Dashboard: A Look at the Stats Behind the Staffers
Average salary in 2006 for a chief of staff in the House: $129,736
Salary of the lowest-paid House chief of staff in 2006: $87,000
Average salary in 2006 for a House staff assistant: $29,872
Average salary in 2006 for a Senate chief of staff: $151,767
Salary in 2006 of the lowest-paid Senate chief of staff: $114,000
Average salary earned in 2006 for a Senate staff assistant: $29,664
Maximum salary earned by a House or Senate chief of staff in 2006: $160,659
Total percentage of a lawmakers salary that a top staffer can earn on Capitol Hill: 95
Number of Senate chiefs of staff who earned the maximum allowed in 2006: 38
Number of House chiefs of staff who earned the maximum allowed in 2006: 2
Number of years on average that a House chief of staff has spent in the job: 5.2
Years of experience, on average, that a House chief of staff has had in that chamber: 6.5
Fraction of House chiefs of staff who have a law degree: 1/5
Percentage of top House aides who reported earning a masters degree: 26
Percentage of chiefs of staff who did not graduate from college: 5.5
Sources: 2006 House and Senate compensation studies, ICF International, prepared for the Chief Administrative Officer and the Secretary of the Senate.
