House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-
November 28, 2023
2023
R. Eric Petersen
This report provides staffing levels in House Member, committee, leadership, and other offices
Specialist in American
since 1977. Between 1977 and 2023, the number of House staff grew from 8,831 to 9,247, or
National Government
4.71%.
These changes were characterized in part by increases in the number of staff working in chamber leadership offices, and
larger increases in the staffing of chamber officers and officials. House staff working for Members have shifted from
committee settings to the personal offices of Members. Some of these changes may be indicative of the change and evolution
of the House as an institution, as the manner in which staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the mission and
priorities of that organization.
This report is one of several CRS products focusing on congressional staff. Links to others may be found in CRS Report
R44688, Congressional Staff: CRS Products.
Congressional Research Service
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Contents
House Staffing ................................................................................................................................. 2
House Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 2
House Staff Data ....................................................................................................................... 3
House Member Offices ....................................................................................................... 4
Committees ......................................................................................................................... 5
Leadership Offices .............................................................................................................. 5
Officers and Officials .......................................................................................................... 5
Commissions ....................................................................................................................... 5
Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Data Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Figures
Figure 1. House Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023 ................................................................... 4
Figure 2. Distribution of House Member Office Staff, 2023 ........................................................... 5
Tables
Table 1. House of Representatives Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023....................................... 7
Table 2. Staff Working in House Member Offices, Selected Years Since 1977 .............................. 9
Table 3. House Committee Staff, 2014-2023 ................................................................................ 10
Contacts
Author Information ......................................................................................................................... 11
Congressional Research Service
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he manner in which staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the mission and
priorities of that organization.
T In the House of Representatives, 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 work of the House over time. Some of the insights that
might be taken from staff levels include
• an understanding of the division of congressional work between Members
working individually through their personal offices, or collectively, through
committee activities; and
• the relationship between committee leaders and chamber leaders, which could
have implications for the development and consideration of legislation or the use
of congressional oversight; and the extent to which specialized chamber
administrative operations have grown over time.
This report provides staffing levels in House Member,1 committee, leadership, and other offices
since 1977. No House source appears to officially and authoritatively track the actual number of
staff working in the chambers by office or entity. Data presented here between 1977 and 2019 are
based on staff listed by chamber entity (offices of Members, committees, leaders, officers,
officials, and other entities) in telephone directories published by the House. Data for 2020-2023
are taken from the House Telephone Directory website available to Members of the House and
their staff.
Table 1 in the “Data Tables” section below provides data for staff listed in House directories
through 2023.
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 House are an official source of information
about that institution, and are widely available; and
• presumably, the number of directory listings closely approximates the number of
staff working for the House.2
At the same time, data presented below should be interpreted with care for a number of reasons,
including the following:
• There is no way to determine whether all staff working for the House were listed
in the chamber’s telephone directories or are included in the online House
Telephone Directory. If some staff are not listed, relying on telephone directories
is likely to lead to an undercount of staff.
• It is not possible to determine if those staff who are listed were actually
employed by the House at the time the directories were published or data were
1 Throughout this report, the terms “Member office,” “personal office,” and “House Member’s office” refer to the
office held by a Member of the House upon election to Congress. They do not refer to the number of facilities in which
that work is carried out. Discussions of how many staff are based in Washington, DC, and congressional district
facilities distinguish only between locations in Washington, DC, or in the congressional district. The report does not
provide an office-by-office accounting of staff working in multiple district facilities.
2 The actual moment printed telephone directories capture 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 publication dates for the House directories were
generally in the spring of each year. Data taken from the online House Telephone Directory were collected on
September 15, 2020, and during June 2021, 2022, and 2023.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
collected from the House Telephone Directory. If the directories list individuals
who are no longer employed by the House, then relying on them is likely to lead
to an overcount of staff.
• The extent to which the criteria for inclusion in the directories for the House have
changed over time cannot be fully determined. Some editions of the House’s
directories do not always list staff in various entities the same way.3
• Some House staff may have more than one telephone number, or be listed in the
directory under more than one entity. Consequently, in data covering 1977-2019,
they might be counted more than once.4
• Chamber directories may reflect different organizational arrangements over time
for some entities. This could lead to counting staff doing similar work in different
years in different categories,5 or in different offices.6
House Staffing
House Data Collection
House staff data covering the period 1977-2019 were developed based on an estimate of staff
working in Member offices, and a full count of staff listed in all non-Member congressional
offices listed in each House telephone directory.7 In some years, the House published two
directories. When that was the case, data were taken from the earlier publication.
A full count of House Member offices would have exceeded available resources, and would have
been unlikely to yield a significantly different result than that which would result from a count of
staff working in a random sampling of Members’ offices. Since 1975, the House has limited the
number of full-time staff working in a Member’s office to 18 permanent employees; in 1979 up to
four employees who may work part time or other, limited circumstance, were authorized.8 As a
consequence, among all congressional entities, House Member office staffing is the least likely to
show a high degree of variability. For each year, 1977-2019, a random sample of 45 Member
offices was drawn in proportion to the distribution of Member offices in the Cannon, Longworth,
and Rayburn House office buildings in 2014.9 Staff telephone data from those offices were
3 In some instances, a listing for a House entity would not list staff. In other instances, there were significant changes in
the number of staff from year to year, and it could not be determined whether that was a consequence of changing
organizational practices, or differences in the way staff were included in the directory.
