Inflation-Adjusted S&P 500

The S&P 500 index tracks the performance of 500 large US companies, but its headline number (nominal value) doesn't account for the changing purchasing power of the dollar over time. This page adjusts the historical S&P 500 index level for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index, allowing for a more accurate comparison of the index's performance over time.

Explore the charts and data below to understand the S&P 500's real performance, compare nominal versus inflation-adjusted returns, and see how its long-term growth looks after accounting for inflation.

Adjusted prices baseline: December 2025 (latest available CPI).

The current value of the S&P 500 index is 6,978.03 (as of the close of Jan 28, 2026), 0.01% lower than the all-time high of 6,978.6 (Jan 27, 2026).

Since December 30, 1927, the inflation-adjusted total return for the index has been 2,009%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 3.16%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 39,413%, or an annualized rate of 6.29%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the S&P 500 index's end-of-month closing levels over time. Inflation-adjusted figures show what past levels would be worth using roughly today's purchasing power (based on the latest CPI data). The latest entry in the table will have equal nominal and adjusted values until the next CPI figures are released.

Date Inflation-Adjusted Nominal value
Jan 2026 6,978.03 6,978.03
Dec 2025 6,845.5 6,845.5
Nov 2025 6,847.65 6,849.09
Oct 2025 6,840.2 6,840.2
Sep 2025 6,673.1 6,688.46
Aug 2025 6,461.82 6,460.26
Jul 2025 6,359.13 6,339.39
Jun 2025 6,233.67 6,204.95
May 2025 5,959.3 5,911.69
Apr 2025 5,625.64 5,569.06
Mar 2025 5,686.52 5,611.85
Feb 2025 6,047.28 5,954.5
Jan 2025 6,161.9 6,040.53
Dec 2024 6,039.09 5,881.63
Nov 2024 6,196.07 6,032.38
Oct 2024 5,857.09 5,705.45
Sep 2024 5,922.45 5,762.48
Aug 2024 5,814.52 5,648.4
Jul 2024 5,689.33 5,522.3
Jun 2024 5,632.18 5,460.48
May 2024 5,445.29 5,277.51
Apr 2024 5,204.42 5,035.69
Mar 2024 5,451.55 5,254.35
Feb 2024 5,321.72 5,096.27
Jan 2024 5,091.33 4,845.65
Dec 2023 5,038.97 4,769.83
Nov 2023 4,820.74 4,567.8
Oct 2023 4,417.11 4,193.8
Sep 2023 4,514.65 4,288.05
Aug 2023 4,757.66 4,507.66
Jul 2023 4,864.62 4,588.96
Jun 2023 4,726.72 4,450.38
May 2023 4,453.7 4,179.83
Apr 2023 4,453.86 4,169.48
Mar 2023 4,411.79 4,109.31
Feb 2023 4,276.5 3,970.15
Jan 2023 4,415.68 4,076.6
Dec 2022 4,192.11 3,839.5
Nov 2022 4,441.14 4,080.11
Oct 2022 4,210.34 3,871.98
Sep 2022 3,914.77 3,585.62
Aug 2022 4,327.34 3,955
Jul 2022 4,517.53 4,130.29
Jun 2022 4,139.8 3,785.38
May 2022 4,581.11 4,132.15
Apr 2022 4,631.36 4,131.93
Mar 2022 5,106.35 4,530.41
Feb 2022 4,995.82 4,373.94
Jan 2022 5,204.67 4,515.55
Dec 2021 5,539.77 4,766.18
Nov 2021 5,324.57 4,567
Oct 2021 5,395.7 4,605.38
Sep 2021 5,088.68 4,307.54
Aug 2021 5,357.34 4,522.68
Jul 2021 5,217.16 4,395.26
Jun 2021 5,125.66 4,297.5
May 2021 5,060.86 4,204.11
Apr 2021 5,073.6 4,181.17
Mar 2021 4,860.49 3,972.89
Feb 2021 4,695.64 3,811.15
Jan 2021 4,601.29 3,714.24
Dec 2020 4,672.9 3,756.07
Nov 2020 4,509.89 3,621.63
Oct 2020 4,069.48 3,269.96
Sep 2020 4,187 3,363
Aug 2020 4,364.03 3,500.31
Jul 2020 4,091.14 3,271.12
Jun 2020 3,897.1 3,100.29
May 2020 3,847.68 3,044.31
Apr 2020 3,681.07 2,912.43
Mar 2020 3,244.86 2,584.59
Feb 2020 3,700.84 2,954.22
Jan 2020 4,051.78 3,225.52
Dec 2019 4,074.14 3,230.78
Nov 2019 3,957.29 3,140.98
Oct 2019 3,824.94 3,037.56
Sep 2019 3,756.93 2,976.74
Aug 2019 3,696.36 2,926.46
Jul 2019 3,764.28 2,980.38
Jun 2019 3,721.71 2,941.76
May 2019 3,482.4 2,752.06
Apr 2019 3,735.53 2,945.83
Mar 2019 3,613.26 2,834.4
Feb 2019 3,569.66 2,784.49
Jan 2019 3,481.26 2,704.1
Dec 2018 3,233.47 2,506.85
Nov 2018 3,548.85 2,760.17
Oct 2018 3,474.9 2,711.74
Sep 2018 3,740.65 2,913.98
Aug 2018 3,728.99 2,901.52
Jul 2018 3,621.46 2,816.29
Jun 2018 3,495.78 2,718.37
May 2018 3,484.48 2,705.27
Apr 2018 3,424.96 2,648.05
Mar 2018 3,429.26 2,640.87
Feb 2018 3,531.96 2,713.83
Jan 2018 3,691.77 2,823.81
Dec 2017 3,514.44 2,673.61
Nov 2017 3,478.18 2,647.58
Oct 2017 3,383.25 2,575.26
Sep 2017 3,307.72 2,519.36
