Inflation-Adjusted SPDR S&P 500 (SPY) ETF

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY) is an exchange-traded fund that tracks the S&P 500 Index, which represents 500 of the largest U.S. companies.

While SPY's price reflects the nominal value of these stocks, it doesn't account for the changing purchasing power of the dollar over time. This page adjusts the historical price of SPY for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index, providing a clearer view of its real performance.

Nominal prices are adjusted for stock splits and assume reinvestment of any dividends to reflect total return. Inflation-adjusted prices use April 2026 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust is 741.25 (as of the close of May 20, 2026), 0.92% lower than the all-time high of 748.17 (May 14, 2026).

Since January 29, 1993, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 1,125%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 7.81%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 2,760%, or an annualized rate of 10.59%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF's end-of-month closing levels over time. The inflation-adjusted column shows what each past level would represent in roughly today's dollars based on the latest CPI reading, following the same present-value method that underlies the US Inflation Calculator. The newest row will show matching nominal and adjusted values until another CPI update becomes available.

Date Inflation-Adjusted Nominal value
May 2026 741.25 741.25
Apr 2026 718.66 718.66
Mar 2026 655.87 650.34
Feb 2026 697.18 684.13
Jan 2026 706.57 690.09
Dec 2025 698.88 680.07
Nov 2025 698.19 679.53
Oct 2025 678.21 678.21
Sep 2025 679.18 662.42
Aug 2025 657.5 639.64
Jul 2025 646.13 626.78
Jun 2025 632.53 612.67
May 2025 603.68 582.73
Apr 2025 569.17 548.27
Mar 2025 575.93 553.07
Feb 2025 611.29 585.71
Jan 2025 621.9 593.24
Dec 2024 609.6 577.72
Nov 2024 624.86 591.97
Oct 2024 589.38 558.66
Sep 2024 595.37 563.69
Aug 2024 584.06 552.1
Jul 2024 571.19 539.49
Jun 2024 565.01 533.04
May 2024 545.95 514.88
Apr 2024 520.53 490.09
Mar 2024 544.51 510.68
Feb 2024 530.68 494.51
Jan 2024 507.48 469.99
Dec 2023 502.24 462.62
Nov 2023 479.85 442.43
Oct 2023 438.8 405.4
Sep 2023 448.36 414.39
Aug 2023 471.87 435.03
Jul 2023 481.76 442.22
Jun 2023 467.38 428.2
May 2023 440.36 402.15
Apr 2023 439.44 400.3
Mar 2023 434.71 394.01
Feb 2023 420.57 379.93
Jan 2023 433.82 389.73
Dec 2022 411.42 366.67
Nov 2022 435.24 389.1
Oct 2022 411.91 368.61
Sep 2022 382.49 340.9
Aug 2022 422.36 375.63
Jul 2022 440.18 391.61
Jun 2022 403.01 358.59
May 2022 445.27 390.82
Apr 2022 449.17 389.94
Mar 2022 495.13 427.46