4 Some staff may work on a part-time basis for more than one Member, or for a Member and a committee. In the online
version of the House Telephone Directory, some are listed as staff for a committee and one or more joint committees.
In circumstances where staff were identified in multiple Member offices, committees, or leadership settings, they were
counted once. This resulted in a reduction of approximately 250 staff per year after 2020.
5 In 1977, House Information Systems (HIS) staff were listed with staff from the Committee on House Administration
(CHA). In 2009, House Information Resources, the successor entity to HIS, was listed as a component of the Office of
the Chief Administrative Officer. In this instance, HIS staff listed under CHA are counted as Officer and Officials staff
regardless of their initial listing.
6 For example, several administrative activities now carried out by staff of the Chief Administrative Officer were
previously overseen by the Committee on House Administration, House Clerk, or Sergeant at Arms.
7 Entities and staff that are not a part of the House, but were listed in the directory (including the Senate, other
legislative branch entities, executive branch agencies, and vendors) are excluded from these data.
8 2 U.S.C. §5321.
9 Since 2014, the Cannon House Office Building has been undergoing a substantial renewal project that has displaced
some Member offices. Due to these dislocations, the proportion of Member offices sampled 2015-2019 may not be
directly comparable to samples collected 1977-2014.
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counted and assumed to be in Washington, DC, if they were listed as working in the Cannon,
Longworth, or Rayburn buildings, and outside of Washington, DC, if they were not. The average
number of staff working in Washington, DC, and in district offices was computed. Those data
were multiplied by the number of Member offices10 to derive an estimate of the number of staff
employed in personal offices who work in House Member offices. Table 2 in the “Data Tables”
section below provides the computed averages from the sample data and the estimated House
Member staff working in Washington, DC, and district offices.
Member office data for 2020-2023 are based on a full count of all offices listed in the online
House Telephone Directory.
Committee data are based on a full count of all printed telephone directory listings for House
standing, special, and select committees as described in individual directory listings for 1977-
2019, and in the online House Telephone Directory for 2020-2023. The data also include
associate staff of the Committees on the Budget, Rules, and Ways and Means where applicable.
Table 3 provides staff levels in various House committees, 2014-2023.11
Data for leadership offices include a full count of staff working for Members in leadership
positions. In 2023, these listings included the following: Speaker, Majority Leader, Majority
Whip, Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and Democratic and Republican Cloakrooms. Other
leadership positions included House Republican Conference, House Republican Policy
Committee, House Republican Study Committee, and House Democratic Caucus. Data for
chamber officers and other House officials include a full count of staff working for House officers
and officials. In 2023, House officers included the Clerk, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative
Officer, and Chaplain. Officials included staff in the offices of Parliamentarian,
Interparliamentary Affairs, Law Revision Counsel, Legislative Counsel, General Counsel,
Inspector General, and House Historian.
Commissions data comprise the smallest category of House data, and are based on a full count of
those entities. In 2023, commissions data included staff working for the House Communications
Standards Commission (HCSC; listed in the House Telephone Directory as the Commission on
Congressional Mailing Standards and sometimes known as the Franking Commission); the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (typically referred to as the Helsinki
Commission); the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People’s Republic of China; and
the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
House Staff Data
Between 1977 and 2023, the number of House staff overall grew from 8,831 to 9,247, or by
4.71%. Since 2014, the number of staff working in the House has been flat with growth of 0.78%.
The number of House staff across all categories has grown by an average of 9 individuals
annually,12 or 0.15%.
Figure 1 displays staff levels in five categories since 1977. These categories include staff
working in the offices of
• Members,
• committees,
10 House Member offices includes Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner. The number of House
Member offices was 439 in 1977-1978, 440 in 1979-2008, and 441 in 2009-present.
11 Individual committee data since 1977 are available to congressional staff upon request.
12 Rounded to reflect a whole number.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
• leadership,
• officers and officials, and
• commissions.
Figure 1 also provides the distribution of Congress staff by category in 2023.
Table 1, in the “Data Tables” section below, provides detailed staff levels in those categories.
Figure 1. House Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023
Source: Annual House telephone directories, online House Telephone Directory, CRS estimates and
calculations.
Notes: House Member office data are estimates developed from a sample of 45 Member offices for each year,
1977-2019, multiplied by the number of Member offices. Member office data for 2020-2023, and al other
categories, 1977-2023, are based on a ful count of directory listings.
House Member Offices
Staff levels in House Member offices have increased slightly from 6,556 in 1977 to 6,680 in
2023, or 1.89%. Since 2014, staff in Member offices have declined 0.49%, and they have
declined 5.38% since 2004.
Figure 2 displays the distribution of House Member staff between Washington, DC, and district
offices for selected years since 1977. Since 2013, Member staff growth has been relatively flat,
and the average number of staff per Member office has held steady at 15.13 Table 2 in the “Data
Tables” section below provides the estimated House Member staff working in Washington, DC,
and district offices for selected years since 1977.