Aug 2017 3,262.27 2,471.65
Jul 2017 3,270.25 2,470.3
Jun 2017 3,205.96 2,423.41
May 2017 3,193.49 2,411.8
Apr 2017 3,159.65 2,384.2
Mar 2017 3,140.47 2,362.72
Feb 2017 3,144.24 2,363.64
Jan 2017 3,041.01 2,278.87
Dec 2016 3,004.99 2,238.83
Nov 2016 2,952.24 2,198.81
Oct 2016 2,850.25 2,126.15
Sep 2016 2,910.34 2,168.27
Aug 2016 2,920.94 2,170.95
Jul 2016 2,927.19 2,173.6
Jun 2016 2,821.96 2,098.86
May 2016 2,828.67 2,096.96
Apr 2016 2,797.23 2,065.3
Mar 2016 2,802.93 2,059.74
Feb 2016 2,640.73 1,932.23
Jan 2016 2,653.86 1,940.24
Dec 2015 2,800.33 2,043.94
Nov 2015 2,840.55 2,080.41
Oct 2015 2,833.13 2,079.36
Sep 2015 2,614.86 1,920.03
Aug 2015 2,681.7 1,972.18
Jul 2015 2,856.68 2,103.84
Jun 2015 2,801.56 2,063.11
May 2015 2,871.71 2,107.39
Apr 2015 2,856.39 2,085.51
Mar 2015 2,838.01 2,067.89
Feb 2015 2,905.44 2,104.5
Jan 2015 2,766.22 1,994.99
Dec 2014 2,841.4 2,058.9
Nov 2014 2,837.17 2,067.56
Oct 2014 2,754.28 2,018.05
Sep 2014 2,685.06 1,972.29
Aug 2014 2,729.43 2,003.37
Jul 2014 2,625.99 1,930.67
Jun 2014 2,665.15 1,960.23
May 2014 2,620.18 1,923.57
Apr 2014 2,575.17 1,883.95
Mar 2014 2,567.74 1,872.34
Feb 2014 2,566.49 1,859.45
Jan 2014 2,469.5 1,782.59
Dec 2013 2,570.14 1,848.36
Nov 2013 2,510.76 1,805.81
Oct 2013 2,437.27 1,756.54
Sep 2013 2,327.21 1,681.55
Aug 2013 2,262.6 1,632.97
Jul 2013 2,338.51 1,685.73
Jun 2013 2,229.18 1,606.28
May 2013 2,268.55 1,630.74
Apr 2013 2,226.37 1,597.57
Mar 2013 2,184.54 1,569.19
Feb 2013 2,114.17 1,514.68
Jan 2013 2,108.17 1,498.11
Dec 2012 2,012.89 1,426.19
Nov 2012 1,993.38 1,416.18
Oct 2012 1,978.31 1,412.16
Sep 2012 2,017.46 1,440.67
Aug 2012 1,978.51 1,406.58
Jul 2012 1,950.97 1,379.32
Jun 2012 1,923.55 1,362.16
May 2012 1,847.65 1,310.33
Apr 2012 1,968.83 1,397.91
Mar 2012 1,989.7 1,408.47
Feb 2012 1,943.9 1,365.68
Jan 2012 1,876.3 1,312.41
Dec 2011 1,805.85 1,257.6
Nov 2011 1,786.16 1,246.96
Oct 2011 1,793.72 1,253.3
Sep 2011 1,615.95 1,131.42
Aug 2011 1,743.52 1,218.89
Jul 2011 1,853.6 1,292.28
Jun 2011 1,895.95 1,320.64
May 2011 1,929.15 1,345.2
Apr 2011 1,964.75 1,363.61
Mar 2011 1,922.61 1,325.83
Feb 2011 1,943.4 1,327.22
Jan 2011 1,892.5 1,286.12
Dec 2010 1,859.41 1,257.64
Nov 2010 1,748.43 1,180.55
Oct 2010 1,753.18 1,183.26
Sep 2010 1,692.97 1,141.2
Aug 2010 1,557.59 1,049.33
Jul 2010 1,637.43 1,101.6
Jun 2010 1,532.38 1,030.71
May 2010 1,618.07 1,089.41
Apr 2010 1,763.93 1,186.69
Mar 2010 1,741.29 1,169.43
Feb 2010 1,651.35 1,104.49
Jan 2010 1,605.97 1,073.87
Dec 2009 1,673.32 1,115.1
Nov 2009 1,641.21 1,095.63
Oct 2009 1,553.27 1,036.19
Sep 2009 1,586.11 1,057.08
Aug 2009 1,532.36 1,020.62
Jul 2009 1,485.93 987.48
Jun 2009 1,381.17 919.32
May 2009 1,392.76 919.14
Apr 2009 1,326.38 872.81
Mar 2009 1,215.52 797.87
Feb 2009 1,122.6 735.09
Jan 2009 1,267.53 825.88
Dec 2008 1,392.31 903.25
Nov 2008 1,367.21 896.24
Oct 2008 1,449.52 968.75
Sep 2008 1,727.57 1,166.36
Aug 2008 1,897.46 1,282.83
Jul 2008 1,867.12 1,267.38
Jun 2008 1,895.62 1,280
May 2008 2,094.79 1,400.38
Apr 2008 2,090.12 1,385.59
Mar 2008 2,007.35 1,322.7
Feb 2008 2,036.89 1,330.63
Jan 2008 2,116.38 1,378.55
Dec 2007 2,265.46 1,468.36
Nov 2007 2,283.64 1,481.14
Oct 2007 2,403.05 1,549.38
Sep 2007 2,373.01 1,526.75
Aug 2007 2,297.32 1,473.99
Jul 2007 2,263.99 1,455.27
Jun 2007 2,338.19 1,503.35
May 2007 2,385.22 1,530.62
Apr 2007 2,324.14 1,482.37
Mar 2007 2,242.18 1,420.86
Feb 2007 2,240.24 1,406.82
Jan 2007 2,302.52 1,438.24
Dec 2006 2,277.53 1,418.3
Nov 2006 2,252.5 1,400.63
Oct 2006 2,212.72 1,377.94
Sep 2006 2,133.5 1,335.85
Aug 2006 2,072.13 1,303.82
Jul 2006 2,032.96 1,276.66
Jun 2006 2,028.65 1,270.2
May 2006 2,032.48 1,270.09
Apr 2006 2,107.73 1,310.61
Mar 2006 2,100.14 1,294.87
Feb 2006 2,088.59 1,280.66
Jan 2006 2,091.86 1,280.08
Dec 2005 2,055.45 1,248.29
Nov 2005 2,049.08 1,249.48
Oct 2005 1,963.54 1,207.01
Sep 2005 2,003.02 1,228.81
Aug 2005 2,013.51 1,220.33
Jul 2005 2,046.78 1,234.18
Jun 2005 1,984.86 1,191.33
May 2005 1,986.16 1,191.5
Apr 2005 1,926.42 1,156.85
Mar 2005 1,979.18 1,180.59
Feb 2005 2,033.53 1,203.6
Jan 2005 2,007.32 1,181.27
Dec 2004 2,063.73 1,211.92
Nov 2004 1,991.52 1,173.82
Oct 2004 1,918.52 1,130.2
Sep 2004 1,901.97 1,114.58
