The Salary Slowdown Has Become a Salary Decline
House staff salaries did not suddenly weaken in 2026. The warning signs were already visible in 2025.
For All House Staff excluding interns, average compensation rose sharply after 2021. It increased from $67,343 in 2021 to $79,584 in 2022, then climbed to $83,809 in 2023 and $86,415 in 2024.
That was the peak.
In 2025, average compensation slipped to $86,270. That decline was modest, but it mattered because it marked the first break in the post-2021 salary growth trend.
The newest 2026 Q1 data shows the problem getting worse. Average compensation for All House Staff excluding interns is now $84,608 in 2026 QTD, down from $86,270 in 2025 and $1,807 below the 2024 peak.
House staff salaries did not just stop rising. They have now fallen for two straight data periods.
This does not mean every individual staffer received a pay cut. Averages can move because of turnover, hiring mix, vacancies, promotions, senior staff departures, or changes in the balance between junior and senior positions. But as a House-wide workforce signal, the direction is clear.
The post-2021 compensation gains are no longer building. They are eroding.
House Staff Pay Has Fallen Since Its 2024 Peak
Flat Budgets Are Turning Into Workforce Pressure
The timing matters.
House staff pay improved after Congress made major investments in Member office capacity. Those increases helped offices raise salaries, compete more effectively for talent, and begin correcting years of compensation pressure across the congressional workforce.
But budgets have been effectively flat since 2023. That creates a different operating environment.
A flat budget does not mean flat costs. Offices still face salary expectations, district office expenses, technology needs, travel costs, constituent communication demands, and the daily operating costs of running a congressional office. When budgets stop growing, payroll pressure builds quickly.
That pressure is now visible in the salary data.
HillClimbers has previously shown that congressional staffing levels rise or fall based on how much Congress invests in itself. The 2026 Q1 data appears consistent with that broader pattern. When investment grows, offices gain capacity. When investment stalls, salary and staffing pressure begin to surface.
The 2025 decline could have been read as a pause. The 2026 QTD decline makes that interpretation harder.
The 2025 dip looked like a warning sign. The 2026 Q1 data looks like the pressure deepening.
Why the No-Intern Salary View Matters
House-wide salary averages can be misleading when interns are included.
Paid interns are an important part of the congressional workforce, and HillClimbers has separately analyzed how paid congressional intern staffing has increased while average stipends have fallen. But interns are not compensated like permanent staff, and including them in the overall salary average changes the interpretation.
In 2026 QTD, the average for All House Staff is $74,769. The average for All House Staff excluding interns is $84,608.
That is a difference of nearly $10,000.
This is why HillClimbers treats the no-intern view as a separate workforce measure. As explained in the related analysis, the average House staff salary jumps nearly $10,000 when interns are excluded. That distinction matters for anyone trying to understand permanent congressional staff compensation.
Interns are part of the staffing ecosystem. They should not define the baseline for what permanent House staff earn.
Staffing Capacity Has Not Recovered Either
The salary decline is not happening in isolation.
Average daily staffing for All House Staff excluding interns peaked at 7,534 in 2024. It fell to 7,443 in 2025 and sits at 7,445 in 2026 QTD.
That is not a collapse. But it is a clear sign that staffing capacity has not recovered to its 2024 level.
HillClimbers has previously shown that House office staffing levels have started shrinking again. The newest salary data reinforces that broader staffing story. Offices are not just seeing weaker compensation growth. They are operating with average daily staffing below the recent peak.
For Member offices, this matters because workload does not decline just because budgets stay flat. Constituent needs continue. Legislative demands continue. Communications, casework, oversight, district engagement, scheduling, and administrative compliance still have to be handled.
When staffing stops growing, the work does not disappear. It gets redistributed.
Offices Are Running Out of Easy Tradeoffs
A flat budget is not neutral in a rising-cost environment.
Member offices use their budgets to cover staff salaries, district operations, travel, constituent communication, technology, office supplies, equipment, and other operating needs. When budgets stop growing for multiple years, offices have fewer easy options.
Those tradeoffs can show up in several ways:
- slower hiring
- fewer added positions
- longer vacancies
- smaller raises
- delayed promotions
- increased reliance on junior staff
- reduced ability to retain experienced staff
- more pressure on district and constituent service teams
- tougher competition with private-sector, nonprofit, campaign, and executive-branch salaries
The HillClimbers data does not prove which specific mechanism is driving the 2026 QTD decline. It does show the aggregate effect: salary growth has not merely stalled. Average compensation has now moved down from the 2024 peak, and staffing remains below its recent high.