13 Staff data are rounded to whole numbers.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Figure 2. Distribution of House Member Office Staff, 2023
Source: Online House Telephone Directory, and CRS calculations.
Committees
Committee staff levels have shown the greatest decline among House staff categories, decreasing
38.13% since 1977. Since 2014, committee staff levels have fallen by 7.29%. Table 3 provides
House committee data for 2014-2023.
Leadership Offices
The actual number of staff in House leadership offices grew from 62 in 1977 to 177 in 2023. This
growth was relatively steady over time. As a proportion of House staff, leadership employees
comprised 0.70% in 1977, and 1.92% in 2023.
Officers and Officials
Staff working in the offices of House officers and officials has grown 339.11% since 1977. Staff
levels grew steadily from 1977 to 1991, and then showed a one-year drop of 33.15%, from 537 in
1992 to 359 in 1993. In 1994, staff levels returned to a level similar to 1992, and increased again
in 1995 to 818, a one-year increase of 57.01%. After dropping to 704 in 1996, levels began a
steady increase to a peak of 1,056 in 2008, an increase of 50.00%, before falling 8.96% to 946 in
2015. Since 2016, growth has been steady and peaked in 2022 at 1,178.
As a proportion of House staff, officers and officials comprise 12.88% of staff in 2023.
Commissions
Congressional commission staff levels are essentially flat, and have ranged from a high of 51 in
1977 to a low of 19 in a number of years, most recently in 2023. Congressional commissions
have consistently comprised less than one-half of 1% of all House staff.
Discussion
Since 1977, the number of staff working for the House has grown. There have been increases in
the number of staff working in chamber leadership offices, and larger increases in the staffing of
chamber officers and officials. Staff have shifted from committee settings to leadership settings or
the personal offices of Members. Some of these changes may be indicative of the growth of the
House as an institution, increased reliance on centrally provided technical services (including
information technology, legislative drafting, and physical and digital security), or the value the
chamber places on its various activities.
The distribution of staff working directly for Members has shifted from committee settings to
personal office settings. House committee staff has decreased. This may represent a shift from
collective congressional activities typically carried out in committees (including legislative,
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
oversight, and investigative work) to individualized activities typically carried out in Members’
personal offices (including direct representational activities, constituent service and education,
and political activity).
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Data Tables
Table 1. House of Representatives Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023
Year
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
House Member Office
6,556
6,614
6,737
6,913
6,844
6,884
6,786
7,050
6,737
6,942
Committee
1,891
2,067
1,861
1,991
1,720
1,851
1,867
1,974
1,997
1,980
Leadership
62
69
65
79
58
71
64
65
66
63
Officers and Officials
271
329
357
337
434
437
436
444
445
424
Commissions
51
23
25
21
19
22
23
23
22
19
Totals
8,831
9,102
9,045
9,341
9,075
9,265
9,176
9,556
9,267
9,428
Year
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
House Member Office
6,512
6,864
6,786
6,717
6,825
6,932
7,040
7,284
6,502
6,532
Committee
2,025
2,062
2,062
2,088
2,098
2,233
1,950
1,947
1,258
1,306
Leadership
93
95
88
101
107
106
107
112
125
128
Officers and Officials
434
457
475
495
501
537
359
521
818
704
Commissions
19
22
36
35
29
28
28
27
21
22
Totals
9,083
9,500
9,447
9,436
9,560
9,836
9,484
9,891
8,724
8,692
Year
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
House Member Office
6,893
6,972
6,835
6,737
7,108
7,079
6,737
7,060
7,020
7,089
Committee
1,277
1,361
1,311
1,334
1,295
1,321
1,328
1,399
1,379
1,370
Leadership
132
160
159
165
177
173
179
203
192
190
Officers and Officials
733
737
723
738
750
787
832
861
896
884
Commissions
21
21
22
20
19
29
36
33
34
35
Totals
9,056
9,251
9,050
8,994
9,349
9,389
9,112
9,556
9,521
9,568
CRS-7
Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
House Member Office
7,011
7,226
7,360
7,213
7,330
7,272
6,782
6,713
6,674
6,880
Committee
1,426
1,472
1,362
1,508
1,380
1,381
1,309
1,262
1,255
1,298
Leadership
207
214
219
228
241
236
205
214
212
239
Officers and Officials
1,040
1,056
828
878
993
1,002
1,052
949
946
962
Commissions
34
36
39
40
41
41
38
37
40
41
Totals
9,718
10,004
9,808
9,867
9,985
9,932
9,386
9,175
9,127
9,420
Year
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
House Member Office
6,713
6,586
6,675
6,491
6,329
6,585
6,680
Committee
1,263
1,269
1,229
1,290
1,320
1,178
1,170
Leadership
224
236
230
223
238
221
188
Officers and Officials
1,007
997
1,057
1,085
1,122
1,122
1,190
Commissions
40
38
38
24
25
22
19
Totals
9,247
9,126
9,229
9,113
9,034
9,128
9,247
Source: House telephone directories, CRS estimates and calculations.