Aug 2004 1,888.3 1,104.24
Jul 2004 1,884.99 1,101.72
Jun 2004 1,948.83 1,140.84
May 2004 1,920.47 1,120.68
Apr 2004 1,908.64 1,107.3
Mar 2004 1,947.45 1,126.21
Feb 2004 1,992.6 1,144.94
Jan 2004 1,979.2 1,131.13
Dec 2003 1,955.08 1,111.92
Nov 2003 1,858.61 1,058.2
Oct 2003 1,840.47 1,050.71
Sep 2003 1,742.7 995.97
Aug 2003 1,769.5 1,008.01
Jul 2003 1,745.05 990.31
Jun 2003 1,719.06 974.5
May 2003 1,701.66 963.59
Apr 2003 1,616.6 916.92
Mar 2003 1,492.16 848.18
Feb 2003 1,488.68 841.15
Jan 2003 1,526.1 855.7
Dec 2002 1,576.06 879.82
Nov 2002 1,673.55 936.31
Oct 2002 1,583.2 885.76
Sep 2002 1,459.64 815.28
Aug 2002 1,642.81 916.07
Jul 2002 1,640.28 911.62
Jun 2002 1,782.96 989.82
May 2002 1,923.31 1,067.14
Apr 2002 1,940.94 1,076.92
Mar 2002 2,079.51 1,147.39
Feb 2002 2,017.1 1,106.73
Jan 2002 2,068.02 1,130.2
Dec 2001 2,105.49 1,148.08
Nov 2001 2,081.42 1,139.45
Oct 2001 1,932.62 1,059.78
Sep 2001 1,891.87 1,040.94
Aug 2001 2,069.53 1,133.58
Jul 2001 2,211.29 1,211.23
Jun 2001 2,229.02 1,224.38
May 2001 2,290.12 1,255.82
Apr 2001 2,288.82 1,249.46
Mar 2001 2,133.99 1,160.33
Feb 2001 2,285.59 1,239.94
Jan 2001 2,528.05 1,366.01
Dec 2000 2,458.86 1,320.28
Nov 2000 2,447.53 1,314.95
Oct 2000 2,662.09 1,429.4
Sep 2000 2,679.95 1,436.51
Aug 2000 2,846.12 1,517.68
Jul 2000 2,683.25 1,430.83
Jun 2000 2,734.16 1,454.6
May 2000 2,684.26 1,420.6
Apr 2000 2,747.61 1,452.43
Mar 2000 2,836.57 1,498.58
Feb 2000 2,607.74 1,366.42
Jan 2000 2,677.02 1,394.46
Dec 1999 2,828.97 1,469.25
Nov 1999 2,674.28 1,388.91
Oct 1999 2,625.82 1,362.93
Sep 1999 2,475.68 1,282.71
Aug 1999 2,560.65 1,320.41
Jul 1999 2,582.95 1,328.72
Jun 1999 2,676.49 1,372.71
May 1999 2,538.31 1,301.84
Apr 1999 2,603.31 1,335.18
Mar 1999 2,526.38 1,286.37
Feb 1999 2,439.43 1,238.33
Jan 1999 2,523.87 1,279.64
Dec 1998 2,430.37 1,229.23
Nov 1998 2,299.26 1,163.63
Oct 1998 2,170.91 1,098.67
Sep 1998 2,014.46 1,017.01
Aug 1998 1,898.47 957.28
Jul 1998 2,225.23 1,120.67
Jun 1998 2,254.14 1,133.84
May 1998 2,171.28 1,090.82
Apr 1998 2,217.03 1,111.75
Mar 1998 2,201.15 1,101.75
Feb 1998 2,100.33 1,049.34
Jan 1998 1,965.74 980.28
Dec 1997 1,949.61 970.43
Nov 1997 1,917.04 955.4
Oct 1997 1,834.07 914.62
Sep 1997 1,904.28 947.28
Aug 1997 1,812.67 899.47
Jul 1997 1,926.78 954.31
Jun 1997 1,789.35 885.14
May 1997 1,716.98 848.28
Apr 1997 1,620.96 801.34
Mar 1997 1,533.42 757.12
Feb 1997 1,605.69 790.82
Jan 1997 1,601.25 786.16
Dec 1996 1,513.49 740.74
Nov 1996 1,546.76 757.02
Oct 1996 1,443.75 705.27
Sep 1996 1,411.48 687.33
Aug 1996 1,343.17 651.99
Jul 1996 1,320.88 639.95
Jun 1996 1,386.86 670.63
May 1996 1,384.62 669.12
Apr 1996 1,356.28 654.17
Mar 1996 1,343.46 645.5
Feb 1996 1,339.79 640.43
Jan 1996 1,334.88 636.02
Dec 1995 1,300.29 615.93
Nov 1995 1,277.17 605.37
Oct 1995 1,226.01 581.5
Sep 1995 1,236.16 584.41
Aug 1995 1,190.84 561.88
Jul 1995 1,194.35 562.06
Jun 1995 1,157.56 544.75
May 1995 1,135.68 533.4
Apr 1995 1,098.05 514.71
Mar 1995 1,071.71 500.71
Feb 1995 1,046.66 487.39
Jan 1995 1,014.25 470.42
Dec 1994 994.18 459.27
Nov 1994 982.1 453.69
Oct 1994 1,023.86 472.35
Sep 1994 1,003.63 462.71
Aug 1994 1,034.12 475.49
Jul 1994 1,000.68 458.26
Jun 1994 972.75 444.27
May 1994 1,002.92 456.5
Apr 1994 991.31 450.91
Mar 1994 981.34 445.77
Feb 1994 1,031.89 467.14
Jan 1994 1,067.49 481.61
Dec 1993 1,036.73 466.45
Nov 1993 1,026.37 461.79
Oct 1993 1,040.51 467.83
Sep 1993 1,024.94 458.93
Aug 1993 1,037.42 463.56
Jul 1993 1,005.67 448.13
Jun 1993 1,011.05 450.53
May 1993 1,011.69 450.19
Apr 1993 990.59 440.19
Mar 1993 1,019.26 451.67
Feb 1993 1,004.05 443.38
Jan 1993 997.11 438.78
Dec 1992 995.02 435.71
Nov 1992 984.37 431.35
Oct 1992 956.8 418.68
Sep 1992 958.17 417.8
Aug 1992 952.22 414.03
Jul 1992 978.41 424.21
Jun 1992 943.36 408.14
May 1992 963.46 415.35
Apr 1992 963.92 414.95
Mar 1992 939.11 403.69
Feb 1992 964.91 412.7
Jan 1992 959.21 408.78
Dec 1991 980.13 417.09
Nov 1991 882.38 375.22
Oct 1991 925.58 392.45
Sep 1991 916.09 387.86
Aug 1991 938.07 395.43
Jul 1991 922.7 387.81
Jun 1991 884.38 371.16
May 1991 931.61 389.83
Apr 1991 899.63 375.34
Mar 1991 900.68 375.22
Feb 1991 882.42 367.07
Jan 1991 828.02 343.93