Feb 2022 483.57 411.98
Jan 2022 502.83 424.51
Dec 2021 535.29 448.14
Nov 2021 513.2 428.33
Oct 2021 519.9 431.8
Sep 2021 489.85 403.49
Aug 2021 515.2 423.22
Jul 2021 501.34 410.99
Jun 2021 491.75 401.2
May 2021 485.44 392.4
Apr 2021 486.14 389.84
Mar 2021 465.5 370.25
Feb 2021 448.45 354.18
Jan 2021 438.7 344.59
Dec 2020 445.1 348.14
Nov 2020 429.61 335.71
Oct 2020 387.23 302.78
Sep 2020 397.3 310.52
Aug 2020 413.33 322.6
Jul 2020 387.58 301.55
Jun 2020 367.88 284.78
May 2020 363.45 279.83
Apr 2020 346.93 267.1
Mar 2020 305.78 237
Feb 2020 348.67 270.83
Jan 2020 379.68 294.12
Dec 2019 381.31 294.23
Nov 2019 370.21 285.93
Oct 2019 357.09 275.94
Sep 2019 350.16 269.98
Aug 2019 343.76 264.83
Jul 2019 349.59 269.34
Jun 2019 344.96 265.33
May 2019 322.59 248.07
Apr 2019 345.3 264.97
Mar 2019 333.5 254.57
Feb 2019 329.43 250.05
Jan 2019 320.43 242.2
Dec 2018 297.24 224.24
Nov 2018 324.91 245.9
Oct 2018 317.93 241.42
Sep 2018 342.13 259.35
Aug 2018 340.51 257.82
Jul 2018 330.16 249.84
Jun 2018 318.39 240.92
May 2018 317.08 239.55
Apr 2018 310.84 233.86
Mar 2018 310.47 232.66
Feb 2018 319.95 239.22
Jan 2018 333.53 248.25
Dec 2017 317.45 235
Nov 2017 313.47 232.19
Oct 2017 304.18 225.3
Sep 2017 296.99 220.12
Aug 2017 292.68 215.78
Jul 2017 292.7 215.15
Jun 2017 286.61 210.81
May 2017 285.05 209.48
Apr 2017 281.33 206.57
Mar 2017 279.39 204.54
Feb 2017 279.27 204.29
Jan 2017 269.56 196.56
Dec 2016 266.36 193.11
Nov 2016 261.17 189.28
Oct 2016 251.5 182.55
Sep 2016 256.25 185.77
Aug 2016 256.86 185.77
Jul 2016 256.79 185.54
Jun 2016 247.35 179.02
May 2016 247.31 178.4
Apr 2016 244.16 175.42
Mar 2016 244.35 174.73
Feb 2016 229.94 163.72
Jan 2016 230.32 163.86
Dec 2015 242.79 172.44
Nov 2015 246.23 175.48
Oct 2015 244.81 174.84
Sep 2015 225.52 161.13
Aug 2015 231.07 165.36
Jul 2015 245.72 176.09
Jun 2015 240.31 172.2
May 2015 246.15 175.77
Apr 2015 244.27 173.54
Mar 2015 242.38 171.85
Feb 2015 247.72 174.6
Jan 2015 235.56 165.31
Dec 2014 241.61 170.36
Nov 2014 240.85 170.79
Oct 2014 233.15 166.23
Sep 2014 227.21 162.4
Aug 2014 230.57 164.68
Jul 2014 221.44 158.43
Jun 2014 224.37 160.58
May 2014 220.25 157.34
Apr 2014 216.01 153.77
Mar 2014 215.22 152.71
Feb 2014 214.83 151.46
Jan 2014 206.24 144.86
Dec 2013 214.57 150.16
Nov 2013 209.13 146.37
Oct 2013 202.7 142.15
Sep 2013 193.23 135.86
Aug 2013 187.52 131.7
Jul 2013 193.55 135.77
Jun 2013 184.12 129.1
May 2013 187.06 130.85
Apr 2013 183.07 127.83
Mar 2013 179.43 125.42
Feb 2013 173.32 120.83
Jan 2013 172.54 119.31
Dec 2012 164.63 113.5
Nov 2012 162.74 112.5
Oct 2012 161.05 111.87
Sep 2012 163.98 113.94
Aug 2012 161.49 111.72
Jul 2012 158.42 108.99
Jun 2012 156.31 107.71
May 2012 150 103.52