Notes: House Member office data, 1977-2019, are estimates developed from a sample of 45 Member offices for each year, multiplied by the number of Member offices.
Member office data for 2020-2023, and all other categories, 1977-2023, are based on a ful count of directory listings.
CRS-8
House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Table 2. Staff Working in House Member Offices, Selected Years Since 1977
Estimated, 1977-2019; Full Count, 2020-2023
Average Per Office
Member Staff
DC
District
Member
Member
District
All Member
Year
Staff
Staff
Staff
Offices
DC Staff
Staff
Staff
1977
9.49
5.44
14.93
439
4,166
2,390
6,556
1984
9.36
6.67
16.02
440
4,116
2,933
7,050
1994
8.24
8.31
16.56
440
3,628
3,657
7,284
2004
7.93
8.11
16.04
440
3,491
3,569
7,060
Most Recent 10 Years
2014
8.38
6.84
15.22
441
3,695
3,018
6,713
2015
8.18
6.96
15.13
441
3,606
3,067
6,674
2016
8.38
7.22
15.60
441
3,695
3,185
6,880
2017
8.07
7.16
15.22
441
3,557
3,156
6,713
2018
8.09
6.84
14.93
441
3,567
3,018
6,586
2019
8.34
6.80
15.14
441
3,678
2,997
6,675
2020
7.93
6.79
14.72
441
3,495
2,996
6,491
2021
7.64
6.71
14.35
441
3,368
2,961
6,329
2022
8.23
6.70
14.93
441
3,631
2,954
6,585
2023
8.41
6.74
15.15
441
3,707
2,973
6,680
Source: House telephone directories, various years, CRS calculations.
Notes: Data for 1977-2019 are based on a random sample of 45 Member offices drawn in proportion to the
distribution of Member offices in the Cannon, Longworth, and Rayburn House Office Buildings. Staff telephone
data from those offices were counted and assumed to be in Washington, DC, if they were listed as working in
the Cannon, Longworth, or Rayburn Buildings, and outside of Washington, DC, if they were not. Averages data
were multiplied by the number of Member offices to derive an estimate of the number of staff employed in
personal offices. Data for 2020-2023 are based on a ful count of the online House Telephone Directory. Due to
rounding, rows might not sum.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Table 3. House Committee Staff, 2014-2023
Committee
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Agriculture
34
37
37
37
40
39
44
40
39
40
Appropriations
118
125
119
123
115
132
136
139
128
137
Armed Services
58
61
59
43
34
37
63
63
65
56
Budget
43
36
44
59
62
55
33
35
36
33
Education and Labor
58
58
63
60
62
66
66
65
60
56
Energy and Commerce
96
92
109
93
103
58
93
100
92
88
Ethics
24
25
27
24
27
27
27
21
23
25
Financial Services
55
54
57
72
65
55
60
63
49
65
Foreign Affairs
67
72
72
29
35
42
71
78
78
71
Homeland Security
62
56
59
60
57
50
50
61
59
63
House Administration
32
37
37
36
37
35
37
44
40
45
Judiciary
65
65
59
57
60
63
67
62
62
70
Natural Resources
57
60
60
57
61
58
67
60
59
50
Oversight and Reform
98
83
88
82
82
58
82
93
99
85
Rules
32
34
22
22
22
24
25
24
20
23
Science and Technology
48
52
51
51
35
54
43
44
44
44
Small Business
24
21
21
23
24
23
25
23
24
19
Transportation and
64
69
71
72
65
51
66
67
74
63
Infrastructure
Veterans’ Affairs
26
27
33
26
34
33
39
33
34
33
Ways and Means
69
68
60
68
64
77
77
80
74
63
Intelligence
31
24
26
29
35
42
39
32
32
35
Energy Independence &
51
-
35
-
-
-
-
Global Warming
Benghazi
-
-
18
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Climate Crisis
-
-
-
-
-
11
11
13
-
-
Modernization
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7
-
-
Source: House telephone directories.
Notes: Committees are listed by names used in the 118th Congress, or most recent year in which the
committee existed. “-” indicates that no staff were listed for that year. In some instances, this was because the
committee did not exist. In other instances, a directory listing for a panel was identified but did not list any staff.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Author Information
R. Eric Petersen
Specialist in American National Government
Acknowledgments
Lara Chausow, former Research Assistant, was a coauthor of this report and collected some of the data
provided.
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
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
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Congressional Research Service
R43947 · VERSION 10 · UPDATED
11
November 28, 2023
2023
R. Eric Petersen
This report provides staffing levels in House Member, committee, leadership, and other offices
Specialist in American
since 1977. Between 1977 and 2023, the number of House staff grew from 8,831 to 9,247, or
National Government
4.71%.
These changes were characterized in part by increases in the number of staff working in chamber leadership offices, and
larger increases in the staffing of chamber officers and officials. House staff working for Members have shifted from
committee settings to the personal offices of Members. Some of these changes may be indicative of the change and evolution
of the House as an institution, as the manner in which staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the mission and
priorities of that organization.
