The highest-paying House office belongs to a freshman.
Rep. Ben McAdams (D-Utah) pays the highest median salary of any current representative, regardless of seniority. His office's average of $84,200 is well above the next-best-paying freshmen, Jeff Van Drew (D-N.J.) and Lori Trahan (D-Mass.), who have respective median salaries of $74,000 and $69,500.
Average pay among all House member offices for the first quarter of this year is $51,500, slightly higher than the average ($50,700) among freshman offices.
Harley Rouda (D-Calif.) has the lowest-paying freshman office, with a median salary of $37,300, followed by Bryan Steil (R-Wis.) and Donna Shalala (D-Fla.). Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) ranks 34th among freshmen, with a median pay of $53,200. She has received attention for her unusual practice of sharply limiting pay on top staffers and compensating even the most junior staff at least $50,000.
In some offices, the high or low pay rates might reflect the composition of office staff rather than whether they pay generously or poorly. Some offices might hire fewer but more senior-level people who might be more effective, while others might stack their offices with junior staffers who don't require as much pay.
