The growing wealth gap between Congress and constituents: By the numbers

The economic disparity between U.S. Congress members and the constituents they represent is growing, according to new data from the Center for Responsive Politics. Between 2004 and 2010, the median net worth of members of Congress jumped 15 percent, while the median net worth for the average American dropped eight percent. This is concerning, says Peter Whoriskey at The Washington Post, because "the growth of income inequality has tracked very closely with measures of political polarization." Here’s how the widening gap breaks down:

$280,000

Median net worth of a House member in 1984, adjusted for inflation, according to The Washington Post

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

$725,000

Median net worth of a House member in 2009, an increase of 160 percent over 25 years

$913,000

Median net worth of a Congress member when the Senate body is included, according to The New York Times

$20,600

Median net worth of an average American in 1984, adjusted for inflation

$20,500

Median net worth of an average American in 2009, a decline over that same 25-year period

35.4 times

How much more the median net value of a House member is worth than that of the average American

$176,000

Annual base pay for a member of Congress

$44,410

Mean annual salary for employed Americans in 2010, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics

$864,000

Median net worth of the freshman class of Congress elected last year

26

Increase, in percentage, adjusted for inflation, of the 2010 freshmen's median net worth over that of the 2004 freshmen

$100,000

Amount Rep. Ed Pastor (D - Ariz.) held in his saving account when he was first elected to Congress in 1991, according to The New York Times. In his 20 years serving Congress, he has managed to save nearly a million dollars.

$1.4 million

Average amount spent by winning House candidates on their election campaigns last year

4 times

Increase in the average cost of a 2010 congressional campaign over that of a 1975 campaign, adjusted for inflation. "Running a campaign has become much, much more expensive," says Whoriskey, making it more likely that those who choose to run are already wealthy and can contribute their own funds to a campaign.

Sources: Balloon Juice, Bureau of Labor Statisitics, NY Times, Prairie Weather, Wash. Post