Around 62% of Americans own stock, whether directly or through retirement accounts like 401(k)s or IRAs, according to a Gallup survey. That’s a majority, but it still means nearly four in ten adults have no stake in the market at all.
Stock ownership in the U.S. isn’t evenly spread, and factors like income, education and race play the biggest roles in determining who invests and who’s left on the sidelines.
Main Factors Causing The Divide
Among households earning $100,000 or more a year, about 87% own stock, according to the survey published in April 2025. But when household income drops to $50,000, the ownership rate goes down to just 28%. It’s not hard to see why. When you’re barely making ends meet, your priority typically isn’t to set aside cash for investments but to pay bills and keep the lights on.
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Another factor driving the divide is education. Though not always the case, graduating from college or having a master’s degree generally means you’ll have access to more high-paying jobs and employer retirement plans. According to Gallup, around 84% of college graduates have money invested in the market. But for those with only a high school diploma or less, that number falls to around 42%.
Race and ethnicity also affect who participates in the market and who doesn’t. About 70% of White adults own stocks compared with 53% of Black adults and just 38% of Hispanic adults. These differences are likely caused by historical wealth disparities, wage gaps and uneven access to investing tools and education.
So, stock ownership isn’t just a matter of personal choice. Whether someone decides to own stocks is also determined by whether they have the resources, knowledge and opportunities to participate in the market.
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Closing the Gap
Closing those gaps will take more than simply telling people to buy stocks. It’ll require wider access to affordable investing platforms, policy changes, employer support and financial education that makes investing accessible to everyone. According to the Pew Research Center, the median value of total stock holdings among White families in 2022 was $67,800, compared with $24,500 for Hispanic families and $16,500 for Black families.
To shrink that divide, policymakers, employers and financial institutions will first have to dismantle the systemic barriers that keep millions of Americans from building market wealth in the first place.
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