More low- and middle-income Americans are investing, report finds. Here's why

In this articleEven as many consumers feel stretched to cover rising daily costs, more low- and moderate-income individuals have turned to investing, according to a new report.Since 2020, the number of low- and moderate-income investors has increased by 2.7 times, or 167%, according to new research from the BlackRock Foundation, the private philanthropic arm of BlackRock, and Commonwealth, a national nonprofit focused on financial security.Those findings come from JPMorganChase Institute data based on billions of de-identified data transactions from about 10 million active checking account users. The firm tracked money transferred to investment accounts, though it did not identify the types of investments chosen.The data includes low- and moderate-income investors, evenly divided between those who had median net incomes of $29,000 and $51,000 in 2024."We have real data that there has been a dramatic increase in who is participating in capital markets over the last several years," said Commonwealth CEO Timothy Flacke. The new research follows a survey conducted in January 2025 by the BlackRock Foundation and Commonwealth that found more than half, 54%, of low- and moderate-income Americans were investing in the retail capital markets. More than half of those investors began investing in the past five years, according to the results. That survey, which included 2,750 respondents, focused on households with annual incomes of $30,000 to $79,999.Since 2020, several factors have encouraged higher investment participation rates among these cohorts, according to the firms. Those include increased access to investment information, and a wealth of online brokerages and trading apps — many with low minimums — that have made investing easier. Covid-19 stimulus packages boosted consumers' available cash, and strong market performance provided an added incentive.Affordability concerns have been a headwind, experts say: Inflation climbed in response to the pandemic, peaking at a 9.1% annual increase in the Consumer Price Index as of June 2022. While the pace of inflation has subsided, with a 2.4% CPI rate for the past 12 months as of January, consumer prices have stayed elevated, prompting cost-of-living worries. Lower-income households tend to face the highest inflation rates, according to Bank of America Institute research. Investors with low- to moderate-income are more likely to invest when they have enough liquid savings to cover at least two weeks' worth of expenses, typically in the range of $1,500 to $2,000, according to BlackRock and Commonwealth's research.Moreover, short-term or seasonal income increases — such as tax refunds, bonuses or temporary earnings — are also tied to increased investment activity, the firms found.Low- to moderate-income investors also invested about 30% more, as a proportion of their income, from 2020 to 2024 than from 2015 to 2019, according to the research.Strong stock market highs in recent years have made many Americans richer. Individuals who do not have money in the markets have been shut out of those gains.In 2025, 62% of Americans said they own stock, according to Gallup, unchanged from 2024 and up from 61% in 2023.Those most likely to own stocks include adults in households that earn $100,000 or more, college graduates and married adults, according to Gallup. Those less likely to own stocks include unmarried adults, individuals with a high school education or less and households earning less than $50,000, the analytics and advisory firm found.Likewise, a January 2025 survey conducted by the Consumer Finance Institute at the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia found 57% of 5,000 adults surveyed said they do not own any stock. The most common reasons cited by respondents for why were a lack of available funds for investing and a lack of knowledge about the stock market.Without access to investments, particularly stocks, individuals may miss out on compound growth, where returns build on both the initial amount invested and the gains that accumulate.President Donald Trump recently announced plans to launch a retirement plan, including an up-to-$1,000 annual government match, aimed at workers who do not have access to an employer retirement plan and therefore are less likely to have reaped the benefits of recent market gains.The financial industry may also help reinforce the recent investing momentum among low- and moderate-income investors, particularly by encouraging emergency savings, said Claire Chamberlain, president of the BlackRock Foundation."If the industry thinks about supporting this new investor group, how do you make that experience as successful as possible for them over the long haul?" Chamberlain said.Got a confidential news tip? We want to hear from you.Sign up for free newsletters and get more CNBC delivered to your inboxGet this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services.© 2026 Versant Media, LLC.

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