This report is one of several CRS products focusing on congressional staff. Links to others may be found in CRS Report
R44688, Congressional Staff: CRS Products.
Congressional Research Service
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Contents
House Staffing ................................................................................................................................. 2
House Data Collection .............................................................................................................. 2
House Staff Data ....................................................................................................................... 3
House Member Offices ....................................................................................................... 4
Committees ......................................................................................................................... 5
Leadership Offices .............................................................................................................. 5
Officers and Officials .......................................................................................................... 5
Commissions ....................................................................................................................... 5
Discussion ....................................................................................................................................... 5
Data Tables ...................................................................................................................................... 7
Figures
Figure 1. House Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023 ................................................................... 4
Figure 2. Distribution of House Member Office Staff, 2023 ........................................................... 5
Tables
Table 1. House of Representatives Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023....................................... 7
Table 2. Staff Working in House Member Offices, Selected Years Since 1977 .............................. 9
Table 3. House Committee Staff, 2014-2023 ................................................................................ 10
Contacts
Author Information ......................................................................................................................... 11
Congressional Research Service
link to page 10 link to page 10 House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
he manner in which staff are deployed within an organization may reflect the mission and
priorities of that organization.
T In the House of Representatives, 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 work of the House over time. Some of the insights that
might be taken from staff levels include
• an understanding of the division of congressional work between Members
working individually through their personal offices, or collectively, through
committee activities; and
• the relationship between committee leaders and chamber leaders, which could
have implications for the development and consideration of legislation or the use
of congressional oversight; and the extent to which specialized chamber
administrative operations have grown over time.
This report provides staffing levels in House Member,1 committee, leadership, and other offices
since 1977. No House source appears to officially and authoritatively track the actual number of
staff working in the chambers by office or entity. Data presented here between 1977 and 2019 are
based on staff listed by chamber entity (offices of Members, committees, leaders, officers,
officials, and other entities) in telephone directories published by the House. Data for 2020-2023
are taken from the House Telephone Directory website available to Members of the House and
their staff.
Table 1 in the “Data Tables” section below provides data for staff listed in House directories
through 2023.
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 House are an official source of information
about that institution, and are widely available; and
• presumably, the number of directory listings closely approximates the number of
staff working for the House.2
At the same time, data presented below should be interpreted with care for a number of reasons,
including the following:
• There is no way to determine whether all staff working for the House were listed
in the chamber’s telephone directories or are included in the online House
Telephone Directory. If some staff are not listed, relying on telephone directories
is likely to lead to an undercount of staff.
• It is not possible to determine if those staff who are listed were actually
employed by the House at the time the directories were published or data were
1 Throughout this report, the terms “Member office,” “personal office,” and “House Member’s office” refer to the
office held by a Member of the House upon election to Congress. They do not refer to the number of facilities in which
that work is carried out. Discussions of how many staff are based in Washington, DC, and congressional district
facilities distinguish only between locations in Washington, DC, or in the congressional district. The report does not
provide an office-by-office accounting of staff working in multiple district facilities.
2 The actual moment printed telephone directories capture 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 publication dates for the House directories were
generally in the spring of each year. Data taken from the online House Telephone Directory were collected on
September 15, 2020, and during June 2021, 2022, and 2023.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
collected from the House Telephone Directory. If the directories list individuals
who are no longer employed by the House, then relying on them is likely to lead
to an overcount of staff.
• The extent to which the criteria for inclusion in the directories for the House have
changed over time cannot be fully determined. Some editions of the House’s
directories do not always list staff in various entities the same way.3
• Some House staff may have more than one telephone number, or be listed in the
directory under more than one entity. Consequently, in data covering 1977-2019,
they might be counted more than once.4
• Chamber directories may reflect different organizational arrangements over time
for some entities. This could lead to counting staff doing similar work in different
years in different categories,5 or in different offices.6
House Staffing
House Data Collection
House staff data covering the period 1977-2019 were developed based on an estimate of staff
working in Member offices, and a full count of staff listed in all non-Member congressional
offices listed in each House telephone directory.7 In some years, the House published two
directories. When that was the case, data were taken from the earlier publication.
A full count of House Member offices would have exceeded available resources, and would have
been unlikely to yield a significantly different result than that which would result from a count of
staff working in a random sampling of Members’ offices. Since 1975, the House has limited the
number of full-time staff working in a Member’s office to 18 permanent employees; in 1979 up to
four employees who may work part time or other, limited circumstance, were authorized.8 As a
consequence, among all congressional entities, House Member office staffing is the least likely to
show a high degree of variability. For each year, 1977-2019, a random sample of 45 Member
offices was drawn in proportion to the distribution of Member offices in the Cannon, Longworth,
and Rayburn House office buildings in 2014.9 Staff telephone data from those offices were
3 In some instances, a listing for a House entity would not list staff. In other instances, there were significant changes in
the number of staff from year to year, and it could not be determined whether that was a consequence of changing
organizational practices, or differences in the way staff were included in the directory.
4 Some staff may work on a part-time basis for more than one Member, or for a Member and a committee. In the online
version of the House Telephone Directory, some are listed as staff for a committee and one or more joint committees.
