Top 1% Wealth Share
This indicator measures the percentage of total US household net worth — assets minus liabilities — held by the top 1% of households by wealth, calculated from the Federal Reserve's Distributional Financial Accounts. Net worth spans real estate, corporate equities, private business interests, pensions, and durables, less mortgages and consumer credit.
Top 1% net-worth share
Latest reading
As of Q2 2026, Top 1% Wealth (Top 1% net-worth share) stands at 32.5% — up from 31.7% the prior reading, a record high in the series since 1989. A rising share signals wealth concentrating at the top, typically driven by stock-market gains since the wealthy hold a disproportionate share of equities; a falling share points to broader distribution, often during downturns or housing booms. Look at multi-year trends rather than volatile quarter-to-quarter swings. The share sat near 23% in the late 1970s and climbed above 32% by 2021, the highest since the Fed began tracking in 1989. Series history runs from 1989 to present.
Sources, methodology & freshnessFederal Reserve DFA via FRED (WFRBST01134), quarterly · Quarterly, with every releaseData as of 2026-04-01 · Open ↓Close ↑
Full history
Methodology & data
Top 1% Wealth is sourced from Fed via the Federal Reserve's FRED service (Federal Reserve DFA via FRED (WFRBST01134), quarterly). We pull the complete history, chart it on a quarterly basis, overlay SPY for context, and generate a dated plain-English reading from the latest release — with no smoothing or adjustment beyond what the chart legend states.
Every reading is stamped with its release date. Latest observation 2026-04-01; site refreshed 2026-10-05. Maintained and reviewed by Yuriy Matso; see our methodology for the standards every series on the site is held to.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Top 1% Wealth Share?
This indicator measures the percentage of total US household net worth — assets minus liabilities — held by the top 1% of households by wealth, calculated from the Federal Reserve's Distributional Financial Accounts. Net worth spans real estate, corporate equities, private business interests, pensions, and durables, less mortgages and consumer credit.
How do you read Top 1% Wealth?
A rising share signals wealth concentrating at the top, typically driven by stock-market gains since the wealthy hold a disproportionate share of equities; a falling share points to broader distribution, often during downturns or housing booms. Look at multi-year trends rather than volatile quarter-to-quarter swings. The share sat near 23% in the late 1970s and climbed above 32% by 2021, the highest since the Fed began tracking in 1989.
Where does the Top 1% Wealth data come from?
Federal Reserve DFA via FRED (WFRBST01134), quarterly. We chart the full history and publish a dated, plain-English reading with every release; the raw series is downloadable as CSV at /data/indicators/wealth-distribution.csv.
How often is Top 1% Wealth updated?
Top 1% Wealth is a quarterly series from Fed, refreshed here as soon as a new release posts to FRED.
Top 1% net-worth share