Share of Americans investing in stocks 2023 | Statista (2024)

FAQs

Share of Americans investing in stocks 2023 | Statista? ›

In 2023, 61 percent of adults in the United States invested in the stock market. This figure has remained steady over the last few years, and is still below the levels before the Great Recession, when it peaked in 2007 at 65 percent.

"Gallup finds 61% of Americans reporting that they own stock, based on its April Economy and Personal Finance survey. This is up from the 56% measured in 2021 and 55% measured in 2020, and is the highest it has been since 2008.

The S&P 500 has gained about 10.5% annually since its introduction in 1957. The S&P 500's annual average return in 2023 was 26.3%, a significant increase from the -18.1% return in 2022.

In 2023, 52 percent of the households in the United States owned shares in a mutual fund. This is a significant increase on the 5.7 percent recorded in 1980, but close to 46.3 percent found in 2013.

Any shareholder has percentage ownership in the company, determined by dividing the number of shares they own by outstanding shares (company's capital stock), multiplied by 100. Even if the number of shares a person has is fixed, their percentage ownership can change over time if the outstanding shares change.

Only 15% of American Families Directly Own Stock -- and That's Okay. A recent Motley Fool research report examined how many adults in the U.S. own stocks. The answer, per a Gallup survey, is 58% of them do -- about 150 million people.

Stock Ownership Is Concentrated

As of 2021, the top 10 percent of Americans owned an average of $969,000 in stocks. The next 40 percent owned $132,000 on average. For the bottom half of families, it was just under $54,000. In terms of what percent of Americans own stocks, the answer for 2023 is about 61%.

Fixed income and equity performance significantly improved in 2023 versus 2022. Using the Bloomberg US Treasury Index as the proxy, fixed income returns were 4.05% and equity returns were 26.29% in 2023, compared with -12.46% and -18.11%, respectively, in 2022 (Exhibits 5 & 6).

Who owns most of the stock market? ›

Based on this estimate, the richest 10 percent of U.S. households own roughly $42.7 trillion in stock market wealth, with the richest 1 percent owning $25 trillion. The bottom half of U.S. households own less than half a trillion dollars in stock market wealth.

The average diversified portfolio holds between 20 and 30 stocks.

By the numbers: The Federal Reserve's just-published triennial Survey of Consumer Finances — perhaps the most authoritative look at the financial health of American households — shows that in 2022, about 58% of American households owned stock, either directly or indirectly through mutual funds and other investment ...

The richest Americans own the vast majority of the US stock market, according to Fed data. The top 10% of Americans held 93% of all stocks, the highest level ever recorded. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of Americans held just 1% of all stocks in the third quarter of 2023.

About 162 million Americans, or 62% of U.S. adults, own stock. The top 1% holds 50% of stocks, worth $21 trillion. The bottom 50% of U.S. adults hold only 1% of stocks, worth $437 billion.

Two decades ago—in the wake of the dot-com bust—the wealthiest 1% held 40% of the wealth in public markets; today, their share is 54%.

The U.S. equity market has by far the largest share, accounting for 42.5% of the total. Which market is in second place? European Union.

According to a Gallup poll conducted in 2022, approximately 58% of American adults reported having money invested in the stock market, either through individual stocks, mutual funds, or retirement accounts.

The total market capitalization of the U.S. stock market is currently $55,253,720.4 million (or $55.2 trillion), (July 1st, 2024).