Congressional district statistics at a glance
Congressional district statistics are useful because they compress population, income, education, employment, housing, coverage, and business activity into one district-level snapshot. In this dataset, the contrasts are sharp enough to make the differences between districts visible without needing extra context.
Key takeaways
- Congressional District 6, Maryland has the highest median household income in the set at $105,125 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina has the highest bachelor’s degree attainment at 55.6% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina).
- Congressional District 1, Montana has the largest total population at 542,112 among the Montana, Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, and Montana districts in this dataset (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana).
- Congressional District 6, Maryland has the lowest uninsured share at 6.0% and the highest employment rate at 64.6% in the compared group (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
- Congressional District 2, Maine stands out for the largest number of total housing units at 395,133 and the largest total households at 305,903 among the Maine, Maryland, North Carolina, Michigan, and Montana districts in this set (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine).
Table of contents
- How to read congressional district statistics
- Population, households, and housing units
- Income, education, and employment
- Health coverage and business activity
- District-by-district comparison
- What the shapefile notes add
How to read congressional district statistics
Congressional district statistics work best when you look at them as a set of linked indicators rather than isolated figures. A district with a higher population may also have more households, more housing units, a larger labor force, or a different income and education profile. That is why a compact district comparison can reveal more than any single stat on its own.
This dataset includes five district profiles and a short technical note on congressional district geography and TIGER/Line shapefiles. The profile rows cover population, median household income, bachelor’s degree attainment, employment rate, total housing units, health coverage, total employer establishments, total households, and Hispanic or Latino residents. The technical note then explains how congressional districts are coded and how certain district shapefiles are organized (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
Fast facts from the district profiles
- The largest population in the profile set is Congressional District 1, Montana at 542,112 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana).
- The highest median household income is Congressional District 6, Maryland at $105,125 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
- The highest bachelor’s degree attainment is Congressional District 2, North Carolina at 55.6% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina).
- The lowest uninsured share is Congressional District 6, Maryland at 6.0% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
- The largest total employer establishments count is 24,662 in Congressional District 2, North Carolina (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina).
Population, households, and housing units
Population and housing figures are often the first clues that a congressional district is operating at a different scale from its peers. In this set, the populations range from 542,112 to 777,845, while housing and household counts also vary widely across districts (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana; Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
Big number: district size is not uniform
The smallest total population in the profile set is Congressional District 1, Montana at 542,112, while the largest is Congressional District 6, Maryland at 777,845 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana; Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland). That spread matters because population size shapes almost every other planning question, from service demand to local market scale.
A few more comparable figures make the pattern even clearer:
- Congressional District 2, Maine has 305,903 total households and 395,133 total housing units (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine).
- Congressional District 6, Maryland has 301,264 total households and 324,368 total housing units (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina has 338,839 total households and 359,615 total housing units (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina).
- Congressional District 1, Michigan has 358,866 total households and 501,317 total housing units (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan).
- Congressional District 1, Montana has 239,637 total households and 278,263 total housing units (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana).
Housing units versus households
The gap between housing units and households can hint at vacancy, seasonal use, or housing stock that exceeds current household count. In this dataset, every district listed has more housing units than households, but the size of that gap varies.
| District | Total population | Total households | Total housing units | Source label |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District 2, Maine | 681,180 | 305,903 | 395,133 | Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine |
| Congressional District 6, Maryland | 777,845 | 301,264 | 324,368 | Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland |
| Congressional District 2, North Carolina | 745,670 | 338,839 | 359,615 | Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina |
| Congressional District 1, Michigan | 775,375 | 358,866 | 501,317 | Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan |
| Congressional District 1, Montana | 542,112 | 239,637 | 278,263 | Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana |
A few observations stand out from the table above:
- Congressional District 1, Michigan has the largest housing stock in the group at 501,317 total housing units (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan).
- Congressional District 2, Maine combines a relatively large housing stock with 305,903 households, suggesting a broad residential base in the district profile (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine).
- Congressional District 6, Maryland shows a much tighter spread between households and housing units than several of the other districts in this set (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
Income, education, and employment
Income, schooling, and labor force participation often move together, but not always in the same way. That is exactly why congressional district statistics are valuable: they show where educational attainment aligns with earnings and where employment patterns diverge.
Median household income by district
Median household income varies substantially across the profile set:
- Congressional District 6, Maryland: $105,125 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland)
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina: $93,949 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina)
- Congressional District 1, Montana: $77,017 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana)
- Congressional District 2, Maine: $67,291 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine)
- Congressional District 1, Michigan: $64,299 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan)
That range from $64,299 to $105,125 is large enough to matter for local planning, purchasing power, and household budgeting (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan; Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
Education and employment together
The strongest education figure in the set belongs to Congressional District 2, North Carolina, where 55.6% of residents have a bachelor’s degree or higher (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina). That is noticeably higher than the other districts in the dataset:
- Congressional District 6, Maryland: 41.0% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland)
- Congressional District 1, Montana: 41.0% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana)
- Congressional District 2, Maine: 28.4% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine)
- Congressional District 1, Michigan: 29.2% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan)
Employment follows a different pattern:
- Congressional District 6, Maryland: 64.6% employment rate (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland)
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina: 68.2% employment rate (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina)
- Congressional District 1, Montana: 61.5% employment rate (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana)
- Congressional District 2, Maine: 57.4% employment rate (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine)
- Congressional District 1, Michigan: 53.1% employment rate (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan)
Why the combination matters
A district can have a strong income profile without topping every other metric. For example, Congressional District 6, Maryland leads in income and employment while also holding a high education figure of 41.0% bachelor’s degree attainment (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland). Congressional District 2, North Carolina combines the highest educational attainment with the strongest employment rate and the second-highest income in the group (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina).
