More Americans Investing Despite Crisis
The number of low- and middle-income Americans investing continues to rise as digital financial tools expand access to wealth building. Despite Trump touting improved affordability, many Americans still feel a cost-of-living crisis with housing and healthcare remaining pain points. U.S. consumer spending research shows people are continuing to spend but adjusting budgets amid economic uncertainty.
While consumer sentiment is strained, U.S. household debt climbed to a record $18.8 trillion in the fourth quarter of 2025. Mortgage balances constituted the largest portion, but credit card debt also hit a record high of $1.28 trillion. The Federal Reserve has held the benchmark interest rate steady in a 3.5% to 3.75% range as of its January 2026 meeting. This pause follows three consecutive rate cuts in the latter half of 2025 aimed at normalizing economic policy. Inflation's impact is not evenly distributed. Lower-income households typically experience a higher rate of inflation as they spend a larger percentage of their income on necessities like food, gas, and housing—categories that have seen significant price hikes. The surge in retail investing is a structural shift, not a temporary trend from the pandemic. Before 2020, retail orders were less than 10% of daily U.S. equity trading; by April 2025, that figure had reached an all-time high of 36%. This growth is fueled by increased accessibility. In January 2021 alone, about six million Americans downloaded a retail brokerage app, following the over 10 million who opened new brokerage accounts in 2020. A younger demographic is driving this change, with nearly half of Gen Z investors trading on a weekly basis. Approximately 77% of Gen Z investors began their investment journey before the age of 25.