In circumstances where staff were identified in multiple Member offices, committees, or leadership settings, they were
counted once. This resulted in a reduction of approximately 250 staff per year after 2020.
5 In 1977, House Information Systems (HIS) staff were listed with staff from the Committee on House Administration
(CHA). In 2009, House Information Resources, the successor entity to HIS, was listed as a component of the Office of
the Chief Administrative Officer. In this instance, HIS staff listed under CHA are counted as Officer and Officials staff
regardless of their initial listing.
6 For example, several administrative activities now carried out by staff of the Chief Administrative Officer were
previously overseen by the Committee on House Administration, House Clerk, or Sergeant at Arms.
7 Entities and staff that are not a part of the House, but were listed in the directory (including the Senate, other
legislative branch entities, executive branch agencies, and vendors) are excluded from these data.
8 2 U.S.C. §5321.
9 Since 2014, the Cannon House Office Building has been undergoing a substantial renewal project that has displaced
some Member offices. Due to these dislocations, the proportion of Member offices sampled 2015-2019 may not be
directly comparable to samples collected 1977-2014.
Congressional Research Service
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counted and assumed to be in Washington, DC, if they were listed as working in the Cannon,
Longworth, or Rayburn buildings, and outside of Washington, DC, if they were not. The average
number of staff working in Washington, DC, and in district offices was computed. Those data
were multiplied by the number of Member offices10 to derive an estimate of the number of staff
employed in personal offices who work in House Member offices. Table 2 in the “Data Tables”
section below provides the computed averages from the sample data and the estimated House
Member staff working in Washington, DC, and district offices.
Member office data for 2020-2023 are based on a full count of all offices listed in the online
House Telephone Directory.
Committee data are based on a full count of all printed telephone directory listings for House
standing, special, and select committees as described in individual directory listings for 1977-
2019, and in the online House Telephone Directory for 2020-2023. The data also include
associate staff of the Committees on the Budget, Rules, and Ways and Means where applicable.
Table 3 provides staff levels in various House committees, 2014-2023.11
Data for leadership offices include a full count of staff working for Members in leadership
positions. In 2023, these listings included the following: Speaker, Majority Leader, Majority
Whip, Minority Leader, Minority Whip, and Democratic and Republican Cloakrooms. Other
leadership positions included House Republican Conference, House Republican Policy
Committee, House Republican Study Committee, and House Democratic Caucus. Data for
chamber officers and other House officials include a full count of staff working for House officers
and officials. In 2023, House officers included the Clerk, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative
Officer, and Chaplain. Officials included staff in the offices of Parliamentarian,
Interparliamentary Affairs, Law Revision Counsel, Legislative Counsel, General Counsel,
Inspector General, and House Historian.
Commissions data comprise the smallest category of House data, and are based on a full count of
those entities. In 2023, commissions data included staff working for the House Communications
Standards Commission (HCSC; listed in the House Telephone Directory as the Commission on
Congressional Mailing Standards and sometimes known as the Franking Commission); the
Commission on Security and Cooperation in Europe (typically referred to as the Helsinki
Commission); the Congressional-Executive Commission on the People’s Republic of China; and
the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission.
House Staff Data
Between 1977 and 2023, the number of House staff overall grew from 8,831 to 9,247, or by
4.71%. Since 2014, the number of staff working in the House has been flat with growth of 0.78%.
The number of House staff across all categories has grown by an average of 9 individuals
annually,12 or 0.15%.
Figure 1 displays staff levels in five categories since 1977. These categories include staff
working in the offices of
• Members,
• committees,
10 House Member offices includes Representatives, Delegates, and the Resident Commissioner. The number of House
Member offices was 439 in 1977-1978, 440 in 1979-2008, and 441 in 2009-present.
11 Individual committee data since 1977 are available to congressional staff upon request.
12 Rounded to reflect a whole number.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
• leadership,
• officers and officials, and
• commissions.
Figure 1 also provides the distribution of Congress staff by category in 2023.
Table 1, in the “Data Tables” section below, provides detailed staff levels in those categories.
Figure 1. House Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023
Source: Annual House telephone directories, online House Telephone Directory, CRS estimates and
calculations.
Notes: House Member office data are estimates developed from a sample of 45 Member offices for each year,
1977-2019, multiplied by the number of Member offices. Member office data for 2020-2023, and al other
categories, 1977-2023, are based on a ful count of directory listings.
House Member Offices
Staff levels in House Member offices have increased slightly from 6,556 in 1977 to 6,680 in
2023, or 1.89%. Since 2014, staff in Member offices have declined 0.49%, and they have
declined 5.38% since 2004.
Figure 2 displays the distribution of House Member staff between Washington, DC, and district
offices for selected years since 1977. Since 2013, Member staff growth has been relatively flat,
and the average number of staff per Member office has held steady at 15.13 Table 2 in the “Data
Tables” section below provides the estimated House Member staff working in Washington, DC,
and district offices for selected years since 1977.