Dec 1990 799.77 330.22
Nov 1990 780.39 322.22
Oct 1990 737.92 304
Sep 1990 747.38 306.05
Aug 1990 794.28 322.56
Jul 1990 885.06 356.15
Jun 1990 893.13 358.02
May 1990 906.02 361.23
Apr 1990 831.63 330.8
Mar 1990 855.94 339.94
Feb 1990 840.24 331.89
Jan 1990 837.05 329.08
Dec 1989 908.17 353.4
Nov 1989 890.54 345.99
Oct 1989 878.15 340.36
Sep 1989 905.15 349.15
Aug 1989 914.04 351.45
Jul 1989 901.52 346.08
Jun 1989 830.32 317.98
May 1989 838.98 320.52
Apr 1989 815.11 309.64
Mar 1989 781.31 294.87
Feb 1989 769.79 288.86
Jan 1989 796.01 297.47
Dec 1988 746.86 277.72
Nov 1988 737.27 273.7
Oct 1988 752.09 278.97
Sep 1988 735.51 271.91
Aug 1988 712.16 261.52
Jul 1988 743.87 272.02
Jun 1988 751.09 273.5
May 1988 723.01 262.16
Apr 1988 723.19 261.33
Mar 1988 720.12 258.89
Feb 1988 748.17 267.82
Jan 1988 720 257.07
Dec 1987 693.82 247.08
Nov 1987 646.7 230.3
Oct 1987 707.66 251.79
Sep 1987 906.87 321.83
Aug 1987 934.2 329.8
Jul 1987 907.41 318.66
Jun 1987 867.95 304
May 1987 831.19 290.1
Apr 1987 829.14 288.36
Mar 1987 843.23 291.7
Feb 1987 825.23 284.2
Jan 1987 798.71 274.08
Dec 1986 710.19 242.17
Nov 1986 731.53 249.22
Oct 1986 716.8 243.98
Sep 1986 680.22 231.32
Aug 1986 747.16 252.93
Jul 1986 698.77 236.12
Jun 1986 742.34 250.84
May 1986 736.04 247.35
Apr 1986 702.77 235.52
Mar 1986 711.55 238.9
Feb 1986 672.78 226.92
Jan 1986 626.17 211.78
Dec 1985 626.41 211.28
Nov 1985 601.05 202.17
Oct 1985 565.89 189.82
Sep 1985 544.82 182.08
Aug 1985 565.98 188.63
Jul 1985 573.92 190.92
Jun 1985 577.79 191.85
May 1985 572.46 189.55
Apr 1985 545.13 179.83
Mar 1985 550.22 180.66
Feb 1985 553.89 181.18
Jan 1985 551.75 179.63
Dec 1984 514.67 167.24
Nov 1984 503.41 163.58
Oct 1984 511.13 166.09
Sep 1984 512.62 166.1
Aug 1984 516.87 166.68
Jul 1984 468.99 150.66
Jun 1984 478.67 153.18
May 1984 471.82 150.55
Apr 1984 503.05 160.05
Mar 1984 502.76 159.18
Feb 1984 497.03 157.06
Jan 1984 519.66 163.41
Dec 1983 527.6 164.93
Nov 1983 532.83 166.4
Oct 1983 524.74 163.55
Sep 1983 534.42 166.07
Aug 1983 531.68 164.4
Jul 1983 527.31 162.56
Jun 1983 545.97 167.64
May 1983 530.48 162.39
Apr 1983 540.41 164.43
Mar 1983 506.31 152.96
Feb 1983 490.09 148.06
Jan 1983 481.44 145.3
Dec 1982 466.96 140.64
Nov 1982 458.07 138.53
Oct 1982 441.27 133.72
Sep 1982 398.6 120.42
Aug 1982 396.39 119.51
Jul 1982 355.93 107.09
Jun 1982 366.18 109.61
May 1982 378.45 111.88
Apr 1982 397.61 116.44
Mar 1982 383.93 111.96
Feb 1982 387.46 113.11
Jan 1982 413.74 120.4
Dec 1981 422.48 122.55
Nov 1981 436.97 126.35
Oct 1981 422.9 121.89
Sep 1981 403.95 116.18
Aug 1981 431.1 122.79
Jul 1981 463.16 130.92
Jun 1981 469.31 131.21
May 1981 478.47 132.59
Apr 1981 483.03 132.81
Mar 1981 497.98 136
Feb 1981 483.94 131.27
Jan 1981 482.54 129.55
Dec 1980 509.77 135.76
Nov 1980 532.59 140.52
Oct 1980 487.11 127.47
Sep 1980 484 125.46
Aug 1980 476.08 122.38
Jul 1980 476.76 121.67
Jun 1980 447.64 114.24
May 1980 440.68 111.24
Apr 1980 425.23 106.29
Mar 1980 413.02 102.09
Feb 1980 466.82 113.66
Jan 1980 475.5 114.16
Dec 1979 456.04 107.94
Nov 1979 453.25 106.16
Oct 1979 438.77 101.82
Sep 1979 474.87 109.32
Aug 1979 480.02 109.32
Jul 1979 460.19 103.81
Jun 1979 461.25 102.91
May 1979 449.05 99.08
Apr 1979 467.08 101.76
Mar 1979 471.64 101.59
Feb 1979 451.52 96.28
Jan 1979 474.12 99.93
Dec 1978 460.04 96.11
Nov 1978 455.31 94.7
Oct 1978 449.86 93.15
Sep 1978 499.68 102.54
Aug 1978 507.14 103.29
Jul 1978 496.59 100.68
Jun 1978 474.8 95.53
May 1978 488.54 97.24
Apr 1978 491.05 96.83
Mar 1978 455.98 89.21
Feb 1978 448.42 87.04
Jan 1978 462.75 89.25
Dec 1977 496.26 95.1
Nov 1977 496.45 94.83
Oct 1977 485.77 92.34
Sep 1977 509.46 96.53
Aug 1977 512.4 96.77
Jul 1977 525.13 98.85
Jun 1977 536.42 100.48
May 1977 516.55 96.12
Apr 1977 531.66 98.44
Mar 1977 536.02 98.42
Feb 1977 547.33 99.82
Jan 1977 565.18 102.03
Dec 1976 598.33 107.46
Nov 1976 570.45 102.1
Oct 1976 575.91 102.9
Sep 1976 592.07 105.24
Aug 1976 580.98 102.91
Jul 1976 587.04 103.44
Jun 1976 594.94 104.28
May 1976 574.58 100.18
Apr 1976 587.11 101.64
Mar 1976 595.76 102.77
Feb 1976 579.06 99.71
Jan 1976 587.84 100.86
Dec 1975 526.6 90.19
Nov 1975 534.66 91.24
Oct 1975 525.57 89.04
Sep 1975 497.77 83.87
