Women in State Legislatures 2021

Number and Percentage of Women in State Legislatures, 1980-2021

Current State Legislature
2,299
(1,517D, 760R, 13NP, 7Ind, 2Prg)
31.1% of 7,383 seats

Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled.

NP = non-partisan, Ind = Independent, Prg = Progressive

State-by-State Summary Data on Current Women State Legislators

State Senate
560
(360D, 187R, 13NP)
28.4% of 1,972 seats
Full list of officeholders
State House/Assembly
1,739
(1,157D, 573R, 7Ind, 2Prg)
32.1% of 5,411 seats
Full list of officeholders
Party Breakdown
Party Total Legislators State Senators State Representatives
Democrats 1,517 (66.0%) 360 (64.3%) 1,157 (66.6%)
Republicans 760 (33.1%) 187 (33.4%) 573 (32.9%)
Nonpartisans* 13 (0.6%) 13 (2.3%) 0 (0%)
Independents 7 (0.3%) 0 (0%) 7 (0.3%)
Progressives 2 (0.1%) 0 (0%) 2 (0.1%)
TOTAL 2,299 (100%) 560 (100%) 1,739 (100%)

*In Nebraska, where the legislature is unicameral, legislators are elected on a nonpartisan basis.

Top 10 States

Nevada (58.7%)
Oregon (45.6%)
Rhode Island (44.2%)
Maine (44.1%)
Colorado (44.0%)
New Mexico (43.8%)
Maryland (43.1%)
Arizona (42.2%)
Washington (42.2%)
Vermont (41.1%)

Bottom 10 States

West Virginia (13.4%)
Mississippi (15.5%)
Tennessee (16.7%)
Alabama (17.1%)
South Carolina (17.1%)
Wyoming (17.8%)
Louisiana (19.4%)
Oklahoma (20.8%)
North Dakota (22.7%)
Arkansas (23.0%)

State Legislators by Race and Ethnicity

*Women who self-identify as more than one race/ethnicity are included on CAWP pages for each group with which they identify. We strongly caution against adding totals from each racial/ethnic group should, as it will double count officeholders. This figure does not include nine legislators whose race/ethnicity we could not confirm.

More information on State Legislators by Race and Ethnicity.

Of the 2,299 current women state legislators:

  • 74 identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander
  • 366 identify as Black
  • 155 identify as Latina
  • 11 identify as Middle Eastern/North African
  • 2 identify as Multiracial Alone
  • 31 identify as Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian 
  • 1,706 identify as white

State Legislative Leadership

More information on women in state legislative leadership

Current Women Presidents or Presidents Pro Tem of Senates
15
(11D, 4R)

Karen Fann (R-AZ)
Toni Atkins (D-CA)
Kerry Donovan (D-CO)
Michelle Kidani (D-HI)
Beth Mizell (R-LA)
Karen Spilka (D-MA)
Melony G. Griffith (D-MD)
Sharon M. Carson (R-NH)
M. Teresa Ruiz (D-NJ)
Mimi Stewart (D-NM)
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY)
Louise Lucas (D-VA)
Rebecca Balint (D-VT)
Karen Keiser (D-WA)
Donna J. Boley (R-WV)

Current Women Speakers of State Houses
7
(6D, 1R)

Louise Stutes (R-AK)
Adrienne Jones (D-MD)
Melissa Hortman (D-MN)
Tina Kotek (D-OR)
Eileen Filler-Corn (D-VA)
Mitzi Johnson (D-VT)
Laurie Jinkins (D-WA)

Current Women in D.C. and Territorial Legislatures
54
(19D, 4R, 5Ind, 2NP, 8PNP, 11PPD, 5 Third Party)

Count includes women legislators in U.S. Territories (American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands) and on the D.C. City Council. PNP stands for Partido Nuevo Progresista, or the New Progressive Party, and PPD stands for Partido Popular Democratico, or the Popular Democratic Party, both parties specific to Puerto Rico.

Territorial Senate
17
(14D, 4R, 5Ind, 1NP, 5PNP, 6PPD, 3 Third Party)
Territorial House/Assembly
16
(5D, 1NP, 3PNP, 5PPD, 2 Third Party)
Territorial Unicameral Legislatures
21
(13D, 4R, 4I)

(Washington D.C., Guam, Virgin Islands)

Location Total Women Total Legislature % Women Overall
American Samoa 2 (2NP) 39 5.1%
District of Columbia 7 (5D, 2Ind) 13 53.8%
Guam 9 (5D, 4R) 15 60.0%
Northern Mariana Islands 7 (6D, 1Ind) 29 24.1%
Puerto Rico 24 (8PNP, 11PPD, 4 Third Party)* 78 30.8%
Virgin Islands 5 (3D, 2Ind) 15 33.3%

State Legislative Firsts

  • 1894: The first three women elected to a state legislature in the country were Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly, and Frances Klock, all in the Colorado House of Representatives.
  • 1896: Martha Hughes Cannon (D-UT) became the first woman elected state senator in the country.
  • 1924: Cora Belle Reynolds Anderson (R-MI) became the first woman of color elected to a state legislature.
  • 1933: Minnie Davenport Craig (R-ND) became the first woman to serve as speaker of a state house.
  • 1974: Elaine Noble (D-MA) became the first openly LGBT candidate elected to a state legislature.
  • 1983: Vesta Roy (R-NH) became the first woman to serve as president of a state senate.
  • 2007: Colleen Hanabusa (D-HI) became the first woman of color to serve as president of a state senate.
  • 2008: Karen Bass (D-CA) became the first woman of color to serve as speaker of a state house.
  • 2013:Tina Kotek (D-OR) became the country's first openly lesbian state House speaker. 
  • 2017: Twenty-five years after Althea Garrison's election and non-consensual outing, Danica Roem (D-VA) became the first openly transgender person to be elected and to serve in a state legislature in the United States. 
  • 2017: Crisanta Duran (D) became speaker of the Colorado General Assembly, the first Latina to lead either house of a state legislature.
  • 2019: Nevada became the first state to have women hold a majority of state legislative seats (32 of 63, or 50.8%). 

