Looking for a pay bump? Three members now pay their staff a median salary in the six figures, according to a new LegiStorm analysis.
Sen. John Fetterman's (D-Pa.) staffers have made a median annual salary rate of nearly $103,900 in the first nine months of the senator's freshman term. Reps. Lance Gooden (R-Texas) and Rep. Raúl Grijalva (D-Ariz.) each paid their median staffer an annual rate more than $101,700 since January.
This analysis, which includes only those staffers working full time and on a permanent basis, examines Senate personal-office salary rates from October 2022-September 2023 and House personal-office salary rates from January-September 2023. For Fetterman and other freshman senators, the data spans from January-September 2023.
During that time, Fetterman's median staffer made an annual rate that is 44% higher than the Senate median of $72,000. Annual pay rates for Gooden's and Grijalva's median staffer were 47% higher than the House's $69,000 median.
Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) paid the lowest rates of their respective chambers, with a $46,700 median among Cuellar's personal-office staff and a $48,800 median among Grassley's.
