  Host star metallicities have been used to infer observational constraints on
planet formation throughout the history of the exoplanet field. The giant
planet metallicity correlation has now been widely accepted, but questions
remain as to whether the metallicity correlation extends to the small
terrestrial-sized planets. Here, we report metallicities for a sample of 518
stars in the Kepler field that have no detected transiting planets and compare
their metallicity distribution to a sample of stars that hosts small planets
(Rp < 1.7 R_Earth). Importantly, both samples have been analyzed in a
homogeneous manner using the same set of tools (Stellar Parameters
Classification tool; SPC). We find the average metallicity of the sample of
stars without detected transiting planets to be [m/H]_SNTP,dwarf = -0.02 +-
0.02 dex and the sample of stars hosting small planets to be [m/H]_STP = -0.02
+- 0.02 dex. The average metallicities of the two samples are indistinguishable
within the uncertainties, and the two-sample Kolmogorov-Smirnov test yields a
p-value of 0.68 (0.41 sigma), indicating a failure to reject the null
hypothesis that the two samples are drawn from the same parent population. We
conclude that the homogeneous analysis of the data presented here support the
hypothesis that stars hosting small planets have a metallicity similar to stars
with no known transiting planets in the same area of the sky.
