Skip to main content
← Back to all industries

HOMEMAKER

Total Donated

$1,215,062,076

Contributions

2,347,623

Unique Donors

123,591

Top Employer

HOMEMAKER

Filers who entered HOMEMAKER on federal contribution schedules account for $1.2B in itemized individual gifts, according to FEC.gov aggregates on LobbyVault. The total rests on 2,347,623 contributions from 123,591 donors. HOMEMAKER is a self-reported employer/occupation string, not a NAICS industry, and it is not merged with HOUSEWIFE or HOUSE WIFE even when a reader might treat those words as synonyms. This page reports the HOMEMAKER spelling only.

Key figures

  • HOMEMAKER receipts sum to $1.2B in itemized FEC data.
  • 123,591 donors produced 2,347,623 contribution lines under this string.
  • HOUSEWIFE and HOUSE WIFE are separate FEC labels, not part of this total.
  • HOMEMAKER is self-reported form text, not a NAICS industry.

A household-status word on a campaign form

FEC rules ask for employer and occupation so the public can see who funded a committee. Many contributors write HOMEMAKER rather than a company. Committees pass that text through. LobbyVault ranks it in the industry table because the same field is used for Google, Goldman Sachs, and RETIRED — one column, mixed kinds of answers.

Calling HOMEMAKER an 'industry' is a quirk of that column, not a claim that homemaking is a NAICS sector. The $1.2B figure is the sum of itemized receipts tagged with this string. It does not measure unpaid household labor in the economy, and it does not identify a spouse's workplace.

Fewer receipts than RETIRED, still a nine-figure sum

123,591 donors produced 2,347,623 HOMEMAKER contribution lines. That is a high-repeat pattern: the same names can appear across cycles and committees. The dollar total, $1.2B, is in the same compact-billion band as the hyphenated SELF-EMPLOYED row, but the two labels describe different self-descriptions, not the same people.

Nothing in the aggregate assigns those dollars to a party. Recipient mix lives on the donor table and on committee pages. This industry view is a label total.

Full analysis: HOMEMAKER as an FEC label: $1.2B disclosed

Questions

How much have HOMEMAKER donors contributed federally?
LobbyVault attributes $1.2B to the HOMEMAKER FEC string, from 2,347,623 itemized contributions and 123,591 donors. HOUSEWIFE and HOUSE WIFE are not included. The label is self-reported text, not a NAICS code. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.
Why does LobbyVault list HOMEMAKER as an industry?
The industry table groups the same employer/occupation field used for companies and job titles. HOMEMAKER is one of the most common values in that field. It is a filing label, not a Census industry classification. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.
Are homemaker and housewife combined in this total?
No. HOMEMAKER totals $1.2B on this page. HOUSEWIFE and HOUSE WIFE have separate LobbyVault rows because they are different FEC strings. Researchers who merge them should say so; the public file does not. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.
How many unique HOMEMAKER donors are there?
The rollup counts 123,591 donors and 2,347,623 contribution lines. Repeat giving explains the gap. The donor count is not a survey of people who do unpaid household work. Figures on this answer are limited to that FEC string as indexed on LobbyVault; unitemized gifts and non-federal filings are omitted.

Industry labels come from FEC employer/occupation self-reports, not NAICS. Data from FEC.gov via LobbyVault.

Cycle-over-Cycle Trend

HOMEMAKER political contributions by election cycle.
CycleTotalContributionsDonors
1980$2,399,0082,9122,061
1982$687,651638310
1984$823,594721316
1986$714,480604283
1988$1,033,772817413
1990$486,929569274
1992$802,875868329
1994$645,215643234
1996$1,062,724851282
1998$792,720630199
2000$1,172,824973324
2002$522,109587202
2004$1,168,041914307
2006$880,211720213
2008$1,629,6201,200290
2010$809,302711194
2012$1,666,5471,069240
2014$905,245573149

