AT LEAST BACHELOR'S DEGREE. 10. 9. 8. 7. 6. 5. 4. 3. 2. 1. 0. The American Human Development Index is a measure of well
CONGRESS
AND US
M E A S UR E OF A M E RI C A of the Social Science Research Council
@MOA_org measureofamerica How Representative Are Our Representatives? As members of the 114th Congress took their seats on January 6, 2015, there were more women among them than at any time in U.S. history. In addition, this group of lawmakers is one of the most racially diverse Congresses.
RACE & ETHNICITY
AGE
GENDER
U.S.
MALE
38 years
MEDIAN AGE
67%
80%
49%
CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS
33%
20%
51%
FEMALE
CONGRESSIONAL DEMOCRATS
CONGRESS
59 years
9% 91%
62 years
59 years
WHITE
62%
82%
66%
95%
LATINO
17%
7%
11%
4%
AFRICAN AMERICAN
12%
9%
19%
1%
ASIAN AMERICAN
5%
2%
5%
0%
NATIVE AMERICAN
0.7%
0.4%
0%
0.7%
Yet despite this progress, today’s Congress is still a far cry from representing the diversity of all Americans. Members of the 114th Congress are significantly more likely to be male, white, and over 65 than other Americans. Women make up more than half of the U.S. population, but only 19.5 percent of Congress. Whites make up 62.4 percent of the total U.S. population, but 82.1 percent of the 114th Congress. The Democratic delegation looks a bit more like the U.S. population in terms of race and ethnicity than the Republican side.
Note: Data are accurate as of April 2015, which includes three vacant House seats.
THE AMERICAN HUMAN DEVELOPMENT INDEX 10 8 HD INDEX SCORE
The American Human Development Index is a measure of well being and access to opportunity. It combines three central building blocks of a life of choice and value—good health, access to knowledge, and a decent standard of living—into a single number on a ten-point scale, with 10 being highest.
114TH Congress: 7.70
9 7 6 5 4
U.S today: 5.06
3
HUMAN DEVELOPMENT: Members of the 114th Congress score much better on the Human Development Index than the United States as a whole, thanks mainly to their very high incomes and educational levels. But while they are far ahead of the rest of the United States when it comes to education and income, they lag in life expectancy. HEALTH: The disproportionate number of men (women live longer) and dearth of Asian Americans and Latinos (groups that have relatively long life expectancies) result in Congress having a lower life expectancy than the U.S. average by 1.5 years. EDUCATION: Over 95 percent of Congress has completed a bachelor’s degree or higher; only 30 percent of the general population has. Everyone in Congress has completed high school—27 million Americans have not.
2 1 0 2015
EARNINGS: Members of Congress earn a base salary of $174,000 a year; they earn in nine weeks what the typical American makes in a year, $30,454.
HEALTH:
Life Expectancy 80
79.1 years
77.6 years
75
EDUCATION:
Degree Attainment U.S.
87%
30%
30%
100%
96%
96%
AT LEAST BACHELOR’S DEGREE
65 U.S.
CONGRESS
11%
$174,000
CONGRESS
AT LEAST HIGH SCHOOL DIPLOMA / GED
70
EARNINGS:
Median Personal Earnings
Every 9 weeks, members of Congress earn what the typical American earns in a year.
Measure of America, a nonpartisan project of the Social Science Research Council, provides easy-to-use yet methodologically sound tools for understanding the distribution of well-being and opportunity in America and seeks to foster greater awareness of our shared challenges.
www.measureofamerica.org
$30,454
A project of the Social Science Research Council
67%
GRADUATE / PROFESSIONAL DEGREE
What would the U.S. look like if members of Congress were to support earnings and education outcomes like theirs for all Americans? Write your representative to ask!
U.S.
CONGRESS
Data sources: http://www.measureofamerica.org/ congressional-districts-2015/methodological-note/ Designed by: www.dianatung.net