13 Staff data are rounded to whole numbers.
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Figure 2. Distribution of House Member Office Staff, 2023
Source: Online House Telephone Directory, and CRS calculations.
Committees
Committee staff levels have shown the greatest decline among House staff categories, decreasing
38.13% since 1977. Since 2014, committee staff levels have fallen by 7.29%. Table 3 provides
House committee data for 2014-2023.
Leadership Offices
The actual number of staff in House leadership offices grew from 62 in 1977 to 177 in 2023. This
growth was relatively steady over time. As a proportion of House staff, leadership employees
comprised 0.70% in 1977, and 1.92% in 2023.
Officers and Officials
Staff working in the offices of House officers and officials has grown 339.11% since 1977. Staff
levels grew steadily from 1977 to 1991, and then showed a one-year drop of 33.15%, from 537 in
1992 to 359 in 1993. In 1994, staff levels returned to a level similar to 1992, and increased again
in 1995 to 818, a one-year increase of 57.01%. After dropping to 704 in 1996, levels began a
steady increase to a peak of 1,056 in 2008, an increase of 50.00%, before falling 8.96% to 946 in
2015. Since 2016, growth has been steady and peaked in 2022 at 1,178.
As a proportion of House staff, officers and officials comprise 12.88% of staff in 2023.
Commissions
Congressional commission staff levels are essentially flat, and have ranged from a high of 51 in
1977 to a low of 19 in a number of years, most recently in 2023. Congressional commissions
have consistently comprised less than one-half of 1% of all House staff.
Discussion
Since 1977, the number of staff working for the House has grown. There have been increases in
the number of staff working in chamber leadership offices, and larger increases in the staffing of
chamber officers and officials. Staff have shifted from committee settings to leadership settings or
the personal offices of Members. Some of these changes may be indicative of the growth of the
House as an institution, increased reliance on centrally provided technical services (including
information technology, legislative drafting, and physical and digital security), or the value the
chamber places on its various activities.
The distribution of staff working directly for Members has shifted from committee settings to
personal office settings. House committee staff has decreased. This may represent a shift from
collective congressional activities typically carried out in committees (including legislative,
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
oversight, and investigative work) to individualized activities typically carried out in Members’
personal offices (including direct representational activities, constituent service and education,
and political activity).
Congressional Research Service
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Data Tables
Table 1. House of Representatives Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023
Year
1977
1978
1979
1980
1981
1982
1983
1984
1985
1986
House Member Office
6,556
6,614
6,737
6,913
6,844
6,884
6,786
7,050
6,737
6,942
Committee
1,891
2,067
1,861
1,991
1,720
1,851
1,867
1,974
1,997
1,980
Leadership
62
69
65
79
58
71
64
65
66
63
Officers and Officials
271
329
357
337
434
437
436
444
445
424
Commissions
51
23
25
21
19
22
23
23
22
19
Totals
8,831
9,102
9,045
9,341
9,075
9,265
9,176
9,556
9,267
9,428
Year
1987
1988
1989
1990
1991
1992
1993
1994
1995
1996
House Member Office
6,512
6,864
6,786
6,717
6,825
6,932
7,040
7,284
6,502
6,532
Committee
2,025
2,062
2,062
2,088
2,098
2,233
1,950
1,947
1,258
1,306
Leadership
93
95
88
101
107
106
107
112
125
128
Officers and Officials
434
457
475
495
501
537
359
521
818
704
Commissions
19
22
36
35
29
28
28
27
21
22
Totals
9,083
9,500
9,447
9,436
9,560
9,836
9,484
9,891
8,724
8,692
Year
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
House Member Office
6,893
6,972
6,835
6,737
7,108
7,079
6,737
7,060
7,020
7,089
Committee
1,277
1,361
1,311
1,334
1,295
1,321
1,328
1,399
1,379
1,370
Leadership
132
160
159
165
177
173
179
203
192
190
Officers and Officials
733
737
723
738
750
787
832
861
896
884
Commissions
21
21
22
20
19
29
36
33
34
35
Totals
9,056
9,251
9,050
8,994
9,349
9,389
9,112
9,556
9,521
9,568
CRS-7
Year
2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
House Member Office
7,011
7,226
7,360
7,213
7,330
7,272
6,782
6,713
6,674
6,880
Committee
1,426
1,472
1,362
1,508
1,380
1,381
1,309
1,262
1,255
1,298
Leadership
207
214
219
228
241
236
205
214
212
239
Officers and Officials
1,040
1,056
828
878
993
1,002
1,052
949
946
962
Commissions
34
36
39
40
41
41
38
37
40
41
Totals
9,718
10,004
9,808
9,867
9,985
9,932
9,386
9,175
9,127
9,420
Year
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
House Member Office
6,713
6,586
6,675
6,491
6,329
6,585
6,680
Committee
1,263
1,269
1,229
1,290
1,320
1,178
1,170
Leadership
224
236
230
223
238
221
188
Officers and Officials
1,007
997
1,057
1,085
1,122
1,122
1,190
Commissions
40
38
38
24
25
22
19
Totals
9,247
9,126
9,229
9,113
9,034
9,128
9,247
Source: House telephone directories, CRS estimates and calculations.
