The U.S. House of Representatives by the Numbers

The number of years in a representative’s term. Like senators, members of the House of Representatives have no term limits.

The number of voting members in the House of Representatives, who together represent the 50 states’ 329 million people. The number representing each state depends on its population. 

The number of members of the House of Representatives from the state with the highest population: California. 

The number of members of the House of Representatives from each of the seven states with the lowest populations: Alaska, Delaware, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Vermont, and Wyoming.

The number of members who represented a population of about 3.7 million in the first House of Representatives in 1789. 

The year Congress permanently capped the number of representatives at 435.

The number of nonvoting members in the House of Representatives. One represents Washington, D.C., and five represent U.S. territories: American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. Though they cannot vote as part of the entire body of the House, they can vote in committees.

The number of standing committees that are in the House of Representatives. Their work includes considering bills, monitoring government activities, and recommending how to spend money. 

The number of presidents who have also served as members of the House of Representatives. But only one — John Quincy Adams — did so after his presidency.

The number of votes needed for a simple majority in the House of Representatives, required for most situations such as passing legislation and setting procedural rules.

The number of votes needed for a two-thirds supermajority, required to override a presidential veto, expel members from the House of Representatives, and propose constitutional amendments.

The number of years served by the longest tenured member of the House of Representatives — John Dingell Jr. representing Michigan from 1955 to 2015.

The number of people who have served in the House of Representatives since 1789.

The total number of members who have served as speaker of the House of Representatives, the chamber leader who presides over debate and voting and often sets legislative priorities. 

The proportion of the enslaved population the framers of the Constitution allowed to be counted every 10 years when determining how many representatives a state would send to the House of Representatives.

The amendment that officially repealed the three-fifths rule. Ratified in 1868, it specified that seats in the House of Representatives would be determined by “the whole number of persons in each State.” 

The minimum age for a person to qualify to become a member of the House of Representatives.

The minimum number of years of U.S. citizenship a person must have to qualify to become a member of the House of Representatives.