Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Member Offices, 2001-2014

Summary

The level of pay for congressional staff is a source of recurring questions among Members of Congress, congressional staff, and the public. There may be interest in congressional pay data from multiple perspectives, including assessment of the costs of congressional operations; guidance in setting pay levels for staff in Member offices; or comparison of congressional staff pay levels with those of other federal government pay systems.

This report provides pay data for 12 staff position titles that are typically used in House Members’ offices. The positions include the following: Caseworker, Chief of Staff, District Director, Executive Assistant, Field Representative, Legislative Assistant, Legislative Correspondent, Legislative Director, Office Manager, Press Secretary, Scheduler, and Staff Assistant.

Tables provide tabular pay data for each House Member office staff position. Graphic displays are also included, providing representations of pay from three perspectives, including the following:

a line graph showing change in pay, 2001-2014;

a comparison, at 5-, 10-, and 14-year intervals from 2014, of the cumulative percentage change in pay of that position to changes in pay of Members of Congress and salaried federal civilian workers paid under the General Schedule in Washington, DC, and surrounding areas; and

distributions of 2014 pay in $10,000 increments.

In the past five years (2010 and 2014), the change in median pay, in constant 2015 dollars, decreased for all 12 staff positions, ranging from a -1.38% decrease for press secretary/communications directors to a -21.81% decrease for executive assistants. This may be compared to changes over the same period to the pay of Members of Congress, -7.89%, and General Schedule, DC, -6.97%.

Pay data for staff working in Senators’ offices are available in CRS Report R44324, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senators’ Offices, FY2001-FY2014. Data describing the pay of congressional staff working in House and Senate committee offices are available in CRS Report R44322, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in House Committees, 2001-2014, and CRS Report R44325, Staff Pay Levels for Selected Positions in Senate Committees, FY2001-FY2014, respectively.