Aug 1975 518.49 86.88
Jul 1975 530.62 88.75
Jun 1975 575.5 95.19
May 1975 555.22 91.15
Apr 1975 534.78 87.3
Mar 1975 512.58 83.36
Feb 1975 503.61 81.59
Jan 1975 478.8 76.98
Dec 1974 428.08 68.56
Nov 1974 440.27 69.97
Oct 1974 468.64 73.9
Sep 1974 406.92 63.54
Aug 1974 467.61 72.15
Jul 1974 520.26 79.31
Jun 1974 568.75 86
May 1974 581.96 87.28
Apr 1974 609.69 90.31
Mar 1974 637.13 93.98
Feb 1974 660.6 96.22
Jan 1974 671.54 96.57
Dec 1973 684.23 97.55
Nov 1973 677.48 95.96
Oct 1973 769.56 108.29
Sep 1973 777.37 108.43
Aug 1973 749.06 104.25
Jul 1973 791.63 108.22
Jun 1973 764.39 104.26
May 1973 774.7 104.95
Apr 1973 795.05 106.97
Mar 1973 834.61 111.52
Feb 1973 843.6 111.68
Jan 1973 882.63 116.03
Dec 1972 900.11 118.05
Nov 1972 891.68 116.67
Oct 1972 854.8 111.58
Sep 1972 850.93 110.55
Aug 1972 857.12 111.09
Jul 1972 830.55 107.39
Jun 1972 832.59 107.14
May 1972 853.21 109.53
Apr 1972 840.74 107.67
Mar 1972 839.1 107.2
Feb 1972 836.18 106.57
Jan 1972 819.52 103.94
Dec 1971 804.93 102.09
Nov 1971 744.69 93.99
Oct 1971 746.59 94.23
Sep 1971 781.07 98.34
Aug 1971 786.55 99.03
Jul 1971 761.01 95.58
Jun 1971 787.79 98.7
May 1971 801.13 99.63
Apr 1971 840.04 103.95
Mar 1971 812.65 100.31
Feb 1971 785.77 96.75
Jan 1971 780.66 95.88
Dec 1970 750.29 92.15
Nov 1970 713.57 87.2
Oct 1970 684.71 83.25
Sep 1970 696.88 84.3
Aug 1970 677.36 81.52
Jul 1970 648.52 78.05
Jun 1970 607.35 72.72
May 1970 642.65 76.55
Apr 1970 686.15 81.52
Mar 1970 760.34 89.63
Feb 1970 763.23 89.5
Jan 1970 728.86 85.02
Dec 1969 791.31 92.06
Nov 1969 810.65 93.81
Oct 1969 843.76 97.12
Sep 1969 813.37 93.12
Aug 1969 836.5 95.51
Jul 1969 808.64 91.83
Jun 1969 865.12 97.71
May 1969 921.06 103.46
Apr 1969 925.65 103.69
Mar 1969 911.21 101.51
Feb 1969 888.25 98.13
Jan 1969 937.66 103.01
Dec 1968 948.06 103.86
Nov 1968 992.03 108.37
Oct 1968 949.3 103.41
Sep 1968 947.88 102.67
Aug 1968 915.31 98.86
Jul 1968 907.54 97.74
Jun 1968 929.95 99.58
May 1968 926.89 98.68
Apr 1968 918.09 97.46
Mar 1968 852.18 90.2
Feb 1968 846.71 89.36
Jan 1968 876.56 92.24
Dec 1967 922.17 96.47
Nov 1967 901.22 94
Oct 1967 897.16 93.3
Sep 1967 932.72 96.71
Aug 1967 905.8 93.64
Jul 1967 919.28 94.75
Jun 1967 882.05 90.64
May 1967 869.48 89.08
Apr 1967 920.37 94.01
Mar 1967 885.75 90.2
Feb 1967 854.75 86.78
Jan 1967 853.08 86.61
Dec 1966 791.22 80.33
Nov 1966 792.41 80.45
Oct 1966 789.94 80.2
Sep 1966 758.7 76.56
Aug 1966 764.05 77.1
Jul 1966 833.57 83.6
Jun 1966 847.54 84.74
May 1966 864.11 86.13
Apr 1966 913.57 91.06
Mar 1966 900.79 89.23
Feb 1966 923.76 91.22
Jan 1966 946.48 92.88
Dec 1965 941.9 92.43
Nov 1965 936.49 91.61
Oct 1965 944.77 92.42
Sep 1965 922.53 89.96
Aug 1965 893.92 87.17
Jul 1965 874.23 85.25
Jun 1965 862.64 84.12
May 1965 912.51 88.42
Apr 1965 919.63 89.11
Mar 1965 892.03 86.16
Feb 1965 908.08 87.43
Jan 1965 909.43 87.56
Dec 1964 880.24 84.75
Nov 1964 876.82 84.42
Oct 1964 884.22 84.86
Sep 1964 877.13 84.18
Aug 1964 855.4 81.83
Jul 1964 866.71 83.18
Jun 1964 853.93 81.69
May 1964 842.86 80.37
Apr 1964 833.31 79.46
Mar 1964 828.28 78.98
Feb 1964 815.9 77.8
Jan 1964 807.93 77.04
Dec 1963 786.75 75.02
Nov 1963 770.47 73.23
Oct 1963 778.68 74.01
Sep 1963 756.83 71.7
Aug 1963 765.27 72.5
Jul 1963 729.7 69.13
Jun 1963 734.63 69.37
May 1963 752.23 70.8
Apr 1963 741.61 69.8
Mar 1963 707.29 66.57
Feb 1963 685.31 64.29
Jan 1963 705.67 66.2
Dec 1962 672.63 63.1
Nov 1962 663.67 62.26
Oct 1962 602.48 56.52
Sep 1962 599.82 56.27
Aug 1962 632.28 59.12
Jul 1962 622.76 58.23
Jun 1962 587.48 54.75
May 1962 639.85 59.63
Apr 1962 700.04 65.24
Mar 1962 748.77 69.55
Feb 1962 753.18 69.96
Jan 1962 743.6 68.84
Dec 1961 772.87 71.55
Nov 1961 770.38 71.32
Oct 1961 741.22 68.62
Sep 1961 720.8 66.73
Aug 1961 737.74 68.07
Jul 1961 721.13 66.76
Jun 1961 702.91 64.64
May 1961 723.79 66.56
Apr 1961 710.2 65.31
Mar 1961 707.48 65.06
Feb 1961 689.87 63.44
Jan 1961 671.81 61.78
Dec 1960 631.91 58.11
Nov 1960 603.96 55.54
Oct 1960 580.58 53.39
Sep 1960 585.92 53.52
Aug 1960 623.58 56.96
Jul 1960 607.71 55.51
Jun 1960 623.15 56.92
May 1960 613.29 55.83
Apr 1960 597.25 54.37
Mar 1960 609.97 55.34
Feb 1960 618.57 56.12
Jan 1960 615.04 55.61
Dec 1959 660.12 59.89
