Last updated: 16 October 2026 Did the meme-stock generation stick with the stock market? The Federal Reserve’s 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances, released on 9 October 2026, gives the first answer since 2022. We pulled direct stock ownership by age for every survey back to 1989.
19.0% of US families owned stocks directly in 2025, down from 21.0% in 2022 but still above the 15.2% of 2019, before the meme-stock surge.
Young families pulled back most. Direct ownership among families headed by someone under 35 fell from 23.1% in 2022, the highest of any age group that year and the highest for under-35s in the survey’s history back to 1989, to 17.8% in 2025.
Those who stayed in hold more. The typical (median) direct stock holding of families that own stocks rose from $16.4K in 2022 to $30.0K in 2025, in 2025 dollars. For under-35s it went from $2.7K to $4.2K.
Most stock exposure still comes through retirement accounts: 54.9% of families had one in 2025, against 19.0% holding stocks directly.
Direct stock ownership, 1989 to 2025
| Survey year | All families owning stocks directly | Under-35 families | Median holding, all owners (2025 $) | Median holding, under-35 owners (2025 $) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | 16.8% | 11.0% | $18.9K | $7.6K |
| 1992 | 17.0% | 10.8% | $18.1K | $4.6K |
| 1995 | 15.2% | 10.8% | $19.1K | $6.4K |
| 1998 | 19.2% | 13.1% | $34.9K | $10.0K |
| 2001 | 21.3% | 17.4% | $36.6K | $10.4K |
| 2004 | 20.7% | 13.3% | $25.8K | $7.5K |
| 2007 | 17.9% | 13.7% | $26.6K | $4.7K |
| 2010 | 15.1% | 10.1% | $29.9K | $8.1K |
| 2013 | 13.8% | 7.2% | $37.6K | $9.2K |
| 2016 | 13.9% | 10.0% | $33.7K | $6.7K |
| 2019 | 15.2% | 13.8% | $31.7K | $3.3K |
| 2022 | 21.0% | 23.1% | $16.4K | $2.7K |
| 2025 | 19.0% | 17.8% | $30.0K | $4.2K |
“Directly” means shares held outside mutual funds and retirement accounts, the kind you’d buy through a brokerage app. The age is that of the survey’s reference person for each family.
By age group, 2019 to 2025
| Age of family head | 2019 | 2022 | 2025 | Change 2022–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| All families | 15.2% | 21.0% | 19.0% | -2.0 pts |
| Under 35 | 13.8% | 23.1% | 17.8% | -5.3 pts |
| 35–44 | 14.3% | 20.6% | 19.2% | -1.4 pts |
| 45–54 | 14.5% | 22.7% | 21.0% | -1.7 pts |
| 55–64 | 15.6% | 19.2% | 19.3% | +0.1 pts |
| 65–74 | 15.3% | 20.4% | 16.9% | -3.5 pts |
| 75 or more | 19.2% | 19.0% | 20.5% | +1.5 pts |
Direct stocks vs funds and retirement accounts
| Survey year | Stocks held directly | Pooled investment funds | Retirement accounts |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 13.8% | 8.2% | 49.2% |
| 2016 | 13.9% | 10.0% | 52.1% |
| 2019 | 15.2% | 9.0% | 50.5% |
| 2022 | 21.0% | 11.5% | 54.3% |
| 2025 | 19.0% | 11.1% | 54.9% |
What this means for prop trading
The 2022 survey caught the peak of the retail trading boom, when commission-free apps and meme stocks drew in younger investors. The 2025 survey shows part of that crowd has left direct stock ownership, even as typical holdings grew. Prop firm evaluations draw on the same pool of retail traders, though the survey doesn’t ask about them, futures or forex. For the regulatory change that matters most to small US stock traders, see our page on the end of the $25,000 pattern-day-trader rule.
Sources
- Federal Reserve: Survey of Consumer Finances, 2025 survey, historic tables updated 9 October 2026.
- SCF historic tables, internal data, inflation-adjusted to 2025 dollars (Table 6), downloaded 16 October 2026.
- SCF historic tables, internal data, nominal dollars (Table 6), for the nominal medians in the CSV.
Method
Figures are taken as published from Table 6, “Family holdings of financial assets, by selected characteristics of families and type of asset”, in the Fed’s historic tables based on internal survey data (the Fed also publishes a public-data version with slightly different estimates). Percentages are rounded to one decimal place here; the CSV keeps two.
Median holdings are for families that hold the asset, in thousands of 2025 dollars unless marked nominal.
Caveats
The SCF surveys several thousand families every three years, so year-to-year changes for small groups such as under-35s have wide margins of error. The Fed publishes standard errors for its main tables.
The survey measures holdings at the time of the interview. It doesn’t record trading frequency, options, futures, crypto or prop firm accounts.
The “meme-stock” framing is ours; the Fed doesn’t attribute the changes to any cause.
How to cite this
Prop Data Lab, “US Stock Ownership by Age, Fed SCF 1989–2025”, updated 16 October 2026, https://propdatalab.com/us-stock-ownership-scf-2025-young-investors/
The table and the CSV are free to reuse under CC BY 4.0: copy, chart or republish them, commercial use included, as long as you link back to this page. Data are from the Federal Reserve Board (US government work).
Common questions
What share of Americans own stocks directly?
19.0% of US families held stocks directly in 2025, according to the Federal Reserve's Survey of Consumer Finances, down from 21.0% in 2022.
Are young people buying fewer stocks?
Direct stock ownership among families headed by someone under 35 fell from 23.1% in 2022 to 17.8% in 2025, still above the 13.8% of 2019.
When was the 2025 Survey of Consumer Finances released?
The Federal Reserve posted the 2025 SCF tables and data on 9 October 2026.
Does this include 401(k) and IRA holdings?
No. Direct stock ownership excludes stocks held through retirement accounts and funds. 54.9% of families had a retirement account in 2025.