How Does the Virginia General Assembly Match Up to Alexandria Demographics?

The Virginia Public Access Project released a video Wednesday comparing the demographic makeup of the Virginia General Assembly to the population of the state its members represent.

When compared to the residents of Virginia and of Alexandria, the Virginia General Assembly membership, overall, has a higher percentage of men, college graduates and members over the age of 65.

(The video is in the media box to the right.)

VPAP, a nonpartisan, non profit group that takes on projects to "improve public understanding of money's role in Virginia politics," among other initiatives, completed the comparison based on the most recent U.S. Census data.

It looked at how the assembly stacked up "on characteristics such as education attainment, gender, military service, and ethnicity," among others.

The Virginia General Assembly has 140 members; the state has some 8 milion residents. Alexandria has more than 139,000 residents according to the 2010 census.

Here are some notable data points comparing the Virginia General Assembly to residents in Alexandria: 

• Four year college degree: Alexandria - 60.1 percent, Assembly - 88 percent
• Born outside the United States: Alexandria - 24.5 percent, Assembly - 3 percent
• 65 years or older: Alexandria - 9.3 percent, Assembly - 25 percent
• White, not Hispanic: Alexandria - 53.4 percent, Assembly - 85 percent
• Female: Alexandria - 50.7 percent, Assembly - 18 percent