Women in State Legislatures 2015

st leg 2015

In 2015, 1,814, or 24.6% of the 7,383 state legislators in the United States are women. Women currently hold 443, or 22.5%, of the 1,972 state senate seats and 1,371, or 25.3%, of the 5,411 state house or assembly seats. Since 1971, the number of women serving in state legislatures has more than quintupled.

The party breakdown for women serving in state legislatures in 2015 is:

  Total Legislators State Senators State Reps.
Democrats 1,091 60.1% 265 59.8% 826 60.2%
Republicans 707 39.0% 166 37.5% 541 39.5%
Nonpartisans* 11 0.6% 11 2.5% - -
Working Families Party 1 0.1% - - 1 0.1%
Independent 4 0.2% 1 0.2% 3 0.2%
TOTAL 1,814 100.0% 443 100.0% 1,371 100.0%

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

Top 10 States
Colorado (42.0%) 
Vermont (41.1%) 
Arizona (35.6%)
Washington (34.0%)
Minnesota (33.8%)
Nevada (33.3%)
Illinois (32.8%)
Maryland (31.9%)
Montana (31.3%)
Oregon (31.1%)
Bottom 10 States
Louisiana (12.5%) 
Wyoming (13.3%) 
Oklahoma (14.1%) 
South Carolina (14.1%)
Alabama (14.3%) 
West Virginia (14.9%) 
Utah (15.4%)
Kentucky (16.7%)
Virginia (17.1%) 
Mississippi (17.2%)

State Legislative Leadership

17 women serve as presidents of senates or presidents pro tempore:

Sylvia Allen (R-AZ)
Ellen S. Roberts (R-CO)
Patricia Blevins (D-DE)
Pam Jochum (D-IA)
Susan Wagle (R-KS)
Sharon Weston Broome (D-LA)
Tonya Schuitmaker (R-MI)
Sandra Pappas (DFL-MN)
Debby Barrett (R-MT)

 Sharon Carson (R-NH)
Nia Gill (D-NJ)
Mary Kay Papen (D-NM)
Ginny Burdick (D-OR)
M. Teresa Paiva-Weed (D-RI)
Pam Roach (R-WA)
Mary Lazich (R-WI)
Donna J. Boley (R-WV)
 
4 women serve as speakers of state houses:
Toni Atkins (D-CA)
Beth Harwell (R-TN)		 Dickey Lee Hullinghorst (D-CO)
Tina Kotek (D-OR)  

Women of Color

• 398 (22.0%) of the 1,814 women state legislators serving nationwide are women of color (102 senators, 296 representatives; 366D, 30R, 1NP, 1WFP).
• Women of color constitute 5.4% of the total 7,383 state legislators. 
 
 

State Legislative Firsts

1894: First 3 women state legislators elected to the Colorade State House of Representatives (Clara Cressingham, Carrie C. Holly, and Frances Klock).

1896: First woman state senator elected in Utah (Martha Hughes Cannon).

