The purpose of this study was to evaluate how socioeconomic status (SES) predicts individual creativity through the mediating roles of hope and creative self-efficacy (CSE). Participants were recruited from ten universities in Mainland China. Students' SES, hope, CSE, and creativity were assessed via the socioeconomic status scale, the adult hope scale, the creative self-efficacy scale, and the Runco Ideational Behavior Scale. Correlational analyses indicate that SES, creative ideation, hope, and CSE were significantly and positively associated with each other. Path analyses revealed that hope and CSE played sequential mediating roles in the link between SES and creative ideation. These findings suggest that hope and CSE underlie the effect of SES on individuals' creative ideation.