Age of the 119th Congress

This page was originally posted in 2017. We updated the data for the 119th Congress.

The average age of the 119th Congress is 59 years old, a year older than the 118th Congress. Comparatively, the median age of Americans, according to the most recent census data, is 38 years old. 

The 2024 elections saw a slight increase in the average age of newly elected members, rising to 56 — compared to an average age of 47 for new members of the 118th Congress.

Take a look at this sheet that breaks down the age of every member of Congress along with their party, state, birthday, number of terms they’ve served, and committees they sit on.

Ages of the Senate

The average age of senators in the 119th Congress is 64 years old, this is unchanged from the 118th Congress. There are 50 senators older than 65.

Who Are the Oldest Senators?

The oldest members of the Senate reflect a generation whose early adulthood was shaped by post-World War II American exceptionalism. Six sitting senators belong to the Silent Generation (born 1928-1945), and the four oldest are well into their eighties — with one nonagenarian still serving. The oldest senators are:

• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) – 91
• Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – 83
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – 83
• Sen. James “Jim” Risch (R-ID) – 81
• Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) & Sen. Angus King (I-ME) – 80

Who Are the Youngest Senators?

The five youngest senators are all children of the late 1970s and 1980s and all entered the Senate in a post 9/11 America. The youngest senators are currently serving in their first and second terms.

• Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) – 38
• Sen. Tim Sheehy (R-MT) – 39
• Sen. Andy Kim (D-NJ) – 42
• Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) – 43
• Sens. Josh Hawley (R-MO), Jim Banks (R-IN), & Ruben Gallego (D-AZ) – 45

Ages of the House of Representatives

The average age of representatives in the 119th Congress is slightly younger than the average age of the Senate, at 57 years old—the same as the 118th Congress. The Senate’s minimum age requirement of 30 would only restrict one Representative from running for a Senate seat — 28-year-old Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10).  Frost made headlines when he won election in 2022, becoming the first member of Generation Z elected to Congress.

Who Are the Oldest Representatives?

Much like the Senate, the oldest representatives are all octogenarians. The five oldest representatives are:

• Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) – 87
• Del. Eleanor Norton (D-DC-1) – 87
• Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) – 86
• Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5) -85
• Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA-11) – 84
• Rep. James “Jim” Clyburn (D-SC-6) -84

Who Are the Youngest Representatives?

The youngest representatives were born in the late 1980s and 1990s. This is thanks in part to the lower age requirement to be a representative in the House, where the minimum age is 25 years old. The youngest House representatives are:

• Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10) – 28
• Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX-26) – 31
• Rep. Addison McDowell (R-NC-6) – 31
• Rep. Yassamin Ansari (D-AZ-3) – 32
• Rep. Abraham “Abe” Hamadeh (R-AZ-8) – 33

Which Generations Are Represented Most in Congress?

The largest generation for many years in America has been the Boomers, born between 1946 and 1964. However, the millennial generation, born between 1981 and 1996, surpassed the Boomers as the largest generation in America. How does this compare to generational representation in Congress?

• The Silent Generation (born 1925-1945) – 24 members of Congress
• The Baby Boomer Generation (born 1946-1964) – 233 members of Congress
• Generation X (born 1965-1979) – 196 members of Congress
• Millennials (born 1980-1994) – 84  members of Congress
• Generation Z (born 1995-2012) – 1 member of Congress

While Millennials make up nearly 25 percent of the U.S. population, they only account for 16 percent of Congress, which is slightly  up  compared to 12 percent of the 118th Congress. Conversely, Boomers account for only 23.7 percent of the general population, and yet 43 percent of all members of Congress belong to the Boomer generation (down from 49 percent).

Age of Congress by Party

Overall, the average age of Democrats in Congress is 59 (no change) and of Republicans is 58 (up 1).

The average Senator is 63 for both Republicans and Democrats. In the House of Representatives, the average Republican is 57, while the average Democrat is 58.

What a Member of Congress’ Age Means For Your Public Affairs Strategy

Congress is both getting older and adding younger new members, as age seems to polarize as much as party. When meeting with a member of Congress, referencing their age in combination with tenure in office will help give you an understanding of what issues may matter to them based on their background and experience. Understanding these factors can better inform your strategy when interacting with members of Congress to achieve your policy goals.

Whether you’re planning to meet with a representative 80 or older, under 40, or anywhere in between, look in their Quorum profile to find insights on the issues they co-sponsor bills on the most, which committees they sit on, and what legislation they’ve sponsored in the past. Issues that matter to senior Americans — like social security, healthcare, or medicare — are probably also priorities to senior members of Congress. With a higher age comes more life experience, so you should also look into their biographies to find their former professions they worked in before assuming office. This can help you gauge their knowledge base on your issues. If you’re advocating for education reform and you see an 80 year old legislator was a teacher for 40 years, you know you can start the conversation about your issues at a higher level.