Women in State Legislatures 2015 - State by State List

  State Senate Total Women/ House Total Women/ Total Women/ %Women
State Rank D R I** Total Senate D R I** Total House Total Legis. Overall
AL 46 3 0 1 4/ 35 11 5   16/ 105 20/ 140 14.3
AK* 15 1 4   5/ 20 2 10   12/ 40 17/ 60 28.3
AZ 3 6 7   13/ 30 11 8   19/ 60 32/ 90 35.6
AR 36 3 4   7/ 35 6 14   20/ 100 27/ 135 20.0
CA* 20 8 4   12/ 40 11 8   19/ 80 31/ 120 25.8
CO 1 8 4   12/ 35 20 10   30/ 65 42/ 100 42.0
CT* 15 8 1   9/ 36 25 19   44/ 151 53/ 187 28.3
DE 28 5 1   6/ 21 7 2   9/ 41 15/ 62 24.2
FL* 23 6 6   12/ 40 13 15   28/ 120 40/ 160 25.0
GA 29 8 2   10/ 56 28 18   46/ 180 56/ 236 23.7
HI 13 8 0   8/ 25 10 4   14/ 51 22/ 76 28.9
ID 17 4 6   10/ 35 7 12   19/ 70 29/ 105 27.6
IL 7 12 4   16/ 59 32 10   42/ 118 58/ 177 32.8
IN 34 3 6   9/ 50 12 10   22/ 100 31/ 150 20.7
IA 29 6 1   7/ 50 21 6   27/ 100 34/ 150 22.7
KS 27 4 9   13/ 40 11 17   28/ 125 41/ 165 24.8
KY 43 2 2   4/ 38 11 8   19/ 100 23/ 138 16.7
LA 50 3 1   4/ 39 9 5   14/ 105 18/ 144 12.5
ME 12 5 3   8/ 35 30 16   46/ 151 54/ 186 29.0
MD 8 11 2   13/ 47 36 11   47/ 141 60/ 188 31.9
MA* 23 12 0   12/ 40 29 9   38/ 160 50/ 200 25.0
MI 35 1 3   4/ 38 17 9   26/ 110 30/ 148 20.3
MN 5 15 8   23/ 67 27 18   45/ 134 68/ 201 33.8
MS 41 2 6   8/ 52 16 6   22/ 122 30/ 174 17.2
MO 26 5 1   6/ 34 19 24   43/ 163 49/ 197 24.9
MT 9 12 6   18/ 50 21 8   29/ 100 47/ 150 31.3
NE* 31 - - 11 11/ 49 - -   11/ 49 11/ 49 22.4
NV 6 3 2   5/ 21 9 7   16/ 42 21/ 63 33.3
NH 14 4 4   8/ 24 69 45   114/ 400 122/ 424 28.8
NJ 11 8 3   11/ 40 16 10   26/ 80 37/ 120 30.8
NM 19 4 3   7/ 42 13 10   23/ 70 30/ 112 26.8
NY* 20 7 5   12/ 63 37 5 1 43/ 150 55/ 213 25.8
NC* 31 7 5   12/ 50 14 12   26/ 120 38/ 170 22.4
ND 38 4 4   8/ 47 11 8   19/ 94 27/ 141 19.1
OH* 23 4 3   7/ 33 13 13   26/ 99 33/ 132 25.0
OK* 47 3 3   6/ 48 5 10   15/ 101 21/ 149 14.1
OR 10 6 2   8/ 30 16 4   20/ 60 28/ 90 31.1
PA 39 4 5   9/ 50 16 23   39/ 203 48/ 253 19.0
RI 18 9 1   10/ 38 18 3   21/ 75 31/ 113 27.4
SC* 47 1 1   2/ 46 12 10   22/ 124 24/ 170 14.1
SD 33 1 6   7/ 35 4 11   15/ 70 22/ 105 21.0
TN 40 2 4   6/ 33 7 10   17/ 99 23/ 132 17.4
TX 37 2 5   7/ 31 16 13   29/ 150 36/ 181 19.9
UT 44 3 3   6/ 29 7 3   10/ 75 16/ 104 15.4
VT 2 7 2   9/ 30 47 15 3 65/ 150 74/ 180 41.1
VA 42 7 1   8/ 40 12 4   16/ 100 24/ 140 17.1
WA 4 10 8   18/ 49 19 13   32/ 98 50/ 147 34.0
WV 45 0 1   1/ 34 6 13   19/ 100 20/ 134 14.9
WI* 20 7 4   11/ 33 14 9   23/ 99 34/ 132 25.8
WY 49 1 0   1/ 30   3 8   11/ 60    12/ 90     13.3
    265 166 12 443/ 1,972 826 541 4 1,371/ 5,411 1,814/ 7,383

24.6

  * States share the same rank if their proportions of women legislators are exactly equal or round off to be equal (AK, CT;  CA, NY, WI; FL, OH, MA; NC, NE; OK, SC).
**  I = other parties; in the Senate, 1 Independent, 11 non-partisans; in the House, 1 Working Families Party, 3 Independents.

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