Nov 1959 642.38 58.28
Oct 1959 634 57.52
Sep 1959 629.09 56.88
Aug 1959 661.43 59.6
Jul 1959 671.52 60.51
Jun 1959 651.11 58.47
May 1959 655.71 58.68
Apr 1959 643.53 57.59
Mar 1959 621.65 55.44
Feb 1959 621.31 55.41
Jan 1959 619.61 55.45
Dec 1958 619.07 55.21
Nov 1958 586.43 52.48
Oct 1958 575.56 51.33
Sep 1958 561.32 50.06
Aug 1958 535.42 47.75
Jul 1958 527.31 47.19
Jun 1958 507.27 45.24
May 1958 494.38 44.09
Apr 1958 487.09 43.44
Mar 1958 473.7 42.1
Feb 1958 462.74 40.84
Jan 1958 472.48 41.7
Dec 1957 456.3 39.99
Nov 1957 476.04 41.72
Oct 1957 470.16 41.06
Sep 1957 485.74 42.42
Aug 1957 517.8 45.22
Jul 1957 548.6 47.91
Jun 1957 546.28 47.37
May 1957 548.92 47.43
Apr 1957 531.26 45.74
Mar 1957 514.17 44.11
Feb 1957 506.09 43.26
Jan 1957 525.06 44.72
Dec 1956 547.96 46.67
Nov 1956 531.21 45.08
Oct 1956 537.1 45.58
Sep 1956 536.34 45.35
Aug 1956 563.95 47.51
Jul 1956 584.13 49.39
Jun 1956 559.59 46.97
May 1956 542.49 45.2
Apr 1956 582.82 48.38
Mar 1956 586.2 48.48
Feb 1956 548.23 45.34
Jan 1956 529.85 43.82
Dec 1955 549.92 45.48
Nov 1955 548.24 45.51
Oct 1955 510.05 42.34
Sep 1955 526.08 43.67
Aug 1955 522.11 43.18
Jul 1955 526.23 43.52
Jun 1955 497.98 41.03
May 1955 460.11 37.91
Apr 1955 460.71 37.96
Mar 1955 443.97 36.58
Feb 1955 446.15 36.76
Jan 1955 444.57 36.63
Dec 1954 436.68 35.98
Nov 1954 414.02 34.24
Oct 1954 383.06 31.68
Sep 1954 390.68 32.31
Aug 1954 359.35 29.83
Jul 1954 372 30.88
Jun 1954 351.88 29.21
May 1954 351.64 29.19
Apr 1954 341.71 28.26
Mar 1954 324.54 26.94
Feb 1954 315.02 26.15
Jan 1954 314.18 26.08
Dec 1953 298.88 24.81
Nov 1953 298.27 24.76
Oct 1953 294.53 24.54
Sep 1953 281.29 23.35
Aug 1953 280.93 23.32
Jul 1953 299.27 24.75
Jun 1953 291.89 24.14
May 1953 297.84 24.54
Apr 1953 299.93 24.62
Mar 1953 308.09 25.29
Feb 1953 316.72 25.9
Jan 1953 321.37 26.38
Dec 1952 322.48 26.57
Nov 1952 311.43 25.66
Oct 1952 297.6 24.52
Sep 1952 297.84 24.54
Aug 1952 303.79 25.03
Jul 1952 308.28 25.4
Jun 1952 305.22 24.96
May 1952 292.88 23.86
Apr 1952 286.25 23.32
Mar 1952 300.27 24.37
Feb 1952 286.6 23.26
Jan 1952 295.19 24.14
Dec 1951 290.67 23.77
Nov 1951 280.85 22.88
Oct 1951 283.73 22.94
Sep 1951 288.79 23.26
Aug 1951 291.27 23.28
Jul 1951 280.26 22.4
Jun 1951 262.25 20.96
May 1951 269.25 21.52
Apr 1951 281.73 22.43
Mar 1951 269.79 21.48
Feb 1951 274.88 21.8
Jan 1951 276.34 21.66
Dec 1950 264.82 20.43
Nov 1950 255.96 19.51
Oct 1950 257.27 19.53
Sep 1950 258.31 19.45
Aug 1950 245.64 18.42
Jul 1950 239.88 17.84
Jun 1950 240.86 17.69
May 1950 256.78 18.78
Apr 1950 246.61 17.96
Mar 1950 237.41 17.29
Feb 1950 237.46 17.22
Jan 1950 235.11 17.05
Dec 1949 230.55 16.79
Nov 1949 218.67 16.06
Oct 1949 219.32 16.04
Sep 1949 211.25 15.58
Aug 1949 207.23 15.22
Jul 1949 205.64 15.04
Jun 1949 191.99 14.16
May 1949 193.21 14.19
Apr 1949 199.45 14.71
Mar 1949 205.05 15.06
Feb 1949 199.06 14.62
Jan 1949 205.5 15.22
Dec 1948 204.38 15.2
Nov 1948 197.51 14.75
Oct 1948 219.13 16.5
Sep 1948 204.88 15.49
Aug 1948 211.23 15.97
Jul 1948 210.5 15.85
Jun 1948 225.09 16.74
May 1948 226.3 16.69
Apr 1948 210.77 15.48
Mar 1948 208.83 15.08
Feb 1948 192.09 13.93
Jan 1948 200.72 14.68
Dec 1947 211.88 15.3
Nov 1947 210.14 14.98
Oct 1947 217.4 15.43
Sep 1947 212.89 15.11
Aug 1947 220.64 15.32
Jul 1947 230.05 15.76
Jun 1947 224.04 15.21
May 1947 213.82 14.45
Apr 1947 215.74 14.58
Mar 1947 224.47 15.17
Feb 1947 232.57 15.43
Jan 1947 236.03 15.66
Dec 1946 230.61 15.3
Nov 1946 223.34 14.68
Oct 1946 231.2 14.84
Sep 1946 237.64 14.96
Aug 1946 267.1 16.65
Jul 1946 293.94 17.96
Jun 1946 319.38 18.43
May 1946 335.97 19.18
Apr 1946 330.39 18.76
Mar 1946 319.45 18.04
Feb 1946 309.37 17.28
Jan 1946 330.64 18.57
Dec 1945 309.1 17.36
Nov 1945 307.76 17.19
Oct 1945 298.09 16.65
Sep 1945 287.35 16.05
Aug 1945 277.68 15.51
Jul 1945 262.47 14.66
Jun 1945 266.23 14.87
May 1945 271.73 15.01
Apr 1945 270.17 14.84
Mar 1945 247.77 13.61
Feb 1945 260.34 14.3
Jan 1945 245.23 13.47
Dec 1944 241.77 13.28
Nov 1944 234.89 12.83
Oct 1944 233.98 12.78
Sep 1944 233.25 12.74
Aug 1944 234.71 12.82
Jul 1944 232.7 12.71
Jun 1944 238.99 12.98
May 1944 228.69 12.35
Apr 1944 219.8 11.87
Mar 1944 223.86 12.02
Feb 1944 220.13 11.82
Jan 1944 220.69 11.85
