Malcolm Rivera
The size of the US House of Representatives is currently set at 435 voting representatives, with each state guaranteed at least one seat. The number of representatives has been capped at 435 since the Reapportionment Act of 1929, except for a temporary increase to 437 between 1959 and 1962 when Alaska and Hawaii became states. The size of the House has been a contentious issue since the drafting of the US Constitution, with the Great Compromise agreeing to base representation in the House on population, while each state would be equally represented in the Senate.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Number of voting representatives | 435 |
| Maximum number of seats | 435 |
| Average number of citizens per representative | 747,000 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (1790) | 33,000 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (1910) | 209,447 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (2018) | 700,000 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (as of last year) | 747,184 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (1789) | 57,169 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (with 3/5 of slaves counted) | 34,436 |
| Average number of citizens per representative (1790) | 37,081 |
| Number of delegates | 5 |
| Number of seats proposed during the Constitutional Convention | 1 for every 40,000 citizens |
| Number of seats supported by George Washington | 1 for every 30,000 citizens |
| Number of seats in the first Congress | 65 |
| Number of seats in 1921 | 483 |
| Number of seats in 1842 | 223 |
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What You'll Learn
The House's size was reduced in 1842
The size of the US House of Representatives is not fixed in the Constitution. The number of voting representatives is currently set at 435, but there have been changes to this number in the past.
The Apportionment Act of 1842 reduced the total number of Representatives from 242 to 223. This was the second time the number of Representatives had been reduced. The first reduction occurred after the sixth population census in 1840, which decreased the number of seats in the House. The 1842 Act was passed following the death of James Madison, the last of the American revolutionaries, in 1836. The Act abolished plural districts and at-large districts, mandating that all members be elected from single-member contiguous districts.
The 1842-43 elections were held on various dates in various states between August 1, 1842, and November 8, 1843. Each state set its own date for its elections to the House of Representatives before the first session of the 28th United States Congress convened on December 4, 1843. The exception was Maryland, which held its elections in February 1844. These elections occurred during President John Tyler's term, after the death of Whig President William Henry Harrison, who died within a month of taking office.
The Whigs lost 69 seats and their sizeable majority from the 1840 election, with almost half their House delegation. The Democrats won a majority, flipping 48 Whig seats. Connecticut lost two seats, going from six to four members, while Illinois gained four seats, increasing its members from three to seven. Georgia lost one seat, going from nine to eight members, and Indiana gained three seats, going from seven to ten members.
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George Washington wanted fewer constituents per representative
The number of voting representatives in the US House of Representatives is currently set at 435. The number of citizens per congressional district has risen from an average of 33,000 in 1790 to over 700,000 as of 2018.
During the Constitutional Convention, George Washington agreed that the original representation proposed (one representative for every 40,000) was inadequate. He supported an alteration to reduce that number to 30,000, insisting that there should be no more than 30,000 constituents per representative. This was the only time Washington pronounced an opinion on any of the actual issues debated during the entire convention.
Five years later, Washington exercised the first presidential veto in history on a bill that allowed half of the states to exceed the quota. Washington's stance on this issue reflected his concern for maintaining a close relationship between representatives and the people they represent. This is in line with the principles outlined in Federalist No. 55 by James Madison, who argued for a balance between the House's ability to legislate and the need for legislators to understand their constituents' local circumstances.
The size of the House of Representatives has been a contentious issue since the country's founding. The ideal number of members has been debated, with the House's representation based on population and the Senate providing equal representation for each state. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the size of the House at 435, except for a temporary increase to 437 when Alaska and Hawaii were admitted to the Union.
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The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the size
The size of the House of Representatives is based on population, while the Senate provides equal representation for each state. The Reapportionment Act of 1929, also known as the Permanent Apportionment Act, capped the number of representatives at 435. This number was previously established by the Apportionment Act of 1911. The 1929 Act was passed following a decade of debate and gridlock after the 1920 Census. The House had failed to reapportion itself following the 1920 Census, due to a battle between rural and urban factions. This battle was caused by the method for calculating apportionment, which caused smaller rural states to lose representation to larger, urbanized states.