For other important state legislative firsts, visit the Milestones for Women in American Politics page.

Women in State Legislatures 2021
State State Rank Senate Total Women/Total Senate House Total Women/Total House Total Women/Total Legislators %Women Overall
AL* 46 4D, 1R 5/35 12D, 7R 19/105 24/140 17.1
AK* 28 1D, 4R 5/20 7D, 6R 13/40 18/60 30.0
AZ 8 9D, 6R 15/30 13D, 10R 23/60 38/90 42.2
AR 41 3D, 4R 7/35 10D, 14R 24/100 31/135 23.0
AS N/A 1Ind** 1/18 1I 1/21 2/39 5.1
CA 21 11D, 4R 15/40 19D, 5R 24/80 39/120 32.5
CO 5 11D, 1R 12/35 26D, 6R 32/65 44/100 44.0
CT 19 8D, 1R 9/36 34D, 20R 54/151 63/187 33.7
DC N/A 5R, 2Ind 7/13 n/a -unicameral- 7/13 53.8
DE 27 7D, 0R 7/21 11D, 1R 12/41 19/62 30.6
FL 16 8D, 7R 15/40 23D, 17R 40/120 55/160 34.4
GA 18 15D, 2R 17/56 46D, 17R 63/180 80/236 33.9
GU N/A 5D, 4R 9/15 n/a -unicameral- 9/15 60.0
HI 17 10D, 0R 10/25 14D, 2R 16/51 26/76 34.2
ID 22 4D, 7R 11/35 6D, 17R 23/70 34/105 32.4
IL 11 21D, 4R 25/59 39D, 8R 47/118 72/177 40.7
IN 40 2D, 7R 9/50 15D, 12R 27/100 36/150 24.0
IA 32 7D, 5R 12/50 21D, 10R 31/100 43/150 28.7
KS 30 6D, 10R 16/40 18D, 15R 33/125 49/165 29.7
KY 34 3D, 3R 6/38 17D, 14R 31/100 37/138 26.8
LA 44 3D, 3R 6/39 9D, 13R 22/105 28/144 19.4
ME 4 9D, 4R 13/35 48D, 20R, 1I 69/151 82/186 44.1
MD 7 13D, 2R 15/47 57D, 9R 66/141 81/188 43.1
MA 23 12D, 0R 12/40 45D, 5R 51/160 63/200 31.5
MI 15 8D, 3R 11/38 27D, 14R 41/110 52/148 35.1
MN* 12 14D, 7R 21/67 38D, 13R 51/134 72/201 35.8
MS 49 3D, 7R 10/52 9D, 7R, 1Ind 17/122 27/174 15.5
MO 38 5D, 6R 11/34 26D, 14R 40/163 51/197 25.9
MP N/A 1D, 1Ind 2/9 0D, 5R 5/20 7/29 24.1
MT 20 11D, 1R 12/50 17D, 20R 37/100 49/150 32.7
NE* 35 13Ind 13/49 n/a -unicameral- 13/49 26.5
NV 1 7D, 2R 9/21 20D, 8R 28/42 37/63 58.7
NH* 12 5D, 5R 10/24 94D, 48R 142/400 152/424 35.8
NJ 26 9D, 2R 11/40 19D, 7R 26/80 37/120 30.8
NM 6 10D, 2R 12/42 28D, 8R 37/70 49/112 43.8
NY 14 14D, 5R 19/63 52D, 4R 56/150 75/213 35.2
NC* 35 10D, 6R 16/50 21D, 8R 29/120 45/170 26.5
ND 42 4D, 7R 11/47 8D, 13R 21/94 32/141 22.7
OH* 24 4D, 4R 8/33 18D, 15R 33/99 41/132 31.1
OK 43 5D, 4R 9/48 9D, 13R 22/101 31/149 20.8
OR 2 6D, 1R 7/30 22D, 12R 34/60 41/90 45.6
PA 31 8D, 6R 14/50 32D, 29R 61/203 75/253 29.6
PR N/A 14Ind 14/27 n/a 10Ind 24/78 30.8
RI 3 16D, 2R 18/38 29D, 3R 32/75 50/113 44.2
SC 46 2D, 3R 5/46 13D, 11R 24/124 29/170 17.1
SD 33 1D, 8R 9/35 4D, 17R 21/70 30/105 28.6
TN 48 5D, 3R 8/33 4D, 10R 14/99 22/132 16.7
TX* 35 4D, 6R 10/31 31D, 7R 38/150 48/181 26.5
UT 39 4D, 1R 5/29 12D, 9R 21/75 26/104 25.0
VI N/A 3D, 2Ind 5/15 n/a -unicameral- 5/15 33.3
VT 10 10D 10/30 46D, 13R, 5Ind 64/150 74/180 41.1
VA* 28 7D, 4R 11/40 25D, 6R 31/100 42/140 30.0
WA 8 14D, 5R 19/49 34D, 9R 43/98 62/147 42.2
WV 50 1D, 3R 4/34 4D, 10R 14/100 18/134 13.4
WI* 25 6D, 4R 10/33 21D, 10R 31/99 41/132 31.1
WY 45 5R 5/30 4D, 7R 11/60 16/90     17.8

* States share the same rank if their proportions of women legislators are exactly equal or round off to be equal (AK, VA; NH, MN; NC, NE, TX; OH, WI).
** Ind = other parties; in the Senate, 13 non-partisans; in the House, 2 Progressives, 6 Independents.