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How long have legislators been in politics?

Note that this page does not show how long legislators have been in their current position, but rather how long it has been since their first political office, whether elected or appointed. Many legislators start their careers in the legislature, but many have prior experience on a school board or city council.

As of February 2011, almost every chamber had at least one legislator who had just entered politics for the first time. At the other extreme, some legislators have decades of experience.

The table below displays several bits of information about each chamber. You can sort the table by clicking on one of the column headings.

  • Size: How many people serve in this chamber?
  • N: How many members do we have experience information for?
  • Min: How long has the newest politician been in the legislature?
  • Average: What is this chamber's average years in politics??
  • Max: What is the most experience that a legislator has in politics?
  • StD: What is this chamber's standard deviation?
  • Graph: Each graph ranges from 0 to 100 years old. The yellow mark indicates the chamber's average years experience; the blue bar indicates the range of years, from least to most.
State Chamber Size N Min Avg Max StD Graph
LouisianaLower 104 103 1 5.8 27 4.5
0
100
ArkansasLower 98 98 1 4.2 28 4.8
0
100
MissouriLower 163 162 1 4.7 34 5.0
0
100
OregonLower 60 60 1 7.7 29 6.1
0
100
OklahomaLower 101 101 1 7.5 31 6.3
0
100
MontanaUpper 50 50 0 9.5 29 6.6
0
100
OklahomaUpper 48 47 0 7.9 33 6.6
0
100
ArizonaLower 60 60 1 6.7 29 6.6
0
100
FloridaLower 120 120 1 6.3 36 6.6
0
100
MichiganLower 110 110 1 5.3 33 6.7
0
100
UtahLower 75 74 0 7.9 27 6.8
0
100
South DakotaUpper 35 35 1 9.1 34 6.9
0
100
MissouriUpper 33 33 1 10.0 37 7.2
0
100
ArizonaUpper 30 30 1 11.0 31 7.2
0
100
MontanaLower 100 100 1 6.1 39 7.4
0
100
IowaLower 100 100 1 8.3 31 7.4
0
100
State Chamber Size N Min Avg Max StD Graph
DelawareLower 41 41 1 10.1 39 7.6
0
100
OhioUpper 33 33 0 10.8 35 7.7
0
100
CaliforniaUpper 40 40 4 15.3 40 7.9
0
100
AlaskaLower 40 40 1 10.3 27 7.9
0
100
MichiganUpper 38 38 1 12.2 33 8.0
0
100
NevadaLower 42 42 1 6.4 33 8.0
0
100
WyomingLower 60 60 1 6.7 50 8.1
0
100
ColoradoUpper 35 34 1 10.4 32 8.2
0
100
Rhode IslandLower 75 75 1 9.3 29 8.3
0
100
South DakotaLower 70 70 1 8.2 35 8.6
0
100
GeorgiaUpper 56 56 1 13.3 35 8.8
0
100
KansasLower 125 125 0 9.1 37 8.9
0
100
IllinoisUpper 58 58 1 12.8 35 8.9
0
100
ColoradoLower 65 65 1 6.8 47 8.9
0
100
VermontLower 150 149 0 9.8 47 9.0
0
100
ArkansasUpper 35 35 1 12.5 32 9.0
0
100
New MexicoUpper 42 41 2 14.4 36 9.0
0
100
State Chamber Size N Min Avg Max StD Graph
West VirginiaLower 100 100 1 12.5 38 9.0
0
100
WashingtonLower 98 98 1 10.4 42 9.0
0
100