Apr 2012 159.4 110.13
Mar 2012 160.95 110.87
Feb 2012 157.13 107.42
Jan 2012 151.25 102.95
Dec 2011 145.19 98.39
Nov 2011 143.34 97.37
Oct 2011 143.8 97.77
Sep 2011 129.38 88.15
Aug 2011 139.25 94.73
Jul 2011 147.75 100.24
Jun 2011 150.9 102.28
May 2011 153.33 104.04
Apr 2011 155.8 105.22
Mar 2011 152.39 102.26
Feb 2011 153.86 102.25
Jan 2011 149.43 98.82
Dec 2010 146.72 96.57
Nov 2010 137.77 90.52
Oct 2010 137.83 90.52
Sep 2010 132.92 87.19
Aug 2010 122.07 80.02
Jul 2010 128 83.79
Jun 2010 119.84 78.43
May 2010 126.26 82.72
Apr 2010 137.26 89.86
Mar 2010 135.4 88.49
Feb 2010 128.16 83.41
Jan 2010 124.31 80.89
Dec 2009 129.44 83.94
Nov 2009 126.8 82.37
Oct 2009 119.52 77.59
Sep 2009 121.98 79.11
Aug 2009 117.88 76.4
Jul 2009 113.94 73.68
Jun 2009 105.86 68.56
May 2009 106.84 68.61
Apr 2009 101.23 64.82
Mar 2009 92.31 58.96
Feb 2009 85.43 54.43
Jan 2009 96.19 60.98
Dec 2008 105.25 66.44
Nov 2008 103.15 65.8
Oct 2008 108.75 70.72
Sep 2008 128.95 84.72
Aug 2008 142.16 93.53
Jul 2008 139.44 92.1
Jun 2008 141.44 92.94
May 2008 155.9 101.42
Apr 2008 154.87 99.91
Mar 2008 148.73 95.36
Feb 2008 151.37 96.22
Jan 2008 155.84 98.78
Dec 2007 166.69 105.13
Nov 2007 168.48 106.33
Oct 2007 176.31 110.62
Sep 2007 174.32 109.14
Aug 2007 168.29 105.07
Jul 2007 165.86 103.74
Jun 2007 171.17 107.09
May 2007 174.05 108.68
Apr 2007 169.37 105.12
Mar 2007 163.24 100.66
Feb 2007 162.84 99.51
Jan 2007 166.99 101.5
Dec 2006 165.02 100
Nov 2006 163.09 98.68
Oct 2006 159.67 96.76
Sep 2006 153.95 93.8
Aug 2006 149.17 91.33
Jul 2006 146.27 89.38
Jun 2006 146.05 88.99
May 2006 145.96 88.76
Apr 2006 151.24 91.51
Mar 2006 150.63 90.37
Feb 2006 149 88.9
Jan 2006 148.45 88.4
Dec 2005 146.08 86.32
Nov 2005 146.54 86.95
Oct 2005 139.24 83.29
Sep 2005 142.9 85.31
Aug 2005 143.5 84.63
Jul 2005 145.6 85.43
Jun 2005 140.88 82.28
May 2005 140.74 82.16
Apr 2005 136.21 79.59
Mar 2005 139.74 81.11
Feb 2005 143.46 82.63
Jan 2005 141.33 80.93
Dec 2004 144.88 82.79
Nov 2004 140.13 80.37
Oct 2004 134.23 76.95
Sep 2004 133.22 75.97
Aug 2004 132.18 75.21
Jul 2004 131.93 75.03
Jun 2004 136.1 77.53
May 2004 134.06 76.12
Apr 2004 132.57 74.84
Mar 2004 135.56 76.28
Feb 2004 138.27 77.31
Jan 2004 137.15 76.27
Dec 2003 135.15 74.79
Nov 2003 128.54 71.21
Oct 2003 126.81 70.44
Sep 2003 120.24 66.87
Aug 2003 121.96 67.6
Jul 2003 119.95 66.24
Jun 2003 117.95 65.06
May 2003 116.84 64.38
Apr 2003 110.58 61.03
Mar 2003 101.73 56.27
Feb 2003 102.13 56.15
Jan 2003 104.32 56.92
Dec 2002 107.42 58.35
Nov 2002 113.62 61.85
Oct 2002 107.02 58.26
Sep 2002 99.04 53.83
Aug 2002 110.83 60.14
Jul 2002 110.45 59.73
Jun 2002 120.03 64.84
May 2002 129.67 70.01
Apr 2002 130.45 70.43
Mar 2002 139.28 74.78
Feb 2002 135.55 72.37