Use this knowledge base to guide your conversation to give elder members of Congress a better understanding of your issues and priorities.

Age of the 118th Congress

The average age of the 118th Congress was 58 years old, a year younger than the 117th Congress. Comparatively, the median age of Americans, according to the most recent census data, was 38 years old.

The 2022 elections brought the average age down slightly, with the average age of newly-elected Congress members being 47.

The end of the 117th Congress also meant the departure of older Congress members, including 82-year-old Patrick Leahy and 87-year-old Eddie Johnson.

Ages of the Senate

The average age of senators in the 118th Congress was 64 years old, this was unchanged from the 117th Congress. There were 54 senators older than 65.

The oldest senators were:

• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) – 89
• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) – 89*
• Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) – 81
• Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) – 81
• Sen. Ben Cardin (D-MD) – 79
• Sen. James “Jim” Risch (R-ID) – 79

*Sen. Feinstein passed away on September 29, 2023 at the age of 90. Sen. Feinstein was replaced by Laphonza Butler, who was 44 years of age.

The five youngest senators were:

• Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) – 36
• Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH) – 38
• Sen. Katie Britt (R-AL) – 41
• Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) – 43
• Sen. Markwayne Mullin (R-OK) – 45

Ages of the House of Representatives

The average age of representatives in the 118th Congress was slightly younger than the average age of the Senate, at 57 years old—one year younger than the 117th Congress.

The five oldest representatives were:

• Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA-31) – 86
• Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-9) – 86
• Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY-5) – 85
• Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA-43) – 84
• Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD-5) – 83

The youngest House representatives were:

• Rep. Maxwell Frost (D-FL-10) – 26
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) – 33
• Rep. Anna Luna (R-FL-13) – 33
• Rep. Gregorio “Greg” Casar (D-TX-35) – 33
• Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-51) – 34

Age of the 117th Congress

The 117th Congress was the oldest in recent history. The average age of the 117th Congress was 59 years old. Compared to the 116th Congress, the age group with the largest increase in members of Congress were in their 80s and 50s, while the age group with the largest decrease in members of Congress was in their 30s.

Ages of the Senate

The average age of senators was 64 years old. The most common birth years of senators in the 117th Congress were 1952 and 1954, both of which had seven senators. 53 of the 100 senators were 65 or older.

The five oldest senators were:

• Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) — 90*
• Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) — 88
• Sen. Richard Shelby (R-AL) — 87
• Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) — 87
• Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT) — 81

The five youngest senators were:

• Sen. Jon Ossoff (D-GA) — 35
• Sen. Josh Hawley (R-MO) — 42
• Sen. Tom Cotton (R-AR) — 44
• Sen. Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) — 45
• Sen. Chris Murphy (D-CT) — 48

Ages of the House of Representatives

The average age of representatives was slightly younger than the average age of the Senate, at 58 years old. The most common birth year in the House of Representatives was 1953 with 17 representatives born that year. Of the 439 representatives, 151 of them were 65 or older.

The five oldest representatives were:

• Rep. Eddie Johnson (D-TX-30) — 86
• Rep. Grace Napolitano (D-CA-32) — 85
• Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-09) — 85
• Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC-01) — 84
• Rep. Hal Rogers (R-KY-05) — 84

The youngest House representatives were:

• Rep. Madison Cawthorn (R-NC-11) — 26
• Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY-14) — 32
• Rep. Sara Jacobs (D-CA-53) — 33
• Rep. Ritchie Torres (D-NY-15) — 34
• Rep. Jake LaTurner (R-KS-02) — 34
• Rep. Kate Commack (R-FL-03) — 34
• Rep. Jake Auchincloss (D-MA-04) — 34
• Rep. Peter Meijer (R-MI-03) — 34
• Rep. Mondaire Jones (D-NY-17) — 34

Age of the 116th Congress

In the 116th Congress, the average age of the House was 57 and average Senator was 62. Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) and Rep. Don Young (R-AK-At Large) were the oldest members of the 116th Congress. Both were 87 years old. There were 50 Senators and 141 Representatives over the age of 65 in the 116th Congress.

Age of the 115th Congress

The over the past 30 years the average age of a Member of Congress has increased with almost every new Congress. In 1981, the average age of a Representative was 49 and the average of a Senator was 53. During the 115th Congress, the average age of a Representative was 57 and the average of a Senator was 61.

Democratic leaders in the House were two decades older than Republican leaders.

The average age of the Democratic House leadership was 72 years old, whereas the average age of Republican House leadership was 48 years old. This trend continued in House committee leadership with Republican chairmen averaging 59 years old and ranking Democrats averaging 68 years old.

1/3 of Representatives over 60 represent districts with a median age of 35 or less.

There were 44 congressional districts in which the age of the Representative was more than double the median age of their constituents. The following Representatives were particular outliers of this analysis.