The New York State Legislature
The New York state legislature is bicameral and consists of a 150-member Assembly and a 63-member Senate. One seat in the Senate is currently vacant. The last election took place on November 6, 2018. The New York State Legislature maintains age cutoffs for candidates; Senate: 18 years of age, House: 18 years of age.
New York Demographic Background
In the state of New York, the largest generation is the Baby Boomer Generation, with 25.20%.1,2 The second largest generation are Millennials (22.80%), closely followed by Generation X (21.6%). The smallest generation is the Silent Generation with 11.5%. The majority of the New York state population is White/Caucausian (almost 56%).3 About 14% of the population is Black/African American. There are more than 10% that belong to other races/ethnicities or more than one category. Almost 19% of people living in the state of New York are Hispanic/Latino.
Generational Breakdown of the New York State Legislature
The largest generation in the New York state legislature is the Baby Boomer Generation, which is vastly over-represented with 46%. The second-largest generation is Generation X, with over a fourth of legislators. Millennials are slightly underrepresented with 18.82%. The smallest generation is the Silent Generation (around 8%). The mean age in the New York state legislature is 55. Twenty-five legislators are Young Elected Leaders age 35 or younger.
Generational Composition of the New York State Legislature
Generational Breakdown of the New York Assembly
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millenial Generation | 20 | 20.80% |
| Generation X | 31 | 24.80% |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 58 | 46.40% |
| Silent Generation | 10 | 8.00% |
| NA* | 25 | 16.70% |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the New York Assembly is 55
- The youngest member is Colin J. Schmitt, age 27
- The oldest member is Carmen Arroyo, age 85
- Eighteen individuals are Young Elected Leaders in the Assembly:
| Name | Age | Party |
| Colin J. Schmitt | 27 | Republican |
| Daniel A. Rosenthal | 28 | Democrat |
| Michael LiPetri | 29 | Republican |
| Charles Dialor Fall | 30 | Democrat |
| John K. Mikulin | 30 | Republican |
| Latoya Joyner | 33 | Democrat |
| Robert C. Carroll | 33 | Democrat |
| Brian T. Barnwell | 33 | Democrat |
| Nily D. Rozic | 33 | Democrat |
| Jamie L. Romeo | 33 | Democrat |
| Mark C. Walczyk | 34 | Republican |
| Michaelle C. Solages | 34 | Democrat |
| Carmen N. De La Rosa | 34 | Democrat |
| Patrick B. Burke | 34 | Democrat |
| Kevin M. Byrne | 35 | Republican |
| Victor M. Pichardo | 35 | Democrat |
| Andrew R. Garbarino | 35 | Republican |
| Kimberly Jean-Pierre | 35 | Democrat |
Generational Breakdown of the New York Assembly
| Generation | Number of Members | % of Total Members |
| Millenial Generation | 9 | 14.75% |
| Generation X | 18 | 29.51% |
| Baby Boomer Generation | 29 | 47.54% |
| Silent Generation | 5 | 8.20% |
| NA* | 1 | 1.60% |
Note: *Indicates state legislators for whom there is no birth date on record.
- The average age of the New York Senate is 55
- The youngest member is Julia Salazar, age 28
- The oldest member is Toby Ann Stavisky, age 79
- There are 7 Young Elected Leaders in the New York Senate:
| Name | Age | Party |
| Julia Salazar | 28 | Democrat |
| James G. Skoufis | 32 | Democrat |
| Jessica Ramos | 33 | Democrat |
| Zellnor Y. Myrie | 33 | Democrat |
| Alessandra Biaggi | 33 | Democrat |
| Kevin M. Thomas | 34 | Democrat |
| Andrew S. Gounardes | 34 | Democrat |
Gender Breakdown of the New York State Legislature
Women are underrepresented in the New York state legislature. Only about 33% of the legislators are female, 67% are male. There is practically no difference in the average age of male and female legislators. Only 34.6% of all Young Elected Leaders are female.
In the New York Assembly, 50 out of 150 Representatives are female. Six YELs in the Assembly are female, 12 are male, mirroring the institution as a whole. In the New York Senate, 19 of the 62 Senators are female. Of the 7 YELs in the Senate, 3 are women.
Gender by Generation in the New York Assembly
Gender by Generation in the New York Senate
Ethnic Breakdown of the New York State Legislature
Over 68% of the legislators in the New York state legislature are White/Caucasian. A little more than 15%, 33 legislators, are Black/African American. Only 8.5% are Hispanic/Latino. About 7.5% have other ore multiple ethnicities. The ethnic composition of the Assembly and the Senate are very similar. YELs in the legislature are slightly more diverse, with 56% being White/Caucasian.
Ethnicity by Generation in the New York Assembly
Ethnicity by Generation in the New York Senate
Partisan Breakdown of the New York State Legislature
The Democratic Party has a clear majority both in the Assembly and in the Senate. In the Assembly, 12 of the 18 YELs are Democrats, 6 are Republicans. In the Senate, all 7 YELs are Democrats.
Partisanship by Generation of the New York Assembly
Partisanship by Generation of the New York Senate
Notes
- The Young Elected Leaders Project collects and analyzes data on young elected officials across the country. We define Young Elected Leaders (YELs) as officials 35 years and younger. We define the generations following the Pew Research Center:
- Generation Z: 1997-2012
- Millennial Generation: 1981-1996
- Generation X: 1965-1980
- Baby Boom Generation: 1946-1964
- Silent Generation: 1928-1945
2. Single Years of Age and Sex, 2010, US Census.
3. Geographic and Housing Estimates (Age, Sex, Race, Households and Housing, …) 2010, US Census.
This analysis is based on data from April 2019 and was conducted on May 1, 2019.