AIA Membership Demographics Report
This report is a benchmark to measure changes in AIA’s member demographics. It includes member-reported data for all AIA membership categories plus demographics for the AIA Board of Directors, AIA Strategic Council, and AIA national staff.
Our equity objective
AIA is committed to advancing diversity in architecture and design through the intentional recruitment and retention of people with underrepresented backgrounds. The AIA Membership Demographics Report shares an overview of AIA programs that support our diversity efforts, catalyze equity, and create a sense of belonging at AIA.
The report aggregates key demographics trends for AIA’s membership, Board of Directors, Strategic Council, and national staff.
Key findings from the report
Race and/or ethnicity
- In 2022, 18.1% of AIA members did not report race or ethnicity, which impacts our ability to show trends.
- 37% of its graduates were from underrepresented racial and ethnic groups, while the remaining graduates were white (42%) and international students (21%).
- NCARB reports that 28.2% of people completing the ARE in 2021 “identified as a person of color.” Asians made up the second largest proportion of those completing exams at 15.5%.
- 17.2% of AIA members across all member categories identify as belonging to an underrepresented racial or ethnic group, while just under 65% were White/Caucasian.
- Within the Associate membership category, a greater number of members identify as underrepresented races and ethnicities than in the membership, growing 12.9 points since 2012.
Gender identity & expression
AIA’s membership has become more gender diverse over time, attributed in part to several key factors.
- NAAB reports that women made up slightly more than half of enrolled students and graduates from NAAB-accredited architecture programs in 2022, indicating gender diversity in the pipeline.
- NCARB reports that in 2022 women made up 41% of those completing the ARE and 45% of those completing AXP requirements, up from 34% and up 40%, respectively, in 2012.
- The trends in the profession are reflected in AIA’s membership. The overall percentage of women members has grown by 8.6-points since 2012, to 26.2% in 2022.
- There is a higher share of women in the Associate membership category (40.7% in 2022) than in overall membership.
Age
The median age of members remains stable; however, there is growth among older and younger cohorts. In 2022, the median age of members was 51, about where it has been since 2012 (51). However, the percentage of members above the age of 60 has increased by 4.6 points since 2012, while those aged 20–39 has increased by 2.1 points. The percentage of members in the 40–59 age range, which contains our current median, has shrunk by 7.7 points since 2012.
About the report data
Although AIA’s membership is an extensive community of more than 98,000 architecture and design professionals, participation in AIA is not mandatory to practice and not all AIA members are licensed in the United States. Therefore, any current and future reporting of AIA members should not be construed as a census of the entire profession.
Additionally, reporting demographic information to AIA is not a prerequisite for membership and is strictly voluntary, and some members choose not to disclose their race and/or ethnicity, gender identity and expression, or age. In some cases, nonreporting makes it challenging to fully determine AIA’s member demographics.
Past reports
The 2021 Membership Demographics Report