The 116th Congress was elected on November 6, 2018. The new legislative period began on January 3, 2019. There are 435 Members in the U.S. House of Representatives, 235 of them are Democrats. Of the 100 Members of the Senate, 53 are Republican.
The 116th United States Congress
Demographic Facts for the United States
According to the numbers of the United States Census Bureau from 2010, the largest generation in the U.S. is the Boomer Generation (25%).1,2 With 22.2%, the second largest generation is the Millennial Generation. About 21% of the U.S. population belong to Generation X. The smallest generation is the Silent Generation with 11.3%.
In 2018, 50.8% of the American population was female.3 About 60% of the population was White, 13.4% Black/African American, and 18.1% Latino/Hispanic. Almost 6% were Asian American, and 1.3% American Indian/Alaska Native. About 0.2% were Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islanders. There were almost 3% that belong to two or more categories.
Generational Composition of the U.S. House of Representatives
Millennials in the 116th Senate
There are currently no Millennials serving in the United States Senate.1
Millennials in the 116th House of Representatives
The 116th House of Representatives includes 27 Millennials – an increase of 21 Millennial Members of Congress in the previous legislative period. Of these Millennials, 17 are Young Elected Leaders under the age of 35.
Partisan Affiliation of Millennial Members
Almost 60% of the current set of Millennials are Democrats and 37% are Republicans. In the 115th Congress, 4 of the serving Millennials were Republicans and 2 were Democrats.
Gender Composition of Millennial Members
Of the Millennial members serving in the 116th Congress, 11 (40.7%) are women – an increase of 9 from the 115th Congress.
Ethnic Composition of Millennial Members
Of the Millennials serving in the House, 63% are White, 11% are African American, 7.4% are Hispanic/Latino. Native Americans, Hawaiians/Pacific Islanders, and Asian/Pacific Americans are represented each with one Millennial or 3.7% . In the 115th Congress, 5 of the Millennials serving were White and one was Hawaiian.
Notes
1. The Young Elected Leaders Project collects and analyzes data on young elected officials across the country. We define Young Elected Leaders as officials 35 years and younger. We define the generations following the Pew Research Center:
- Millennial Generation: 1981-1996 (age 22-37)
- Generation X: 1965-1980 (age 38-53)
- Baby Boom Generation: 1946-1964 (age 54-72)
- Silent Generation: 1928-1945 (age 73-90)
2. Single Years of Age and Sex, 2010, United States. U.S. Census Bureau
3. QuickFacts United States, U.S. Census Bureau.