Dec 1943 217.34 11.67
Nov 1943 205.23 11.02
Oct 1943 221.81 11.91
Sep 1943 224.98 12.08
Aug 1943 221.03 11.8
Jul 1943 220.69 11.85
Jun 1943 228.69 12.35
May 1943 223.13 12.05
Apr 1943 215.85 11.59
Mar 1943 218.17 11.58
Feb 1943 210.35 10.97
Jan 1943 200.18 10.44
Dec 1942 187.34 9.77
Nov 1942 179.19 9.29
Oct 1942 181.63 9.36
Sep 1942 173.81 8.85
Aug 1942 169.29 8.62
Jul 1942 169.14 8.56
Jun 1942 165.01 8.3
May 1942 162.03 8.15
Apr 1942 154.18 7.66
Mar 1942 162.23 8.01
Feb 1942 176.18 8.59
Jan 1942 182.67 8.85
Dec 1941 181.68 8.69
Nov 1941 191.91 9.12
Oct 1941 201.21 9.5
Sep 1941 218.9 10.2
Aug 1941 223.58 10.28
Jul 1941 229.04 10.39
Jun 1941 217.14 9.85
May 1941 211.09 9.38
Apr 1941 210.98 9.31
Mar 1941 227.29 9.96
Feb 1941 227.99 9.92
Jan 1941 231.43 10.07
Dec 1940 243.16 10.58
Nov 1940 244.66 10.57
Oct 1940 256.47 11.08
Sep 1940 246.74 10.66
Aug 1940 243.04 10.5
Jul 1940 238.18 10.29
Jun 1940 229.37 9.98
May 1940 214.57 9.27
Apr 1940 282.16 12.19
Mar 1940 281.93 12.18
Feb 1940 280.77 12.13
Jan 1940 280.92 12.05
Dec 1939 288.41 12.46
Nov 1939 282.39 12.2
Oct 1939 296.97 12.83
Sep 1939 293.95 12.79
Aug 1939 262.53 11.18
Jul 1939 282.73 12.04
Jun 1939 255.02 10.86
May 1939 272.39 11.6
Apr 1939 256.66 10.93
Mar 1939 255.98 10.98
Feb 1939 296.08 12.7
Jan 1939 284.7 12.3
Dec 1938 304.15 13.14
Nov 1938 294.66 12.73
Oct 1938 304.84 13.17
Sep 1938 281.31 12.24
Aug 1938 277.17 12.06
Jul 1938 283.37 12.33
Jun 1938 265.68 11.56
May 1938 213.05 9.27
Apr 1938 223.19 9.78
Mar 1938 195.35 8.5
Feb 1938 260.62 11.34
Jan 1938 243.95 10.69
Dec 1937 237.41 10.55
Nov 1937 248.29 11.11
Oct 1937 274.11 12.35
Sep 1937 305.41 13.76
Aug 1937 358.47 16.04
Jul 1937 374.79 16.77
Jun 1937 346.56 15.4
May 1937 365.91 16.26
Apr 1937 372.32 16.43
Mar 1937 408.95 17.92
Feb 1937 415.06 18.06
Jan 1937 408.4 17.77
Dec 1936 397.66 17.18
Nov 1936 399.98 17.28
Oct 1936 398.82 17.23
Sep 1936 370.58 16.01
Aug 1936 370.12 15.99
Jul 1936 369.51 15.85
Jun 1936 348.48 14.84
May 1936 340.61 14.4
Apr 1936 325.71 13.77
Mar 1936 352.91 14.92
Feb 1936 342.84 14.6
Jan 1936 336.03 14.31
Dec 1935 315.37 13.43
Nov 1935 303.86 12.94
Oct 1935 294.72 12.46
Sep 1935 274.14 11.59
Aug 1935 265.87 11.24
Jul 1935 262.08 11.08
Jun 1935 242.21 10.24
May 1935 224.96 9.58
Apr 1935 217.91 9.28
Mar 1935 199.87 8.45
Feb 1935 206.73 8.74
Jan 1935 216.83 9.1
Dec 1934 229.74 9.5
Nov 1934 229 9.54
Oct 1934 211.48 8.81
Sep 1934 216.35 9.08
Aug 1934 221.28 9.15
Jul 1934 209.91 8.68
Jun 1934 237.24 9.81
May 1934 234.15 9.61
Apr 1934 254.86 10.46
Mar 1934 258.76 10.62
Feb 1934 262.17 10.76
Jan 1934 274.22 11.17
Dec 1933 244.76 9.97
Nov 1933 242.55 9.88
Oct 1933 219.96 8.96
Sep 1933 238.62 9.72
Aug 1933 272.25 11.09
Jul 1933 246.13 9.95
Jun 1933 278.38 10.91
May 1933 247.93 9.64
Apr 1933 201.38 7.83
Mar 1933 150.45 5.85
Feb 1933 144.42 5.66
Jan 1933 174.34 6.94
Dec 1932 171.18 6.92
Nov 1932 160.8 6.55
Oct 1932 169.58 6.96
Sep 1932 195.4 8.08
Aug 1932 201.39 8.39
Jul 1932 143.68 6.03
Jun 1932 105.56 4.43
May 1932 105.73 4.47
Apr 1932 135.92 5.83
Mar 1932 169.2 7.31
Feb 1932 190.53 8.29
Jan 1932 179.93 7.94
Dec 1931 180.23 8.12
Nov 1931 209.42 9.5
Oct 1931 226.84 10.43
Sep 1931 209.77 9.71
Aug 1931 297.44 13.86
Jul 1931 294.65 13.73
Jun 1931 318.26 14.83
May 1931 275.76 13.02
Apr 1931 315.48 15.09
Mar 1931 346.7 16.69
Feb 1931 372.15 18.03
Jan 1931 329.96 16.19
Dec 1930 308.76 15.34
Nov 1930 323.66 16.38
Oct 1930 332.7 16.94
Sep 1930 362.9 18.59
Aug 1930 419.7 21.37
Jul 1930 414.05 21.21
Jun 1930 394.65 20.46
May 1930 469.59 24.49
Apr 1930 474.64 24.9
Mar 1930 463.07 24.15
Feb 1930 443.76 23.28
Jan 1930 431.88 22.79
Dec 1929 404.13 21.45
Nov 1929 391.86 20.92
Oct 1929 452.36 24.15
Sep 1929 564.94 30.16
Aug 1929 593.97 31.71
Jul 1929 540.96 28.88
Jun 1929 519.43 27.41
May 1929 473.31 24.83
Apr 1929 497.39 25.94
Mar 1929 486.65 25.53
Feb 1929 484.94 25.59
Jan 1929 487.79 25.74
Dec 1928 461.45 24.35
Nov 1928 457.44 24.28
Oct 1928 408.46 21.68
Sep 1928 395.98 21.14
Aug 1928 395.5 20.87
Jul 1928 368.21 19.43
Jun 1928 362.71 19.14
May 1928 376.81 20
Apr 1928 374.27 19.75
Mar 1928 365.37 19.28
Feb 1928 327.09 17.26
Jan 1928 329.11 17.57
Dec 1927 330.8 17.66

