Fact check: What is the current annual salary of US senators?

1. Why $174,000? The straightforward number that keeps showing up

Every source in the packet lists $174,000 as the annual salary for a senator in the period covered by these analyses, and several note that this amount has been the statutory salary since 2009. Marketplace and other reporting reiterate that the base pay for both House and Senate members is the same, with the figure confirmed in January 2025 listings and reviewed again in October 2025 reporting ^{[1] [3]}. The consistency across pieces indicates there has been no legislative change to the base congressional pay in the covered timeframe, and the reporting emphasizes that higher-pay leadership roles are exceptions to the uniform base pay.

2. Leadership pay and how it complicates headlines about “what senators make”

News outlets and salary tables make a point that the headline figure can obscure variation: majority and minority leaders receive higher pay, and the Speaker of the House is paid more than rank-and-file members. CBS noted specific leadership salaries — for example, figures above the $174,000 base — and other sources include historical tables showing the Speaker and party leaders on different pay tiers ^{[2] [3]}. This means that simple questions like “what do senators make?” require a follow-up: are you asking about the base pay for rank-and-file senators or about leadership positions that command premiums?

3. How reporting places the salary in broader context

Reporting does more than cite the number: it compares the $174,000 figure to broader economic measures and to other public offices. Several pieces point out that this salary is more than double the U.S. median household income, and contrast congressional pay with the President’s $400,000 salary and other federal officers’ compensation shown in official tables ^{[1] [2] [3]}. The context underscores editorial choices: outlets use the fixed pay number to frame discussions about public service compensation, representative demographics, and how outside income and investments can make total compensation for some members substantially higher than the base pay.

4. Why outside income matters when people discuss “what senators earn”

Multiple analyses call attention to the fact that total wealth and annual income for individual senators often far exceed the base salary because of investments, spousal income, business interests, and book deals. Coverage listing the richest senators emphasizes that while the statutory pay is $174,000, public attention often centers on the additional private-income sources that create stark disparities among members ^[4]. This is why lists of the “richest senators” repeatedly surface: the base salary is a floor, not a full accounting of what many senators receive annually.

5. What the dates and sources tell us about reliability and recency

The materials provided include reporting from January 2025 through October 2025, with multiple confirmations of the $174,000 figure across that span; Marketplace reported on October 3, 2025, while a January 2025 salary list and late-2024 reporting also align with the same number ^{[1] [3] [2]}. The recurrence of identical figures in both contemporaneous ^[5] summaries and earlier 2024 coverage reinforces the conclusion that the base congressional pay remained stable during this period. The convergence of reporting from different outlets and a formal salary table strengthens the factual claim without indicating legislative change.