Top Donors

Top HOMEMAKER donors ranked by total donated.
#NameTotalContributionsCity / StateOccupationHistory
1COORS, HOLLY$17,50015GOLDEN, CO1980
2GERRY, EDWARD H MRS$17,5006MILLNECK, NY1980
3DILLON, PHYLLIS E$15,7508FAR HILLS, NJ1980
4FIRESTONE, LEONARD K MRS$14,0005LOS ANGELES, CA1980
5MASSEY, JACK C MRS$13,7505NASHVILLE, TN1980
6GILBERT, MADELINE PRENTICE$13,00013STANFORD, CT1980
7GARRETT, GEORGE A MRS$11,8004WSHINGTON, DC1980
8ASHLEY, JOYCE EASTON$11,0007BEVERLY HILLS, CA1980
9ATHERTON, FLORA C MRS$11,0002SAN ANTONIO, TX1980
10DU PONT, H B MRS$11,0002GREENVILLE, DE1980
11BENEDUM, PAUL MRS$10,0001PITTSBURGH, PA1980
12CASPERSON, FREDA R MRS$10,0001ANDOVER, NJ1980
13DEMOSS, NANCY S$10,0006BRYN MAWR, PA1980
14GALLAGHER, JOSEPH L MRS$10,0001NASHUA, NH1980
15JOHNSON, ELIZABETH ROSS$10,0001NEW YORK, NY1980
16LINDNER, MARTHA S MRS$10,0001LOVELAND, OH1980
17MICHALIS, DOROTHY H$10,0001BROWNSVILLE, TX1980
18MOSBACHER, EMIL JR MRS$10,0001NEW YORK, NY1980
19GILBERT, MADELINE P$9,4004STAMFORD, CT1980
20BENT, NANCY A$9,0009NEW YORK, NY1980
21ANDREAS, D O MRS$8,50010MIAMI BEACH, FL1980
22COMMONS, GERRY B MRS$8,5002SAN FRANCISCO, CA1980
23BUSH, DOROTHY W$8,1216GREENWICH, CT1980
24ASHER, MARY JANE$8,0009CHICAGO, IL1980
25HARRIMAN, PAMELA C$8,00011WASHINGTON, DC1980
26CLARKE, RICHARD S MRS$7,6256SEATTLE, WA1980
27DAHLSTROM, JACK MRS$7,5004DALLAS, TX1980
28COX, JOHN L MRS$7,4924MIDLAND, TX1980
29MCMILLIAN, ANNA MARIE$7,4009SALT LAKE CITY, UT1980
30MASTERSON, HARRIS MRS$7,1005HOUSTON, TX1980
31HURD, JOHN G MRS$7,0005SAN ANTONIO, TX1980
32LANDOW, BARBARA S$7,0003BETHESDA, MD1980
33HSIEH, THOMAS$6,5007SAN FRANCISCO, CA1980
34BATINOVICH, GARNET$6,0006SAN MATEO, CA1980
35BROWN, LUTCHER MRS$6,0002SAN ANTONIO, TX1980
36CASPARY, DELO H MRS$6,0002ROCKPORT, TX1980
37DRAPER, PHYLLIS C MRS$6,0002ATHERTON, CA1980
38FARB, HAROLD MRS$6,0003HOUSTON, TX1980
39FORSE, DON MRS$6,0003JASPER, TX1980
40MURASE, YOSHIYE MRS$6,0002ARDSLEY ON HUDSON, NY1980
41ADAMS, STEPHEN S MRS$5,7503TULSA, OK1980
42DEARDORF, CATHERINE V$5,7004FORT DODGE, IA1980
43BATEMAN, ROGER MRS$5,2502CORPUS CHRISTI, TX1980
44HALE, DENISE$5,0624SAN FRANCISCO, CA1980
45ARNOLD, LOUISE C$5,0005LAJOLLA, CA1980
46AUGSBURG, LAVINIA LEE$5,0001OGDENBURG, NY1980
47BASS, FRANKLIN MRS$5,0001CORPUS CHRISTI, TX1980
48CAMPBELL, J W MRS$5,0007PAMPA, TX1980
49LEVINE, MARCIA$5,0007SHAKER HEIGHTS, OH1980
50LIVELEY, JANICE J$5,0001TARPLEY, TX1980

Top Recipients

Top political committees that received HOMEMAKER donations.
#CommitteeTotalContributions
1AMERICA FIRST ACTION, INC.C00637512$4,300,0001
2ACTBLUEC00401224$1,616,180205
3CLFC00504530$1,260,7403
4TAKE BACK THE HOUSE 2022C00766782$1,094,1001
5MAKE AMERICA NUMBER 1C00575373$1,000,0001
6REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEEC00003418$986,403268
7TAKE BACK THE HOUSE 2020C00695585$843,2001
8RNC REPUBLICAN NATIONAL STATE ELECTIONS COMMITTEEC60000015$660,26913
9REPUBLICAN NATIONAL COMMITTEE - CONTRIBUTIONS (AKA REPUBLICAN NATIONAL FINANCE COMMITTEEC00003376$580,553228
10DNC SERVICES CORP / DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL COMMITTEEC00010603$532,503263
11GEORGE BUSH FOR PRESIDENTC00106922$489,0531,054
12DCCCC00000935$445,660168
13CARTER/MONDALE PRESIDENTIAL COMMITTEE INCC00108407$429,500613
14JOHN BOLTON SUPER PACC00542464$400,0001
15HARRIS VICTORY FUNDC00744946$389,92363
16NRSCC00027466$386,954138
17DSCCC00042366$384,620173
18TAKE BACK THE SENATEC00780122$365,6001
19NATIONAL REPUBLICAN SENATORIAL COMMITTEE - CONTRIBUTIONS *C00091009$338,339210
20WINREDC00694323$252,326119
21SLF PACC00571703$250,0001
22DNC-NON-FEDERAL INDIVIDUALC60000254$223,14910
23ROMNEY VICTORY, INC.C00518282$211,53538
24OBAMA FOR AMERICAC00431445$209,695139
25OBAMA VICTORY FUND 2012C00494740$185,79558