Wilshire 5000 — The Total U.S. Stock Market Index
What Is the Wilshire 5000?
Created in 1974 by Wilshire Associates, the index originally included approximately 5,000 stocks — hence the name. Over the decades, the number of publicly listed U.S. companies has declined significantly (from over 7,000 in the late 1990s to around 3,500 today) due to mergers, acquisitions, delistings, and the shift toward staying private longer. The name stuck even as the count dropped.
The Wilshire 5000 includes large-cap, mid-cap, and small-cap stocks — essentially every U.S.-domiciled equity that trades on the NYSE, Nasdaq, or NYSE American with available pricing. It’s often called the “total stock market index” because it aims to leave nothing out.
How Is the Wilshire 5000 Weighted?
The index is float-adjusted market-cap weighted, similar to the S&P 500. Larger companies carry proportionally more weight. Because the S&P 500’s large-cap stocks represent about 80% of total U.S. market capitalization, the Wilshire 5000 and S&P 500 tend to move in near-lockstep — the correlation is typically above 0.98.
Wilshire 5000 vs. Other Broad Indexes
| Feature | Wilshire 5000 | S&P 500 | Russell 3000 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Components | ~3,400 | 500 | 3,000 |
| Coverage | ~100% of U.S. market | ~80% of U.S. market | ~96% of U.S. market |
| Selection | All liquid U.S. stocks | Committee-selected | Rules-based (market cap) |
| Weighting | Float-adjusted market-cap | Float-adjusted market-cap | Market-cap |
| Includes small-caps | Yes | No | Yes |
| Popular ETF | VTI (tracks CRSP, similar) | VOO, SPY | VTHR |
How to Invest in the Total U.S. Market
There’s no major ETF that directly tracks the Wilshire 5000. However, the concept of “total market” investing is extremely popular through funds tracking similar all-market indexes:
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) tracks the CRSP US Total Market Index and is the most popular total-market fund. Schwab Total Stock Market Index (SWTSX) and iShares Russell 3000 ETF (IWV) offer similar exposure. These funds effectively give you the same idea as the Wilshire 5000 — broad, diversified U.S. equity exposure from mega-cap to micro-cap.
Why Does the Wilshire 5000 Have Fewer Than 5,000 Stocks?
The U.S. has seen a dramatic decline in the number of publicly listed companies. In 1998, there were over 7,500 public companies. By 2025, that number had fallen to roughly 3,500. Reasons include: increased M&A activity, private equity buyouts, companies choosing to stay private longer (partly due to regulatory costs of being public), and the rise of venture capital allowing companies to grow without IPOs.
Key Takeaways
- The Wilshire 5000 aims to capture the entire U.S. stock market — currently about 3,400 stocks despite the name.
- It’s float-adjusted market-cap weighted, so large-caps still dominate the index.
- Performance closely mirrors the S&P 500 because large-cap stocks account for ~80% of either index’s value.
- Total-market funds like VTI (which tracks a similar concept) are among the most popular long-term investment vehicles.
- The number of U.S. public companies has declined by more than 50% since the late 1990s.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is it called the Wilshire 5000 if it doesn’t have 5,000 stocks?
It had approximately 5,000 stocks when it launched in 1974. The number of U.S. public companies has since declined dramatically. The name was kept for brand recognition even though the actual count is now around 3,400.
Is the Wilshire 5000 better than the S&P 500 for investing?
For practical purposes, they perform almost identically because large-cap stocks dominate both. The Wilshire 5000 (or total-market equivalents like VTI) adds small and mid-cap exposure, which can provide a slight performance boost over very long time horizons — but also adds marginally more volatility.
What is the difference between the Wilshire 5000 and the Russell 3000?
Both aim to be comprehensive U.S. equity benchmarks. The Russell 3000 is rules-based and capped at exactly 3,000 stocks. The Wilshire 5000 includes all qualified stocks regardless of number. In practice, the Wilshire 5000 includes very small micro-cap stocks that the Russell 3000 excludes.
Can I buy a Wilshire 5000 ETF?
There’s no major ETF tracking the Wilshire 5000 directly. The closest alternatives are VTI (Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF, tracking the CRSP index) and ITOT (iShares Core S&P Total U.S. Stock Market ETF). These funds achieve the same goal — total U.S. market exposure.
How has the Wilshire 5000 performed historically?
The Wilshire 5000 has averaged approximately 10–11% annual returns since inception, in line with the S&P 500. Its all-time high value has consistently trended upward over decades, though it experienced significant drawdowns during the dot-com bust, the 2008 financial crisis, and the 2020 pandemic crash.