House of Representatives Staff Levels, 1977-2023

Vocabulary flashcards covering key terms and concepts from the CRS report on House of Representatives staff levels (1977-2023).

House staff

The total number of personnel employed by the House across all offices and categories (Member offices, committees, leadership, officers/officials, and commissions) as tracked in the CRS report.

Member office

The office of a Member of the House (including Washington, DC and district offices); one staffing category in the CRS analysis.

Committee staff

Staff employed by House standing, select, and special committees.

Leadership offices

Staff working in the offices of House leadership (Speaker, Majority/Minority Leaders, Whips, etc.) and related cloakrooms.

Officers and Officials

Staff in the offices of House officers (Clerk, Sergeant at Arms, Chief Administrative Officer, Chaplain) and officials (Parliamentarian, Counsel, Inspector General, House Historian, etc.).

Commissions

Staff working for House commissions, such as the Helsinki Commission, Franking/Communications standards, Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission, and others.

Data Tables

Tables in the CRS report that present staff data by category and year (Tables 1–3 and related figures).

Table 1

House of Representatives Staff Levels by Category, 1977-2023; displays counts by Member Office, Committee, Leadership, Officers/Officials, and Commissions.

Table 2

Staff Working in House Member Offices, Selected Years Since 1977; shows DC vs. District staff and per-office averages.

Table 3

House Committee Staff, 2014-2023; shows staff counts by committee for those years.

Data collection

The process used to assemble staff numbers, including use of House telephone directories and sampling of Member offices.

Telephone Directory

Official directory listings used to estimate staff numbers; 1977-2019 relied on a sample, 2020-2023 used a full count from the online directory.

Sampled offices

For 1977-2019, a random sample of 45 Member offices was used to estimate Member office staffing.

Full count

A complete count of directory listings for 2020-2023 across all offices and categories.

Washington, DC staff

Staff working in Washington, DC offices; part of the distribution of Member office staff.

District staff

Staff working in congressional district offices.

Growth, 1977-2023

Total House staff rose from 8,831 to 9,247, a 4.71% increase.

Member office staff trend since 2014

Since 2014, Member office staff declined by about 0.49%.

Committee staff trend

Committee staff declined 38.13% since 1977; down 7.29% since 2014.

Officers and Officials trend

Officers and Officials staff grew 339.11% since 1977; peak around 1,178 in 2022; about 12.88% of total in 2023.

Leadership trend

Leadership staff grew from 62 in 1977 to 177 in 2023; about 1.92% of total staff in 2023.

Commissions trend

Commissions remain the smallest category, under 0.5% of total staff; about 19 staff in 2023.

Data caveats

Limitations and potential distortions in the data, including undercounts/overcounts, changes in directory practices, and multiple listings.

Cannon, Longworth, Rayburn

The three House office buildings used as the basis for sampling in earlier years (and discussed in context of Member offices and sampling).