The House's staffer turnover is still near decades-high levels, despite the chamber's efforts to increase pay last year.
The House's staff retention began its slow decline in about 2009, but the pandemic and Capitol insurrection ignited an exodus that saw 55% higher staff turnover in 2021 than 2020. The House increased its personal-office budgets by 21% last year and implemented a $45,000 salary floor in an effort to stop the exodus and help attract and retain staffer talent.
2022 saw retention improve by 8% over the previous year, according to a LegiStorm analysis. But that's still the second-worst turnover rate since at least 2001, the first full year of LegiStorm's salary data.
Despite being at the forefront of the staffer unionization movement, House Democrats lost workers at an 8% higher rate than Republicans.
Including representatives who left at the end of the 117th Congress, Democrats made up seven of the top 10 member offices with the highest turnover rates. Rep. Alma Adams (D-N.C.) had the worst staff retention, losing aides at 4.2 times the House's average.
Reps. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas), Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.) and Dan Meuser (R-Pa.) rounded out the worst retention rates among representatives who are still in office.
LegiStorm's staff turnover index is salary-weighted, meaning that the departure of a higher-paid staffer, such as a chief of staff, will count proportionately more than staff assistant or other lower-paid staffer. LegiStorm considers only full-time, non-temporary staff and excludes all interns and fellows.