That is the workforce story.
The House made meaningful compensation gains after 2021. But those gains are proving difficult to maintain under flat budgets.
Salary Pressure Can Become Retention Pressure
Pay is not just a payroll issue. It is a capacity issue.
Congressional offices depend heavily on staff experience. Staff learn how to manage constituent problems, negotiate legislation, brief Members, work with committees, handle district relationships, and operate within the constraints of the House. That knowledge compounds over time.
When compensation weakens or staffing capacity tightens, offices risk losing experienced staff faster than they can replace them. HillClimbers has found that low-paying congressional offices experience the highest staff turnover, which makes compensation pressure an institutional concern, not just an individual one.
This is especially important because institutional knowledge in Congress is increasingly held by staff. Members come and go. Committees reorganize. Offices turn over. But staff knowledge often provides continuity across the legislative branch.
Flat budgets do not freeze congressional workload. They shift the pressure onto staff.
The salary trend in the 2026 Q1 data should be read in that broader context. Compensation affects retention, expertise, continuity, constituent service quality, and the ability of Member offices to manage increasingly complex workloads.
The Next Quarter Could Show Even More Pressure
The 2026 QTD data should still be read carefully. It reflects the first quarter of the year, not a full annual cycle.
But the direction is concerning.
Average compensation declined in 2025 after peaking in 2024. It has fallen further in 2026 QTD. Staffing remains below the 2024 peak. Budgets stayed flat again. That combination suggests the House workforce is entering 2026 from a weaker position than it entered 2025.
It is possible the salary average improves later in the year as hiring patterns, promotions, or payroll timing shift. But if flat budget pressure continues, the next quarter could show even more deterioration.
That is not a prediction of an exact number. It is the institutional risk implied by the current trend.
For congressional workforce analytics, the 2026 Q1 data is more than a routine update. It is an early signal that the House may be losing ground on the staff compensation gains it recently made.
For staff, it means the salary picture is less stable than the post-2021 trend suggested.
For Member offices, it means compensation strategy, retention, and staffing structure are becoming harder management problems.
For Congress as an institution, it raises a larger question: whether the House can preserve the workforce capacity it spent the last several years rebuilding.
FAQ
Are House staff salaries falling in 2026?
Yes, for All House Staff excluding interns, average compensation has fallen in the newest 2026 QTD data. The average peaked at $86,415 in 2024, slipped to $86,270 in 2025, and fell to $84,608 in 2026 QTD. That does not mean every staffer took a pay cut, but the House-wide average is clearly below its recent peak.
Did House staff salaries already decline in 2025?
Yes. The 2025 decline was small, but it broke the post-2021 growth trend. Average compensation for All House Staff excluding interns fell from $86,415 in 2024 to $86,270 in 2025. The 2026 QTD data matters because it shows the decline continuing and becoming more visible.
How much do House staff make on average in 2026?
In 2026 QTD, average compensation for All House Staff is $74,769 when interns are included. For All House Staff excluding interns, the average is $84,608. HillClimbers separates these views because interns materially lower the overall salary average. The related HillClimbers analysis explains why average House staff salary changes so much when interns are excluded.
Why exclude interns from House staff salary averages?
Interns are paid differently from permanent staff, and they can significantly lower the House-wide salary average. Including interns is useful for understanding the full office workforce, but it is less useful for measuring permanent staff compensation. The no-intern view gives a cleaner picture of what congressional staff earn in ongoing legislative, district, communications, administrative, and constituent service roles.
Are congressional offices reducing staff?
The data does not prove broad staff cuts, but it does show that average daily staffing for All House Staff excluding interns remains below its 2024 peak. Staffing reached 7,534 in 2024, fell to 7,443 in 2025, and sits at 7,445 in 2026 QTD. That suggests staffing capacity has not recovered to its recent high.
How do flat budgets affect congressional staff salaries?
Flat budgets can limit an office’s ability to raise salaries, fill vacancies, add positions, or retain experienced staff. Member offices still have to cover district operations, travel, communications, technology, and other costs. When budgets do not grow, offices may have to make harder choices between payroll, staffing levels, and operations.
Suggested Reading
- The Average House Staff Salary Jumps Nearly $10,000 Without Interns
- How Big Is a Congressional Office Team and Why It’s Shrinking Again
- Congressional Staffing Levels Rise Or Fall Based On How Much Congress Invests In Itself
- Low-Paying Congressional Offices Experience the Highest Staff Turnover
- Paid Congressional Intern Staffing Is Rising While Average Stipends Are Falling