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The top 1% of U.S. households own about 30% of the nation’s wealth—roughly one-third, depending on the dataset and year. Major sources place it in the low-to-mid 30% range. The Federal Reserve’s Distributional Financial Accounts track the share of aggregate household wealth held by the top 1%, and the World Inequality Report says the U.S. top 1% wealth share was nearing 35% in 2020. 

A second strong source is the World Inequality Database. WID describes itself as an up-to-date database on inequality covering countries through 2024 for some series, and the World Inequality Report 2022 states that in the United States the top 1% wealth share was nearing 35% in 2020. 

References:

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Distributional Financial Accounts Overview.” Federal Reserve. Last updated January 16, 2026. Explains that the DFA provides quarterly estimates of the distribution of U.S. household wealth and reports shares held by groups including the top 1%. 

Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. “Distribution of Household Wealth in the U.S. since 1989.” Federal Reserve. Last updated January 16, 2026. Interactive table/chart for current and historical wealth shares by percentile group. 

Chancel, Lucas, Thomas Piketty, Emmanuel Saez, Gabriel Zucman, et al. World Inequality Report 2022. World Inequality Lab, 2021. The report states that in the United States the top 1% wealth share was nearing 35% in 2020. 

World Inequality Database. “USA.” WID.world. Country inequality database page for U.S. income and wealth distribution. 

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