
1,182
1,153
1,246
1,262
1,200
Leadership
154
166
176
167
193
220
204
182
175
180
126
234
Officers and Officials
260
282
309
315
297
325
326
361
372
396
372
311
Totals
4,968
5,374
5,447
5,699
5,615
5,923
5721
5946
5732
6168
5,940
5,964
Year
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022

Senators’ Offices
4,037
4,071
3,965
4,120
4,035
4,112
–
4,094
–
4,162

Committee
1,116
1,131
1,114
1,153
1,110
1,137
–
1,099
–
1,
194

Leadership
164
158
177
160
173
172
–
143
–

191

Officers and Officials
379
398
381
316
315
357
–
381
–
467

Totals
5,696
5,758
5,637
5,749
5,633
5,778
–
5,717
–
6,019

Source: Senate telephone directories, CRS calculations.
Notes: Senate telephone directories published in 1981, 1996, 2009, and 2013 provided listings for 99 Senators’ offices. Data exclude Senate staff working for the
President of the Senate and the President Pro Tempore. The Senate did not publish a directory in 2019, and published a 2021-2022 directory in 2022. Before 1987, the
Senate directories did not list congressional staff in Senators’ state offices.
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Senate Staff Levels, 1977-2022

Table 2. Staff Working in Senators’ Offices, 1977-2022
Year
DC Staff
State Staff
All Member Staff
DC %
State %
1977
2,068

1978
2,215

1979
2,173

1980
2,296

1981
2,308

1982
2,385

1983
2,454

1984
2,430

1985
2,409

1986
2,474

1987
2,351
935
3,286
71.55%
28.45%
1988
2,449
944
3,393
72.18%
27.82%
1989
2,381
973
3,354
70.99%
29.01%
1990
2,430
1,015
3,445
70.54%
29.46%
1991
2,439
1,173
3,612
67.52%
32.48%
1992
2,473
1,234
3,707
66.71%
33.29%
1993
2,332
1,261
3,593
64.90%
35.10%
1994
2,474
1,352
3,826
64.66%
35.34%
1995
2,422
1,349
3,771
64.23%
35.77%
1996
2,397
1,376
3,773
63.53%
36.47%
1997
2,318
1,360
3,678
63.02%
36.98%
1998
2,407
1,469
3,876
62.10%
37.90%
1999
2,375
1,426
3,801
62.48%
37.52%
2000
2,329
1,494
3,823
60.92%
39.08%
2001
2,258
1,381
3,639
62.05%
37.95%
2002
2,334
1,521
3,855
60.54%
39.46%
2003
2,378
1,537
3,915
60.74%
39.26%
2004
2,474
1,617
4,091
60.47%
39.53%
2005
2,436
1,611
4,047
60.19%
39.81%
2006
2,521
1,711
4,232
59.57%
40.43%
2007
2,394
1,650
4,044
59.20%
40.80%
2008
2,496
1,725
4,221
59.13%
40.87%
2009
2,370
1,659
4,029
58.82%
41.18%
2010
2,513
1,833
4,346
57.82%
42.18%
2011
2,417
1,763
4,180
57.82%
42.18%
2012
2,409
1,810
4,219
57.10%
42.90%
2013
2,321
1,716
4,037
57.49%
42.51%
2014
2,340
1,731
4,071
57.48%
42.52%
2015
2,257
1,708
3,965
56.92%
43.08%
2016
2,342
1,778
4,120
56.84%
43.16%
2017
2,347
1,688
4,035
58.17%
41.83%
2018
2,395
1,717
4,112
58.24%
41.76%
2019
–
–
–
–
–
2020
2,402
1,692
4,094
58.67%
41.33%
2021
–
–
–
–
–
2022
2,507
1,655
4,162
60.24%
39.76%
Source: Senate telephone directories, CRS calculations.
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Senate Staff Levels, 1977-2022

Notes: The Senate telephone directory did not provide listings for state-based staff prior to 1987. Senate
telephone directories published in 1981, 1996, 2009, and 2013 provided listings for 99 Senators’ offices. The
Senate did not publish a directory in 2019, and published a 2021-2022 directory in 2022.
Table 3. Senate Committee Staff by Committee, 2013-2022
Committee
2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 2022
Agriculture, Nutrition, and
33
30
34
33
33
38
-
37
-
41
Forestry
Appropriations
115
125
127
133
127
125
-
129
-
131
Armed Services
45
48
50
49
49
47
-
52
-
52
Banking, Housing, and Urban
47
54
40
44
44
42
-
39
-
50
Affairs
Budget
62
59
47
39
38
41
-
30
-
37
Commerce, Science, and
62
62
74
71
47
44
-
73
-
71
Transportation
Energy and Natural
54
47
43
50
47
41
-
43
-
44
Resources
Environment and Public
Works
43
39
42
37
42
44
-
46
-
52
Finance
80
78
80
77
75
77
-
73
-
71
Foreign Relations
50
51
55
48
53
56
-
60
-
105
Health, Education, Labor, and
Pensions
77
77
89
93
80
87
-
83
-
94
Homeland Security and
Governmental Affairs
93
122
85
104
100
101
-
95
-
105
Judiciary
108
109
112
121
113
118
-
110
-
136
Rules and Administration
21
21
19
18
15
17
-
23
-
26
Small Business and
Entrepreneurship
26
18
16
25
19
17
-
18
-
15
Veterans Affairs
22
20
18
20
21
22
-
26
-
14
Select Ethics
13
14
18
14
11
15
-
15
-
16
Indian Affairs
14
17
21
21
19
21
-
18
-
18
Select Intelligence
43
38
41
40
39
37
-
36
-
42
Select Aging
16
23
19
22
19
22
-
20
-
26
Source: Senate telephone directories.
Notes: Committees are listed by names used in the 118th Congress. The Senate did not publish a directory in
2019, and published a 2021-2022 directory in 2022. Committee staff data since 1977 are available to
congressional staff upon request.
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Author Information

R. Eric Petersen
Tyler L. Wolanin
Specialist in American National Government
Research Assistant

Acknowledgments
Raymond T. Williams, and Lara Chausow, formerly Research Assistants, collected some of the data
provided.

Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
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under the direction of Congress. Information in a CRS Report should not be relied upon for purposes other
than public understanding of information that has been provided by CRS to Members of Congress in
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