How Does the Virginia General Assembly Match Up to Fairfax City 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.

Click the thumbnail to watch the video.

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 citizens.

"The video seeks to increase public understanding of Virginia's part-time citizen legislature," the organization writes.

According to the U.S. Census data used by the project, Fairfax City's population is younger and more likely to have been born in other countries than the General Assembly as a whole.

Other notable differences: The state legislature has more military veterans and representatives with four-year degrees than Fairfax City; Fairfax City is home to about three times as many women as the population that serves in the General Assembly.

• Four year college degree: Fairfax - 29.4 percent, Assembly - 88 percent
• Born outside the U.S.: Fairfax - 25.4 percent, Assembly - 3 percent
• 65 years or older: Fairfax - 13.7 percent, Assembly - 25 percent
• Military veterans: Fairfax - 11.2 percent, Assembly - 28 percent
• White, not Hispanic: Fairfax - 61.4 percent, Assembly - 85 percent
• Female: Fairfax - 50.7 percent, Assembly - 18 percent

Could the General Assembly makeup better represent Fairfax City and Virginia? How? Tell us in the comments.