That kind of pairing is one of the most useful ways to read congressional district statistics: not just who leads one metric, but which indicators cluster together.
Health coverage and business activity
Health insurance coverage and business density add another layer to the district picture. They show how the resident base interacts with labor markets, employers, and access to services.
Fast facts on coverage
The uninsured rate in the dataset is lowest in Congressional District 6, Maryland at 6.0% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland). The highest uninsured rate among the listed districts is 8.8% in Congressional District 1, Montana (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana).
The other coverage figures are close to that band:
- Congressional District 2, Maine: 7.0% without health care coverage (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine)
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina: 6.9% without health care coverage (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina)
- Congressional District 1, Michigan: 5.7% without health care coverage (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan)
- Congressional District 1, Montana: 8.8% without health care coverage (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana)
Employer establishments
Employer establishment counts vary too, and the highest figure in the dataset belongs to Congressional District 2, North Carolina, which has 24,662 total employer establishments (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina). The rest of the profile set includes:
- Congressional District 1, Montana: 23,552 total employer establishments (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana)
- Congressional District 1, Michigan: 22,079 total employer establishments (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan)
- Congressional District 2, Maine: 19,352 total employer establishments (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine)
- Congressional District 6, Maryland: 18,396 total employer establishments (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland)
A practical reading of those numbers is straightforward: districts with a larger employer base may have broader local business activity, but the number alone does not tell you the whole story about firm size, sector mix, or labor intensity. It does, however, give you a clean place to start when comparing districts.
Hispanic or Latino residents in the profile set
The Hispanic or Latino counts in the dataset also vary widely:
- Congressional District 6, Maryland: 103,941 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland)
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina: 96,435 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina)
- Congressional District 1, Montana: 22,181 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana)
- Congressional District 1, Michigan: 15,847 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan)
- Congressional District 2, Maine: 11,593 (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine)
These values are useful because they show that demographic composition can look very different even among districts with similar total population ranges.
District-by-district comparison
The five district profiles in this dataset offer a concise comparison point for readers who want the whole picture in one place.
| District | Income | Bachelor’s degree or higher | Employment rate | Without health care coverage | Employer establishments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Congressional District 2, Maine | $67,291 | 28.4% | 57.4% | 7.0% | 19,352 |
| Congressional District 6, Maryland | $105,125 | 41.0% | 64.6% | 6.0% | 18,396 |
| Congressional District 2, North Carolina | $93,949 | 55.6% | 68.2% | 6.9% | 24,662 |
| Congressional District 1, Michigan | $64,299 | 29.2% | 53.1% | 5.7% | 22,079 |
| Congressional District 1, Montana | $77,017 | 41.0% | 61.5% | 8.8% | 23,552 |
What the comparison suggests
- Congressional District 2, North Carolina looks balanced across the strongest education, employment, and employer-establishment figures in the set (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina).
- Congressional District 6, Maryland pairs the highest income with the lowest uninsured share, which makes it one of the most distinctive district profiles here (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland).
- Congressional District 1, Michigan has the lowest employment rate in the set at 53.1%, but it also has the lowest uninsured share at 5.7% (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan).
- Congressional District 1, Montana combines midrange income with a relatively high uninsured rate and a strong employer-establishment count, a reminder that district statistics rarely move in a single line (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Montana).
- Congressional District 2, Maine sits lower on income, education, and employment than the strongest districts in this set, while still carrying a substantial housing and household base (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, Maine).
What the shapefile notes add
The technical notes in the dataset matter because they explain how congressional district geography is defined and why district labels can change across versions of the TIGER/Line materials.
The notes say that congressional districts are the 435 areas from which people elect voting delegates to the U.S. House of Representatives (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation). They also note that there are 5 additional congressional-district-equivalent areas with nonvoting delegates from the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
A few code and mapping details are especially useful:
- Congressional districts use 2-character FIPS codes and have unique numbers within each state (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
- FIPS code 98 is used for nonvoting delegates in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Island Areas (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
- FIPS code 00 is used for at-large congressional districts (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
- The 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles include the 116th Congressional Districts as a national-scale shapefile and the 118th Congressional Districts as state-level shapefiles (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
- The 116th Congressional District shapefile reflects areas in effect from January 2019 to 2021 (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
- The 118th congressional districts added to the 2020 TIGER/Line Shapefiles reflect information effective as of January 1, 2023 (TIGER/Line Shapefiles Technical Documentation).
Those notes are a reminder that congressional district statistics are not just about people and economics. They are also about geography, versioning, and the exact district boundaries behind each number.
Why these congressional district statistics are useful
A dataset like this is useful because it lets readers compare districts on a handful of core measures without losing the structure of the place itself. Population, income, education, employment, housing, employer establishments, and coverage together give a compact but meaningful district profile.
The strongest pattern in these congressional district statistics is that no district dominates every category. Congressional District 6, Maryland leads income and employment while keeping uninsured share low (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 6, Maryland). Congressional District 2, North Carolina leads education, employment, and employer establishments (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 2, North Carolina). Congressional District 1, Michigan has the largest housing stock in the group and the lowest uninsured rate, even though its employment rate is the lowest in the set (Census Bureau Profile for Congressional District 1, Michigan).
That combination of contrasts is what makes district-level statistics worth reading closely: the real insight is often in the mismatches, not just the leaders.