The 117th U.S. Congress took office in January, with Democrats property narrow majorities in the Firm and Senate.

Autonomously from its political makeup, the new Congress differs from prior ones in other ways, including its demographics. Here are seven charts that evidence how the demographic profile of Congress has changed over time, using historical data from CQ Roll Call, the Congressional Research Service and other sources.

To make up one's mind the demographics of the 117th Congress, we pulled data from recently published Pew Enquiry Center analyses and other earlier piece of work. Considering non all members of the 117th Congress were seated on January. 3, 2021, and because some then-filled seats are at present empty or inverse hands since that time, previously published information comes from several dates. For more information on the methodology of previously published posts, please visit the original links, which are in the text of this post.

Data on the educational attainment of members of Congress includes the 532 voting members of the legislature every bit of March 3. Data is drawn from the U.S. Congress Biographical Directory and, when relevant, other official biographies and news reports.

All data points reverberate but voting members of Congress, except for the analysis of women in the legislature.

Growing racial and ethnic diversity in Congress

The current Congress is the most racially and ethnically diverse ever. Overall, 124 lawmakers identify as Black, Hispanic, Asian/Pacific Islander or Native American – making up 23% of Congress, including 26% of the Firm of Representatives and 11% of the Senate. Past comparison, when the 79th Congress took office in 1945, non-White lawmakers represented simply 1% of the House and Senate.

Despite this growing racial and ethnic diversity, Congress remains less diverse than the nation as a whole: Non-Hispanic White Americans account for 77% of voting members in the new Congress, considerably more than their 60% share of the U.South. population.

Women make up more than a quarter of the 117th U.S. Congress' membership

The number of women in Congress is at an all-fourth dimension high.Virtually a century after Republican Jeannette Rankin of Montana became the first woman elected to Congress, at that place are 144 women in the national legislature, accounting for a record 27% of all members across both chambers. (This includes vi nonvoting Firm members who represent the Commune of Columbia and U.S. territories, four of whom are women.)

A tape 120 women are currently serving in the Business firm, bookkeeping for 27% of the chamber's total. There are 24 women in the Senate, one fewer than the tape number of seats they held in the last Congress. In iv states – Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire and Washington – both senators are women, downwardly from six states in the previous Senate.

The House has seen boring merely steady growth in the number of women members since the 1920s. Growth in the Senate has been slower: The Senate did not have more than than three women serving at any point until the 102nd Congress, which began in 1991. And the share of women in Congress remains far below their share in the land as a whole (27% vs. 51%).

The number of Millennials and Gen Xers in Congress has risen slightly in recent years. In the current Congress, 7% of Firm members, or 31 lawmakers, are Millennials (born between 1981 and 1996), up from 1% in the 115th Congress. A third of House lawmakers, or 144 members, are Gen X (born from 1965 to 1980), upward from 27% two Congresses before.

Younger generations make up an increasing share of the U.S. Congress

This year saw the swearing-in of the offset Millennial senator: Democrat Jon Ossoff of Georgia. The number of Gen 10 senators has gradually ticked upward from 16 in the 115th Congress to 20 this year.

While younger generations have increased their representation in Congress in contempo years, older generations still account for the majority of lawmakers across both chambers. Baby Boomers (built-in between 1946 and 1964) make up 53% of the Business firm's voting membership, in addition to 68 of the 100 senators.

The ranks of the Silent Generation (born between 1928 and 1945) have decreased in contempo years, from 10%, or 42 members, at the start of the 115th Congress to vi%, or 27 members, in the current Congress.

The share of immigrants in Congress has ticked up but remains well beneath historical highs.At that place are 18 foreign-built-in lawmakers in the 117th Congress, including 17 in the House and only one in the Senate: Mazie Hirono, a Hawaii Democrat who was born in Japan.

Foreign-born share of Congress remains below historical highs

These lawmakers business relationship for three% of legislators, slightly higher than the share in other recent Congresses only below the shares in much earlier Congresses. In the 50th Congress of 1887-89, for case, eight% of members were built-in away. The current share of strange-born lawmakers in Congress is also far below the foreign-built-in share of the U.Due south. as a whole, which was xiii.half-dozen% as of 2019.

While the number of foreign-built-in lawmakers in the current Congress is modest, more members have at least ane parent who was born in another state. Together, immigrants and the children of immigrants account for at to the lowest degree 14% of the new Congress, a slightly college share than in the last Congress (13%).

Far fewer members of Congress at present have directly war machine experience than in the past. In the current Congress, 91 members served in the military at some point in their lives – the everyman number since at to the lowest degree Earth War II, co-ordinate to Military Times. At that place are more than than twice equally many Republican veterans (63) in the new Congress as Democrats (28). Equal shares of senators and representatives (17%) accept served in the military.

Fewer veterans in Congress

While the number and share of veterans in Congress overall take decreased, the newly elected freshman grade includes fifteen such lawmakers.

Looking at the longer term, there has been a dramatic decrease in members of Congress with military machine experience since the belatedly 20th century. Between 1965 and 1975, at least 70% of lawmakers in each legislative chamber had military experience. The share of members with military experience peaked at 75% in 1967 for the House and at 81% in 1975 for the Senate.

While relatively few members of Congress today have military experience, an even smaller share of Americans do. In 2018, about 7% of U.Southward. adults had military experience, downward from 18% in 1980, not long afterwards the finish of the military typhoon era.

Almost every member of Congress now holds a college degree

The vast majority of members of Congress have higher degrees. The share of representatives and senators with a college degree has steadily increased over fourth dimension. In the 117th Congress, 94% of House members and all senators have a bachelor's degree or more education. Ii-thirds of representatives and three-quarters of senators have at to the lowest degree one graduate caste, likewise. In the 79th Congress (1945-47), by comparison, 56% of Business firm members and 75% of senators had bachelor's degrees.

The educational attainment of Congress far outpaces that of the overall U.Southward. population. In 2019, around a tertiary (36%) of American adults ages 25 and older said they had completed a bachelor's caste or more education, according to U.Southward. Census Bureau data.

Congress has become slightly more religiously diverse over time.The current Congress includes the outset two Muslim women ever to serve in the House and has the fewest Christians (468) in 12 Congresses analyzed by Pew Research Center dating back to 1961. Despite this decline, Christians are still overrepresented in Congress in proportion to their share of the public: Nearly nine-in-ten congressional members are Christian (88%), compared with 65% of U.S. adults overall.

By contrast, religious "nones" are underrepresented in Congress in comparison with the U.S. population. While 26% of Americans say they are atheist, agnostic or "nothing in detail," just ane lawmaker – Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz. – says she is religiously unaffiliated.

Changes in the religious makeup of Congress

Notation: This is an update to a postal service originally published on Feb. 2, 2017.