Returns from Investing in the S&P 500 index

How much did an investment in the S&P 500 really grow each year after accounting for inflation? The following chart contains the inflation-adjusted real annual percentage returns.

Note that the S&P 500 index does not include the impact of reinvested dividends or management fees. As an alternative, explore the Inflation-Adjusted S&P 500 ETF (SPY), which might provide a more accurate view for investors.

Detailed Annual Returns (Adjusted vs. Nominal)

The table below shows the returns for the S&P 500 index by year, both inflation-adjusted and nominal. You can sort any column by clicking on the header.

Observe how inflation erodes nominal gains, sometimes resulting in a negative real return even when the index nominally increased, as in 2007.

Year Inflation-Adjusted Return Nominal Return
2024 19.85% 23.31%
2023 20.2% 24.23%
2022 -24.33% -19.44%
2021 18.55% 26.89%
2020 14.7% 16.26%
2019 26% 28.88%
2018 -7.99% -6.24%
2017 16.95% 19.42%
2016 7.31% 9.54%
2015 -1.45% -0.73%
2014 10.55% 11.39%
2013 27.68% 29.6%
2012 11.47% 13.41%
2011 -2.88% 0%
2010 11.12% 12.78%
2009 20.18% 23.45%
2008 -38.54% -38.49%
2007 -0.53% 3.53%
2006 10.8% 13.62%
2005 -0.4% 3%
2004 5.56% 8.99%
2003 24.05% 26.38%
2002 -25.15% -23.37%
2001 -14.37% -13.04%
2000 -13.08% -10.14%
1999 16.4% 19.53%
1998 24.66% 26.67%
1997 28.82% 31.01%
1996 16.4% 20.26%
1995 30.79% 34.11%
1994 -4.1% -1.54%
1993 4.19% 7.06%
1992 1.52% 4.46%
1991 22.55% 26.31%
1990 -11.94% -6.56%
1989 21.6% 27.25%
1988 7.64% 12.4%
1987 -2.3% 2.03%
1986 13.38% 14.62%
1985 21.71% 26.33%
1984 -2.45% 1.4%
1983 12.99% 17.27%
1982 10.53% 14.76%
1981 -17.12% -9.73%
1980 11.78% 25.77%
1979 -0.87% 12.31%
1978 -7.3% 1.06%
1977 -17.06% -11.5%
1976 13.62% 19.15%
1975 23.02% 31.55%
1974 -37.44% -29.72%
1973 -23.98% -17.37%
1972 11.82% 15.63%
1971 7.28% 10.79%
1970 -5.18% 0.1%
1969 -16.53% -11.36%
1968 2.81% 7.66%
1967 16.55% 20.09%
1966 -16% -13.09%
1965 7% 9.06%
1964 11.88% 12.97%
1963 16.97% 18.89%
1962 -12.97% -11.81%
1961 22.31% 23.13%
1960 -4.27% -2.97%
1959 6.63% 8.48%
1958 35.67% 38.06%
1957 -16.73% -14.31%
1956 -0.36% 2.62%
1955 25.93% 26.4%
1954 46.11% 45.02%
1953 -7.32% -6.62%
1952 10.94% 11.78%
1951 9.76% 16.35%
1950 14.87% 21.68%
1949 12.8% 10.46%
1948 -3.54% -0.65%
1947 -8.12% 0%
1946 -25.39% -11.87%
1945 27.85% 30.72%
1944 11.24% 13.8%
1943 16.01% 19.45%
1942 3.11% 12.43%
1941 -25.28% -17.86%
1940 -15.69% -15.09%
1939 -5.18% -5.18%
1938 28.11% 24.55%
1937 -40.3% -38.59%
1936 26.1% 27.92%
1935 37.27% 41.37%
1934 -6.14% -4.71%
1933 42.98% 44.08%
1932 -5.02% -14.78%
1931 -41.63% -47.07%
1930 -23.6% -28.48%
1929 -12.42% -11.91%
1928 39.49% 37.88%

S&P 500 Index: Average Annualized Returns

Annualized returns show the average rate of growth per year, making it easier to compare performance across different time periods. While nominal returns indicate the headline growth, adjusting for inflation reveals the actual change in purchasing power.

This table presents both nominal and inflation-adjusted average annual returns for the S&P 500 over various trailing periods ending December 31, 2025, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted) Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year 13.35% 16.39%
Last 3 years 17.76% 21.26%
Last 5 years 7.94% 12.75%
Last 10 years 9.35% 12.85%
Last 20 years 6.2% 8.88%
Last 30 years 5.69% 8.36%
Last 40 years 6.16% 9.08%
Last 50 years 5.26% 9.04%
Last 75 years 4.43% 8.06%

Real Returns of Investing in the S&P 500

The chart and table below show the nominal and inflation-adjusted value of a hypothetical $100 investment over various long-term historical periods, ending in September 2025.

The inflation-adjusted line, in green, represents the real increase in purchasing power for the initial investment. Observe the gap between both lines, which illustrates the cumulative effect of inflation over time.

Even over just five years, inflation takes a noticeable bite out of investments. Investing $100 in the S&P 500 five years ago yielded an 75.5% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 42.11%.

As investment periods get longer, the difference between reported nominal returns and the inflation-adjusted gains usually becomes much greater due to the compounding effect of inflation over time.

Investment Period What $100 Grew To (Nominal) Total Nominal Return (%) Total Inflation-Adjusted Return (%)
Last 5 years Feb 2021 - Sep 2025 $175.5 75.5% 42.11%
Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025 $346.15 246.15% 152.7%
Last 25 years Feb 2001 - Sep 2025 $539.42 439.42% 191.96%
Last 50 years Feb 1976 - Sep 2025 $6,707.91 6,608% 1,052%

About the S&P 500 index

The Standard & Poor's 500 (S&P 500®) is a widely followed stock market index that measures the performance of 500 of the largest publicly traded companies in the United States, selected by S&P Dow Jones Indices. It is a market-capitalization weighted index, meaning companies with larger market values have a proportionally larger impact on the index's movement.

Launched in its current form in 1957, the S&P 500 is considered a primary benchmark for the overall health and performance of the U.S. stock market and, by extension, the broader U.S. economy. It represents approximately 80% of the total available U.S. equity market capitalization. Investors commonly use it to gauge market trends and benchmark the performance of their own portfolios.

Last Close
Jan 28, 2026
6,978.03
Highest
Jan 27, 2026
6,978.6
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted
Jan 27, 2026
6,978.6
Annualized return
Since Dec 30, 1927
6.29%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted
Since Dec 30, 1927
3.16%