Women in State Legislatures 2023

Number and Percentage of Women in State Legislatures, 1980-2023

Current State Legislature
2,412
(1,576D, 809R, 21NP, 6Ind)
32.7% of 7,386 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
591
(381D, 191R, 18NP, 1Ind)
30% of 1,973 seats
Full list of officeholders
State House/Assembly
1,821
(1,195D, 618R, 3NP, 5Ind)
33.6% of 5,413 seats
Full list of officeholders
Party Breakdown
Party Total Legislators State Senators State Representatives
Democrats 1,576 (65.3%) 381 (64.5%) 1,195 (65.6%)
Republicans 809 (33.5%) 191 (32.3%) 618 (33.9%)
Nonpartisans* 21 (0.9%) 18 (3.0%) 3 (0.2%)
Independents 6 (0.2%) 1 (0.2%) 5 (0.3%)
Progressives 0 (0%) 0 (0%) 0 (0%)
TOTAL 2,412 (100%) 591 (100%) 1,821 (100%)

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

Top 10 States

Nevada (60.3%)
Arizona (48.9%)
Colorado (48.0%)
Washington (45.6%)
Vermont (45.0%)
New Mexico (43.8%)
Maine (43.5%)
Rhode Island (43.4%)
Illinois (42.4%)
Maryland (42.0%)
 

Bottom 10 States

West Virginia (12.7%)
Mississippi (14.4%)
South Carolina (14.7%)
Tennessee (15.2%)
Alabama (17.1%)
Louisiana (19.4%)
Oklahoma (19.5%)
Wyoming (21.5%)
Arkansas (23.0%)
North Dakota (24.8%)

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 27 legislators whose race/ethnicity we could not confirm.

More information on State Legislators by Race and Ethnicity.

Of the 2,412 current women state legislators:

  • 99 identify as Asian American/Pacific Islander
  • 374 identify as Black
  • 191 identify as Latina
  • 13 identify as Middle Eastern/North African
  • 2 identify as Multiracial Alone
  • 36 identify as Native American/Alaska Native/Native Hawaiian 
  • 1,725 identify as white

 

State Legislative Leadership

More information on women in state legislative leadership

Current Women Presidents or Presidents Pro Tem of Senates
16
(11D, 5R)

Toni Atkins (D-CA)
Kathleen Passidomo (R-FL)
Michelle Kidani (D-HI)
Amy Sinclair (R-IA)
Beth Mizell (R-LA)
Karen Spilka (D-MA)
Ann H. Rest (D-MN)
Sandra Cunningham (D-NJ)
Mimi Stewart (D-NM)
Pat Spearman (D-NV)
Andrea Stewart-Cousins (D-NY)
Kim L. Ward (R-PA)
Hanna M. Gallo (D-RI)
Louise Lucas (D-VA)
Karen Keiser (D-WA)
Donna J. Boley (R-WV)

Current Women Speakers of State Houses
8
(7D, 1R)

Cathy Tilton (R-AK)
Julie McCluskie (D-CO)
Adrienne Jones (D-MD)
Rachel Talbot Ross (D-ME)
Melissa Hortman (D-MN)
Joanna McClinton (D-PA)
Jill Krowinski (D-VT)
Laurie Jinkins (D-WA)

Current Women in D.C. and Territorial Legislatures
48
(15D, 2R, 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
(2D, 1Ind, 1NP, 5PNP, 5PPD, 3 Third Party)
Territorial House/Assembly
15
(1D, 2Ind, 1NP, 3PNP, 6PPD, 2 Third Party)
Territorial Unicameral Legislatures
16
(12D, 2R, 2I)

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

Location Total Women Total Legislature % Women Overall
American Samoa 2 (2NP) 39 5.1%
District of Columbia 5 (4D, 1Ind) 13 38.5%
Guam 6 (4D, 2R) 15 40.0%
Northern Mariana Islands 6 (3D, 3Ind) 29 20.7%
Puerto Rico 24 (8PNP, 11PPD, 5 Third Party)* 78 30.8%
Virgin Islands 5 (4D, 1Ind) 16 31.3%