The 1929 Act established a permanent method for apportioning the 435 seats according to each census. It created a procedure for automatically reapportioning House seats after every decennial census. This act also gave states the freedom to draw districts of varying sizes and shapes and to abandon districts altogether, allowing them to elect at least some representatives at-large.
The size of the House of Representatives has changed over time. The first federal law governing the size of the House was the Apportionment Act of 1792, signed into law by George Washington, which set the number of members of the House at 105. The U.S. Constitution called for at least one representative per state and no more than one for every 30,000 people. However, the founders were vague about how large future Congresses should be and what method to use to reapportion the House after each federal census. As the population grew and U.S. territories expanded, these questions became increasingly pressing.
The number of voting representatives is currently set at 435, with an additional five delegates representing the District of Columbia and the territories of American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The average size of a congressional district has more than tripled in size since the 1910 Census, increasing from 210,328 inhabitants to 761,169 according to the 2020 Census.
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The US population keeps growing, but the House size remains the same
The US Constitution guarantees each state at least one seat in the House of Representatives, with representation based on population. The Constitution does not specify a fixed number of representatives, but the House size has remained at 435 since the Reapportionment Act of 1929, except for a temporary increase to 437 between 1959 and 1962 when Alaska and Hawaii became states.
Since 1789, when the US Congress first met, the average number of citizens per congressional district has increased from 33,000 to over 700,000 as of 2018. In 1910, there was one representative for every 209,447 people, whereas in 2018, there was one for every 747,184. This is the highest ratio of population to representatives of any industrialized democracy and the highest in US history.
The House's size has not kept up with population growth due to political motivations and representational inequities. In 1921, Congress failed to reapportion the House, which would have increased its size to 483. By 1929, some states had districts twice as large as others due to population shifts. The Reapportionment Act of 1929 capped the House size at 435, and since then, the representation ratio has continued to rise.
The fixed size of the House and the requirement that each state has at least one representative have led to variations in representation ratios among states. For example, Montana has one House member for its population of over one million, while Rhode Island has two representatives for a slightly larger population.
The US population continues to grow, and critics argue that more than 435 representatives are needed to faithfully represent over 300 million Americans.
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The House's size was set when the US Constitution was ratified
The size of the US House of Representatives is currently set at 435 voting representatives. This number was capped by the Reapportionment Act of 1929. The US Constitution, ratified in 1788, states that the House represents citizens based on district populations, while the Senate represents citizens on an equal state basis. This was part of what became known as The Great Compromise.
The first Congress (1789-91) had 65 House members, as provided for in the Constitution until the first census was held. The number of citizens per congressional district has risen from an average of 33,000 in 1790 to over 700,000 as of 2018. In 1789, Madison proposed a constitutional amendment to establish a minimum House size, deeming the lack of one a "defect" in the Constitution.
The Constitution was implemented on March 4, 1789, and the US House convened for the first time less than a month later, on April 1, 1789, in New York City, which was then the nation's capital. The Constitution guaranteed two seats in the Senate and at least one seat in the House for each state, regardless of population.
The decennial apportionment determines the size of each state's representation in the US Electoral College. Federal law requires the Clerk of the House of Representatives to notify each state government of the number of seats apportioned to it no later than January 25 of the year following a census.
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Frequently asked questions
No, the size of the House of Representatives is not fixed in the Constitution. The Constitution does, however, guarantee every state at least one seat in the House. The number of voting representatives is currently set at 435.
No, the number of representatives has changed over time. The first Congress (1789-91) had 65 House members. The number of representatives increased every decade as more states joined the union and the population increased.
The current ratio is one representative for every 747,000 citizens. This is the highest ratio of any industrialized democracy and has more than tripled over the last century.
Yes, in 1921, Congress failed to reapportion the House membership, which may have been politically motivated as it could have impacted the future electoral prospects of the newly elected Republican majority.
Some people argue that the current number of representatives is inadequate to faithfully represent over 300 million Americans. James Madison argued that the size of the House should balance the ability to legislate with the need for legislators to understand local circumstances.
