Many Americans confuse stock market with broader economy, poll finds
A new Harris Poll survey conducted for The Guardian has found that 40% of U.S. adults believe the stock market only benefits the wealthiest 1% of Americans, reflecting a broad perception that the financial system is disconnected from ordinary workers’ economic reality. The poll, fielded online July 9–11 among a nationally representative sample of 2,154 U.S. adults, comes as major stock indices continue to trade near record highs.
The survey also documented a significant gap in public understanding of how the market relates to the broader economy. Nearly 40% of respondents did not know that the economy and the stock market are separate things, and two-thirds incorrectly said that a rising stock market means the overall economy is growing. The findings underscore what some economists describe as a K-shaped recovery, in which higher-income households whose wealth is tied to stocks have seen their assets swell while lower-income workers’ wages lose purchasing power to inflation.
The stock market has remained resilient through the Covid-19 pandemic, a period of high inflation, and the war in Iran. As of the polling period, the Dow Jones Industrial Average stood at 51,839.26, up 9% for the year, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite Index stood at 25,508.07, up 12.5% for the year, driven largely by a rally in artificial intelligence companies. SpaceX held the largest initial public offering in history in June, and OpenAI and Anthropic are planning their own large IPOs in the coming year.
Despite those gains, the wealth generated has been heavily concentrated. The top 1% of American households own half of all stocks, while the bottom 50% owns just 1% of the market, according to the Guardian, which did not specify the original source for those figures. That distribution aligns with the poll’s finding that many Americans feel the market is not for them.
Data released July 21 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics showed that inflation cooled to 3.5% in June, down from its pre-war level of 2.4%, as a brief U.S.-Iran ceasefire brought energy prices down. Still, the poll found that half of Americans believe the stock market is weak or are unsure of its condition, and 60% said the same about the U.S. economy.
Economic uncertainty and the rise of online trading platforms have pushed many young adults into investing earlier than previous generations. While most are pursuing long-term strategies, a significant minority are taking on riskier bets such as cryptocurrency, day trading, and investments in AI startups. The poll found that a third of respondents — rising to 46% among millennials and 44% among Gen Z — believed they could achieve higher returns by focusing on gambling than by investing in today’s stock market.