Notes: House Member office data, 1977-2019, are estimates developed from a sample of 45 Member offices for each year, multiplied by the number of Member offices.
Member office data for 2020-2023, and all other categories, 1977-2023, are based on a ful count of directory listings.
CRS-8
House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Table 2. Staff Working in House Member Offices, Selected Years Since 1977
Estimated, 1977-2019; Full Count, 2020-2023
Average Per Office
Member Staff
DC
District
Member
Member
District
All Member
Year
Staff
Staff
Staff
Offices
DC Staff
Staff
Staff
1977
9.49
5.44
14.93
439
4,166
2,390
6,556
1984
9.36
6.67
16.02
440
4,116
2,933
7,050
1994
8.24
8.31
16.56
440
3,628
3,657
7,284
2004
7.93
8.11
16.04
440
3,491
3,569
7,060
Most Recent 10 Years
2014
8.38
6.84
15.22
441
3,695
3,018
6,713
2015
8.18
6.96
15.13
441
3,606
3,067
6,674
2016
8.38
7.22
15.60
441
3,695
3,185
6,880
2017
8.07
7.16
15.22
441
3,557
3,156
6,713
2018
8.09
6.84
14.93
441
3,567
3,018
6,586
2019
8.34
6.80
15.14
441
3,678
2,997
6,675
2020
7.93
6.79
14.72
441
3,495
2,996
6,491
2021
7.64
6.71
14.35
441
3,368
2,961
6,329
2022
8.23
6.70
14.93
441
3,631
2,954
6,585
2023
8.41
6.74
15.15
441
3,707
2,973
6,680
Source: House telephone directories, various years, CRS calculations.
Notes: Data for 1977-2019 are based on a random sample of 45 Member offices drawn in proportion to the
distribution of Member offices in the Cannon, Longworth, and Rayburn House Office Buildings. Staff telephone
data from those offices were counted and assumed to be in Washington, DC, if they were listed as working in
the Cannon, Longworth, or Rayburn Buildings, and outside of Washington, DC, if they were not. Averages data
were multiplied by the number of Member offices to derive an estimate of the number of staff employed in
personal offices. Data for 2020-2023 are based on a ful count of the online House Telephone Directory. Due to
rounding, rows might not sum.
Congressional Research Service
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Table 3. House Committee Staff, 2014-2023
Committee
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
2021
2022
2023
Agriculture
34
37
37
37
40
39
44
40
39
40
Appropriations
118
125
119
123
115
132
136
139
128
137
Armed Services
58
61
59
43
34
37
63
63
65
56
Budget
43
36
44
59
62
55
33
35
36
33
Education and Labor
58
58
63
60
62
66
66
65
60
56
Energy and Commerce
96
92
109
93
103
58
93
100
92
88
Ethics
24
25
27
24
27
27
27
21
23
25
Financial Services
55
54
57
72
65
55
60
63
49
65
Foreign Affairs
67
72
72
29
35
42
71
78
78
71
Homeland Security
62
56
59
60
57
50
50
61
59
63
House Administration
32
37
37
36
37
35
37
44
40
45
Judiciary
65
65
59
57
60
63
67
62
62
70
Natural Resources
57
60
60
57
61
58
67
60
59
50
Oversight and Reform
98
83
88
82
82
58
82
93
99
85
Rules
32
34
22
22
22
24
25
24
20
23
Science and Technology
48
52
51
51
35
54
43
44
44
44
Small Business
24
21
21
23
24
23
25
23
24
19
Transportation and
64
69
71
72
65
51
66
67
74
63
Infrastructure
Veterans’ Affairs
26
27
33
26
34
33
39
33
34
33
Ways and Means
69
68
60
68
64
77
77
80
74
63
Intelligence
31
24
26
29
35
42
39
32
32
35
Energy Independence &
51
-
35
-
-
-
-
Global Warming
Benghazi
-
-
18
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
Climate Crisis
-
-
-
-
-
11
11
13
-
-
Modernization
-
-
-
-
-
-
-
7
-
-
Source: House telephone directories.
Notes: Committees are listed by names used in the 118th Congress, or most recent year in which the
committee existed. “-” indicates that no staff were listed for that year. In some instances, this was because the
committee did not exist. In other instances, a directory listing for a panel was identified but did not list any staff.
Congressional Research Service
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House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023
Author Information
R. Eric Petersen
Specialist in American National Government
Acknowledgments
Lara Chausow, former Research Assistant, was a coauthor of this report and collected some of the data
provided.
Disclaimer
This document was prepared by the Congressional Research Service (CRS). CRS serves as nonpartisan
shared staff to congressional committees and Members of Congress. It operates solely at the behest of and
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
connection with CRS’s institutional role. CRS Reports, as a work of the United States Government, are not
subject to copyright protection in the United States. Any CRS Report may be reproduced and distributed in
its entirety without permission from CRS. However, as a CRS Report may include copyrighted images or
material from a third party, you may need to obtain the permission of the copyright holder if you wish to
copy or otherwise use copyrighted material.
Congressional Research Service
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