How Many Americans Own Stock? About 145 Million — But the Wealthiest 10% Own More Than 80%

56% of American adults, or about 145 million people, own stock. That percentage hasn’t moved much over the past decade, despite tremendous gains in the market and the recent meme stock craze .

That’s according to Gallup, which has run polls on how many Americans own stock for over 20 years.

The last time over 60% of Americans owned stock was in 2008. Stock ownership rates haven’t risen to levels seen prior to the 2008 recession. Since 2009, an average of 55% of Americans reported owning stock.

While the percentage of Americans that own stock has remained relatively stable, there have been changes in stock ownership broken down by wealth, generations, and race. Key findings

About 145 million Americans — 56% of American adults — own stock. Stock ownership hasn’t fully risen to levels seen prior to the 2008 recession.

American families hold an average of $40,000 worth of stocks, lower than levels prior to the 2008 recession but well above the values held in the 1990s.

Families directly hold an average of $25,000 in stocks (directly held stocks include those not held in mutual funds, retirement accounts, and the like).

The wealthiest 10% of Americans hold 89% of stocks, worth $35.87 trillion.

The top 1% of Americans in terms of net worth grew their ownership of stocks during the pandemic by 2%. The value of their stock holdings grew by $10 trillion.

Baby boomers hold 55% of stocks, valued at $22 trillion. Millennials own 2.5% of stocks, worth $1 trillion.

White Americans own 90% of stocks, worth $36.15 trillion.

56% of American adults — about 145 million individuals — own stock

144.6 million Americans, or 56% of American adults, own stock, according to Gallup.

The percentage of Americans that own stock hasn’t changed much over the past decade, despite strong growth over that period and the recent meme stock frenzy. Percentage of Americans that own stock 2000 60% 2001 62% 2002 63% 2003 61% 2004 63% 2005 61% 2006 62% 2007 62% 2008 61% 2009 59% 2010 56% 2011 57% 2012 53% 2013 52% 2014 54% 2015 55% 2016 52% 2017 54% 2018 55% 2019 55% 2020 55% 2021 56% Most stocks are held indirectly, such as through a mutual fund, index fund, or a retirement account like a 401(k) . Directly held stocks are those that investors have purchased independently of a fund or retirement account.

According to the Federal Reserve, 53% of American families, about 64.6 million families, held stock in 2019. Only 15%, or 18.6 million families, directly held stock.

As with the Gallup data, ownership and direct ownership of stocks peaked before the 2008 recession and have yet to completely recover. The percentage of American families that directly hold stock has fluctuated much less than the overall percentage of American families that own stock.

The faster growth in the overall percentage of American families that held stock from 1989 to 2001 compared to those that directly held stock can at least in part be attributed to 401(k)s being more widely adopted. In 1989, 17.3 million Americans participated in a 401(k) program. By 2000, that number had more than doubled, with 39.8 million Americans enrolled in a 401(k) program. American families hold an average of $40,000 worth of stocks

The median value of stocks held by American families in 2019 was $40,000, lower than pre-2008-recession levels but well above those in the early and mid-1990s.

The median value of stocks directly held by American families in 2019 was $25,000, a few thousand dollars below the median value recorded before the 2008 recession and the peak value recorded in 2013. The wealthiest 10% of Americans hold 89% of stocks, worth $35.87 trillion While over half of American adults own stock, most don’t own much — 89% of stocks are held by the wealthiest 10% of Americans. Those holdings have a value of $35.87 trillion.The top 1% of Americans in terms of net worth alone hold 53% of stocks, valued at $21.71 trillion. The next 9% hold 35.1% percent of stocks, worth $14.16 trillion, per data from the second quarter of 2021 collected by the Federal Reserve.The next 40% of Americans hold 10.5% of stocks, worth $4.24 trillion.The bottom 50% of Americans in terms of net worth own 0.6% of stocks, worth $26 billion.While the value of stocks held by all wealth segments has grown over the course of the COVID-19 pandemic, only the top 1% expanded their share of stocks owned. In the first quarter of 2020, the top 1% […]

source How Many Americans Own Stock? About 145 Million — But the Wealthiest 10% Own More Than 80%