Average Age of Government Officials: Congress, Executive, and Judiciary

The average age of government officials in the United States runs well above the age of the public they serve. At the start of the 119th Congress in January 2025, the median age was 64.7 in the Senate and 57.5 in the House.¹²³ The U.S. population’s median age at the 2010 census was 37.2.⁴

Congress by the Numbers

The 119th Congress averages about 57.3 years in the House and 63.7 in the Senate.⁵ A separate Congressional Research Service profile put those averages slightly higher, at 57.9 and 63.9.⁶ The Senate runs about six years older than the House, a gap tied to longer terms and fewer competitive races.

Party breakdowns are closer than the partisan tone of the age debate might suggest. In the House, the median age for Republicans and Democrats both sits near 57.5. In the Senate, Democrats have a median age of 66 and Republicans 64.5.¹ House Democrats have nearly twice as many members aged 70 or older as House Republicans.⁷

Generation X now edges out the Baby Boomers as the largest bloc in the House, with 180 members (41%) to 170 Boomers (39%). Millennials hold 66 seats (15%), and 17 members of the Silent Generation still serve. The Senate remains a Boomer institution: 60 of its 99 counted members are Boomers, alongside 28 Gen Xers, 6 Silent Generation members, and 5 Millennials.¹

The oldest sitting senator is Chuck Grassley of Iowa at 91. Mitch McConnell and Bernie Sanders are both 83. In the House, Hal Rogers and Eleanor Holmes Norton are 87, Maxine Waters is 86, and Steny Hoyer is 85.⁸ At the other end, Representative Maxwell Frost of Florida is the sole Gen Z member of Congress.¹ No Gen Z senators are possible yet; the Constitution requires senators to be at least 30.

The Executive Branch

President Donald Trump turned 80 in June 2026, placing him among only 17 leaders older than himself out of 186 UN member states.⁹ His cabinet skews younger than recent administrations. The average age of his picks for key positions, including the Vice President, Chief of Staff, and Secretaries of State, Treasury, and Defense, was 54.1 at the time of appointment. Vice President JD Vance was 40, Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt was 27, and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth was 44.¹⁰

The Supreme Court and Federal Judiciary

The nine sitting Supreme Court justices average roughly 65.6 years. Clarence Thomas is the oldest at 78, and Amy Coney Barrett the youngest at 54.² Lifetime tenure keeps justices on the bench well into old age, and the broader federal judiciary follows the same pattern. A 2023 analysis found the median age of sitting federal judges was 68, with roughly two-thirds aged 65 or older and a third 75 or older.³ The Federal Judicial Center notes that the average age of Article III judges has “generally risen over the course of American history,” driven by the ages at which modern presidents make appointments and by rising life expectancy.¹¹

The Trend Since 1945

Congress has not always been this old. A Congressional Research Service analysis of every Congress since 1945 found the median age of House members bottomed out at 48.4 during the 98th Congress (1983–1984), then climbed steadily to a record 57.5 by the 113th Congress (2013–2014). In the Senate, the low point was 51.7 during the 97th Congress (1981–1982), with a high of 62.8 in the 110th Congress (2007–2008).⁴

The trend has largely plateaued since. Across the last four Congresses (116th through 119th), House averages have held near 57 to 58, and Senate averages have stayed between 63 and 64.⁶ The upward shift since the early 1980s tracks longer life expectancy, the advantages of incumbency, and a political culture that rewards seniority with committee chairmanships and influence.

How the U.S. Compares Internationally

American lawmakers are older than most of their peers abroad. Inter-Parliamentary Union data show many national parliaments averaging in the mid-40s to low 50s. Germany’s Bundestag averages 45.4, France’s National Assembly 49.3, Canada’s House of Commons 52.3, and Australia’s House of Representatives 52.0.¹² The European Parliament averages 54, with members ranging from 26 to 83.¹³ Cambodia’s National Assembly, at 66.5, is a notable outlier on the high end.

Only 2.8% of the world’s parliamentarians are 30 or younger, and 18.8% are 40 or under, according to an IPU report. Norway, Armenia, and San Marino lead in representation of lawmakers under 30.¹⁴

Among heads of state and government, Pew Research Center puts the global median at 62, with 34% of world leaders in their 60s. As of mid-2026, Nepal’s Prime Minister Balen Shah was the youngest national leader at 36, and Cameroon’s Paul Biya the oldest at 93.¹⁵⁹ Countries rated “not free” by Freedom House tend to have older leaders (median age 68) than “free” countries (median 60).

The Gerontocracy Debate

Critics increasingly describe the U.S. political system as a gerontocracy. Timothy Noah of Politico has noted that the median age of America’s top political leaders reached 77, exceeding the Soviet Politburo’s median age of 71 when Leonid Brezhnev died in 1982.¹⁶ Yale professor Samuel Moyn has called gerontocracy “a form of oligarchy,” akin to plutocracy. Analysts at the RAND Corporation have suggested that officials with cognitive decline could pose national security risks by inadvertently sharing sensitive information.¹⁷

Specific cases have kept the concern in the news. Former Representative Kay Granger of Texas reportedly resided in a senior living facility while suffering from dementia during her time in office, and Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell had documented episodes of freezing at podiums.¹⁷

Public support for reform runs high. A 2023 Pew Research Center survey found 79% of U.S. adults favor maximum age limits for federal elected officials, and 74% support age limits for Supreme Court justices, with broad bipartisan agreement.¹⁸ During her 2024 presidential campaign, Nikki Haley proposed mandatory mental competency tests for politicians over 75.¹⁹ Representative John James of Michigan introduced a constitutional amendment resolution in September 2023 to establish an upper age limit for the presidency, vice presidency, and congressional service. The measure died without a vote.²⁰

Any federal age limit would require a constitutional amendment, meaning two-thirds approval in both chambers of Congress and ratification by three-fourths of state legislatures. That threshold keeps the practical prospects remote regardless of polling. The average age of American government officials continues to sit well above the population they serve.

1
Pew Research Center. Age and Generation in the 119th Congress
2
Supreme Court of the United States. Biographies of Current Justices
3
Cardozo School of Law. Age of Federal Judges
4
Every CRS Report. Representatives and Senators: Trends in Member Characteristics Since 1945
5
Center for Youth Political Participation, Rutgers University. The 119th U.S. Congress
6
U.S. Congress. Membership of the 119th Congress: A Profile
7
The New York Times. Congress Age
8
Quorum. Age of Congress
9
Forbes. There Are Only 16 Out of 186 World Leaders Older Than Trump
10
Axios. Trump Cabinet Age
11
Federal Judicial Center. Age and Experience of Judges
12
Inter-Parliamentary Union. Age Brackets – Parline Database
13
European Parliament. MEPs: Age and Generational Representation
14
Inter-Parliamentary Union. Youth Participation in National Parliaments: 2023
15
Pew Research Center. Oldest and Youngest Current World Leaders
16
Texas Standard. How America’s Gerontocracy Affects the Political System
17
Georgetown Security Studies Review. A Modern-Day Sparta: The American Gerontocracy
18
Pew Research Center. How Americans View Proposals To Change the Political System
19
Politico. Nikki Haley Calls for Competency Tests
20
GovTrack. H.J.Res. 87 – 118th Congress