NevadaUpper 21 21 1 12.6 34 9.0
0
100
FloridaUpper 39 39 1 14.4 39 9.1
0
100
New HampshireLower 399 398 1 7.9 45 9.2
0
100
AlaskaUpper 20 20 3 19.8 35 9.2
0
100
WashingtonUpper 49 49 0 14.5 39 9.3
0
100
MississippiLower 122 122 0 14.1 42 9.3
0
100
TexasLower 150 150 1 11.9 43 9.4
0
100
PennsylvaniaUpper 49 49 1 18.2 39 9.5
0
100
KansasUpper 40 40 0 13.3 35 9.5
0
100
OregonUpper 30 30 1 16.0 40 9.6
0
100
MaineUpper 35 35 1 12.8 39 9.8
0
100
South CarolinaLower 123 118 1 12.2 40 9.9
0
100
HawaiiLower 51 51 0 11.1 45 9.9
0
100
New JerseyLower 80 79 1 15.6 43 10.0
0
100
DelawareUpper 21 21 1 18.8 35 10.0
0
100
State Chamber Size N Min Avg Max StD Graph
North CarolinaLower 120 120 1 11.9 44 10.1
0
100
MaineLower 152 152 1 7.7 48 10.1
0
100
MississippiUpper 51 51 0 14.0 43 10.2
0
100
MinnesotaLower 133 133 1 11.1 39 10.2
0
100
New HampshireUpper 24 24 1 11.3 39 10.2
0
100
WisconsinLower 96 96 1 11.5 50 10.3
0
100
CaliforniaLower 79 79 1 12.1 40 10.3
0
100
IllinoisLower 118 118 0 11.9 41 10.3
0
100
GeorgiaLower 179 177 1 11.3 63 10.5
0
100
MarylandUpper 47 47 1 18.5 49 10.5
0
100
LouisianaUpper 38 38 2 14.9 43 10.6
0
100
ConnecticutLower 145 139 1 13.0 40 10.6
0
100
VirginiaUpper 40 40 0 18.3 45 10.6
0
100
KentuckyUpper 38 38 1 15.7 49 10.6
0
100
IdahoLower 70 70 1 11.3 46 10.6
0
100
North CarolinaUpper 50 49 0 13.2 41 10.7
0
100
AlabamaLower 104 104 1 11.9 39 10.7
0
100
State Chamber Size N Min Avg Max StD Graph
OhioLower 99 99 0 10.0 44 10.7
0
100
New MexicoLower 70 69 1 12.4 47 10.7
0
100
MassachusettsLower 159 159 1 13.2 48 10.7
0
100
Rhode IslandUpper 38 37 1 13.5 43 10.8
0
100
KentuckyLower 100 100 1 13.3 45 10.8
0
100
North DakotaLower 94 94 1 13.5 43 10.8
0
100
TennesseeLower 99 99 0 11.0 61 10.9
0
100
VirginiaLower 99 99 0 13.6 50 11.0
0
100
PennsylvaniaLower 203 203 0 12.9 53 11.0
0
100
TexasUpper 31 31 1 17.9 41 11.1
0
100
MassachusettsUpper 40 40 1 18.9 41 11.1
0
100
AlabamaUpper 35 35 1 11.4 45 11.2
0
100
HawaiiUpper 25 25 0 14.9 33 11.2
0
100
New JerseyUpper 40 40 1 21.6 44 11.2
0
100
WyomingUpper 30 30 1 15.2 36 11.2
0
100
MarylandLower 141 141 1 14.0 43 11.3
0
100
ConnecticutUpper 33 33 1 19.2 46 11.6
0
100
State Chamber Size N Min Avg Max StD Graph
New YorkUpper 62 62 1 17.9 41 11.6
0
100
IowaUpper 50 50 0 14.7 51 11.7
0
100
North DakotaUpper 47 47 0 14.4 46 11.7
0
100
UtahUpper 29 29 1 14.9 41 11.8
0
100
NebraskaUpper 49 49 1 11.4 47 11.8
0
100
MinnesotaUpper 67 67 1 13.4 44 11.9
0
100
South CarolinaUpper 45 42 3 24.3 49 12.0
0
100
West VirginiaUpper 34 34 1 16.2 49 12.2
0
100
WisconsinUpper 33 33 1 19.2 54 12.4
0
100
New YorkLower 149 149 1 16.8 46 12.4
0
100
IdahoUpper 35 35 1 13.8 56 12.6
0
100
TennesseeUpper 33 33 1 16.7 57 13.0
0
100
IndianaLower 100 96 1 14.8 47 13.1
0
100
VermontUpper 30 30 1 18.7 47 13.2
0
100
IndianaUpper 50 49 0 19.4 45 13.9
0
100