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.
  • 2011: Margarita Prentice (D) became Senate President Pro Tempore of the Washington Senate, the first Latina to lead either chamber of a state legislature.
  • 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. 
  • 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 2023
State State Rank Senate Total Women/Total Senate House Total Women/Total House Total Women/Total Legislators %Women Overall
AL 46 3D, 1R 4/35 10D, 10R 20/105 24/140 17.1
AK 24 2D, 3R 5/20 7D, 6R, 2Ind 15/40 20/60 33.3
AZ 2 11D, 5R 16/30 19D, 9R 28/60 44/90 48.9
AR 42 2D, 3R 5/35 10D, 16R 26/100 31/135 23.0
AS N/A 1Ind** 1/18 1 1/21 2/39 5.1
CA 11 15D, 3R 18/40 27D, 5R 32/80 50/120 41.7
CO 3 11D, 2R 13/35 30D, 5R 35/65 48/100 48.0
CT 16 10D, 2R 12/36 39D, 19R 58/151 70/187 37.4
DC N/A 4D, 1Ind 5/13 n/a -unicameral- 5/13 38.5
DE 18 8D, 0R 8/21 14D, 1R 15/41 23/62 37.1
FL 12 7D, 9R 16/40 25D, 15R 50/120 66/160 41.3
GA* 22 14D, 2R 16/56 46D, 19R 65/180 81/236 34.3
GU N/A 4D, 2R 6/15 n/a -unicameral- 6/15 40.0
HI 19 8D, 0R 8/25 18D, 2R 20/51 28/76 36.8
ID 31 4D, 7R 11/35 5D, 16R 21/70 32/105 30.5
IL 9 20D, 5R 25/59 43D, 7R 50/118 75/177 42.4
IN 38 3D, 7R 10/50 15D, 16R 31/100 41/150 27.3
IA 35 8D, 7R 15/50 16D, 13R 29/100 44/150 29.3
KS 30 7D, 10R 17/40 18D, 16R 34/125 51/165 30.9
KY 32 4D, 5R 9/38 15D, 18R 33/100 42/138 30.4
LA 45 2D, 3R 5/39 9D, 14R 23/105 28/144 19.4
ME 7 11D, 3R 14/35 48D, 19R 67/151 81/186 43.5
MD 10 14D, 1R 15/47 57D, 7R 64/141 79/188 42.0
MA 29 11D, 0R 11/40 46D, 4R, 1Ind 51/160 62/200 31.0
MI 14 12D, 3R 15/38 31D, 12R 43/110 58/148 39.2
MN 17 19D, 3R 22/67 36D, 17R 53/134 75/201 37.3
MS 49 3D, 7R 10/52 6D, 7R, 2I 15/122 25/174 14.4
MO 36 5D, 7R 12/34 28D, 17R 45/163 57/197 28.9
MP N/A 2D, 1Ind 3/9 1D, 2I 3/20 6/29 20.7
MT* 26 10D, 4R 14/50 15D, 19R 34/100 48/150 32.0
NE 20 18NP 18/49 n/a -unicameral- 18/49 36.7
NV 1 9D, 4R 13/21 20D, 5R 25/42 38/63 60.3
NH 15 7D, 5R 12/24 99D, 49R, 1NP 149/400 161/424 38.0
NJ 21 8D, 3R 11/40 21D, 11R 32/80 43/120 35.8
NM 6 10D, 1R 11/42 31D, 7R 38/70 49/112 43.8
NY* 22 17D, 3R 20/63 50D, 3R 53/150 73/213 34.3
NC 34 13D, 4R 17/50 24D, 9R 33/120 50/170 29.4
ND 41 1D, 7R 8/47 9D, 18R 27/94 35/141 24.8
OH 37 3D, 5R 8/33 13D, 17R 30/99 38/132 28.8
OK 44 5D, 5R 10/48 10D, 9R 19/101 29/149 19.5
OR 13 7D, 2R 9/30 18D, 10R 28/60 37/90 41.1
PA* 26 8D, 9R 17/50 37D, 27R 64/203 81/253 32.0
PR N/A 13Ind 13/27 n/a 11Ind 24/78 30.8
RI 8 14D, 2R 16/38 30D, 3R 33/75 49/113 43.4
SC 48 1D, 3R, 1nd 5/46 8D, 12R 20/124 25/170 14.7
SD 40 2D, 5R 7/35 4D, 17R 21/70 28/105 26.7
TN 47 5D, 3R 8/33 3D, 9R 12/99 20/132 15.2
TX 33 4D, 4R 8/31 32D, 14R 46/150 54/181 29.8
UT 39 5D, 2R 7/29 8D, 13R 21/75 28/104 26.9
VI N/A 4D, 1Ind 5/16 n/a -unicameral- 5/16 31.3
VT 5 12D, 0R 12/30 58D, 9R, 2Ind 69/150 81/180 45.0
VA 25 6D, 3R 9/40 26D, 11R 37/100 46/140 32.9
WA 4 15D, 5R 20/49 35D, 12R 47/98 67/147 45.6
WV 50 0D, 4R 4/34 2D, 11R 13/100 17/134 12.7
WI 28 5D, 3R 8/33 20D, 13R 33/99 41/132 31.1
WY 43 0D, 7R 7/31 3D, 10R 13/62 20/93   21.5

* States share the same rank if their proportions of women legislators are exactly equal or round off to be equal (NY, GA; PA, MT).
** Ind = other parties; in the Senate, 18 non-partisans, 1 Independent; in the House, 3 non-partisans, 5 Independents.