How India’s Gen Z is investing their money:Gujarat, Rajasthan among the top 5 states investing in the stock market

Young people in India born between 1997 and 2012 are called Gen Z. They are hyper-interested in the stock market, resulting in a change in how people are investing in India Citing data from the National Stock Exchange (NSE), India Brand Equity Foundation (IBEF), Gen Z investors made up 40% of all registered investors in India by the Financial Year 2025 (FY25), which is a massive jump from just 25% in FY20 (just before Covid-19 pandemic). Most of these young investors do not use traditional brokers. Instead, they prefer new-age smartphone apps like Groww, Zerodha, Angel One, Upstox, etc. How much do Gen Z save? Gen Z likes to start investing the moment they earn money. According to user study data from digital platforms like Groww and Zerodha, young professionals in India usually save and invest 15% to 20% of their monthly income. They track their investments on smartphones and invest what is left after paying for rent, bills, and weekend fun. Investment portfolio ticket size Zoomers do not wait until they have a lot of money to start buying stocks. They prefer to start small and immediately after getting money. Monthly Ticket Size: Platform data tracking young users on Groww and Zerodha shows that the average Gen Z investor puts in between ₹10,000 and ₹15,000 every month into the markets. Small Steps (SIPs): According to data from Upstox and Groww, young investors love Systematic Investment Plans (SIPs)—which means investing a fixed small amount of money every month automatically. On these apps, they can start their investment journey with as little as ₹500 per month or even with lower amount in some cases. Gen Z – asset allocation: While Zoomers are known for taking high risks, they still divide their money across different types of investments. Data from the NSE breaks down exactly how young investors under the age of 25 allocate their money percentage-wise: Source: NSE Social media vs traditional courses: What do Gen Z prefer? When it comes to enhancing financial knowledge, Gen Z strongly prefers social media over traditional courses, textbooks, or college degrees. Love for Social Media: According to market research tracking users on apps like Zerodha, Groww, and Upstox, more than 60% of young investors under the age of 25 take their investment decisions directly from internet content. They get their financial knowledge from Instagram reels, YouTube shorts, and Telegram groups. Govt’s warnings: This trend has caught the attention of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi). The capital market regulator has warned young investors about the dangers of “finfluencers” (financial influencers) who give stock tips without a licence. To protect Gen Z, Sebi has actively cracked down on unregistered academies and online groups that give false stock advice on social media platforms. Because of these risks, experts from Zerodha and Motilal Oswal advise young people to move away from the short video hype. Zerodha offers a free, structured educational platform called Zerodha Varsity to help young people learn step-by-step. At the same time, Motilal Oswal guides young investors to study simple, low-cost options like index funds and passive funds to build strong long-term habits safely. Social media videos do make investing look fun and easy, but, young investors must always double-check if their source of financial knowledge is official, safe, and registered with the government or Sebi. How Gen Z is investing across different states NSE data shows that Gen Z is not just investing from big cities like Mumbai or Delhi. Instead, they are opening accounts from states and small towns all across India. Which states have most investors? According to official reports from the NSE, certain states have seen a massive boom in people opening trading accounts. Maharashtra is at the number one spot. It has the highest number of stock market investors because Mumbai is the financial capital. Uttar Pradesh is in second place. This state has shown the fastest growth, with millions of young people starting to invest. Gujarat holds the third position, as it has a long history of trading stocks. The NSE data breaks down the total number of registered investor accounts in the top states: Source: NSE Top five states together account for nearly 49% of all investor accounts, and the top 10 contribute over 73%. There are more than 25 crore demat accounts out of which unique tally stood at 12.7 crore as of February 2026. Investors are getting much younger Data shared by the NSE reveals a very interesting trend. The average age of a stock market investor in India has dropped from 36 years down to 33 years. This drop is happening because Gen Z teenagers and young adults are entering the market as soon as they get their first job or pocket money. Small towns taking over big cities In the past, only people living in big cities invested in stocks. But new-age mobile apps have changed everything. According to user studies by the stock-broking platform Groww, around 70% of their total users are young people between 18 and 30 years old. Even more surprising, Groww shared that over 70% of these young investors live in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. This means Gen Z is actively investing from smaller towns. Another major broker, Angel One, highlighted in its corporate reports that cheap smartphones and fast internet have closed the gap between big cities and small towns. Young people from every single state can now open a free investment account from their homes.