Jan 2002 138.57 73.69
Dec 2001 140.26 74.42
Nov 2001 138.92 74.01
Oct 2001 128.66 68.65
Sep 2001 126.58 67.77
Aug 2001 138.45 73.79
Jul 2001 147.18 78.45
Jun 2001 148.28 79.26
May 2001 152.16 81.19
Apr 2001 153.71 81.65
Mar 2001 142.17 75.22
Feb 2001 150.96 79.69
Jan 2001 167.54 88.09
Dec 2000 161.42 84.34
Nov 2000 162.18 84.79
Oct 2000 175.36 91.63
Sep 2000 176.49 92.06
Aug 2000 187.71 97.4
Jul 2000 176.2 91.43
Jun 2000 179.42 92.89
May 2000 176.88 91.09
Apr 2000 179.92 92.55
Mar 2000 186.58 95.92
Feb 2000 171.5 87.44
Jan 2000 175.18 88.79
Dec 1999 184.91 93.45
Nov 1999 174.92 88.4
Oct 1999 172.16 86.95
Sep 1999 162.08 81.72
Aug 1999 166.58 83.58
Jul 1999 167.84 84.02
Jun 1999 173.74 86.71
May 1999 164.62 82.16
Apr 1999 168.48 84.08
Mar 1999 163.49 81.01
Feb 1999 157.46 77.78
Jan 1999 162.88 80.36
Dec 1998 157.72 77.62
Nov 1998 147.95 72.86
Oct 1998 140.14 69.01
Sep 1998 129.95 63.84
Aug 1998 122.33 60.02
Jul 1998 142.61 69.89
Jun 1998 144.74 70.84
May 1998 139 67.95
Apr 1998 142.21 69.39
Mar 1998 140.67 68.52
Feb 1998 134.38 65.33
Jan 1998 125.91 61.1
Dec 1997 124.54 60.32
Nov 1997 122.06 59.19
Oct 1997 117.44 56.99
Sep 1997 120.68 58.42
Aug 1997 115.43 55.74
Jul 1997 121.97 58.78
Jun 1997 113.15 54.47
May 1997 108.82 52.32
Apr 1997 102.29 49.21
Mar 1997 96.38 46.31
Feb 1997 101.09 48.45
Jan 1997 100.44 47.99
Dec 1996 94.9 45.19
Nov 1996 97.21 46.3
Oct 1996 90.77 43.15
Sep 1996 88.21 41.8
Aug 1996 83.81 39.59
Jul 1996 82.38 38.84
Jun 1996 86.42 40.66
May 1996 85.72 40.31
Apr 1996 83.98 39.42
Mar 1996 83.4 38.99
Feb 1996 82.41 38.33
Jan 1996 82.41 38.21
Dec 1995 80.05 36.9
Nov 1995 78.76 36.33
Oct 1995 75.36 34.78
Sep 1995 75.83 34.88
Aug 1995 72.89 33.47
Jul 1995 72.76 33.32
Jun 1995 70.49 32.28
May 1995 69.23 31.64
Apr 1995 66.72 30.43
Mar 1995 65.01 29.56
Feb 1995 63.81 28.91
Jan 1995 61.55 27.78
Dec 1994 59.79 26.87
Nov 1994 59.83 26.89
Oct 1994 62.39 28.01
Sep 1994 60.71 27.23
Aug 1994 62.83 28.11
Jul 1994 60.76 27.08
Jun 1994 59.02 26.23
May 1994 61.01 27.02
Apr 1994 60.09 26.6
Mar 1994 59.51 26.3
Feb 1994 62.68 27.61
Jan 1994 64.79 28.44
Dec 1993 62.77 27.48
Nov 1993 62.44 27.34
Oct 1993 63.15 27.63
Sep 1993 62.19 27.1
Aug 1993 63.17 27.46
Jul 1993 61 26.45
Jun 1993 61.3 26.58
May 1993 61.6 26.67
Apr 1993 60.06 25.97
Mar 1993 61.81 26.65
Feb 1993 60.96 26.19
Jan 1993 60.52 25.92

Returns from Investing in the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

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

Detailed Annual Returns (Adjusted vs. Nominal)

The table below shows the returns for the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust 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 ETF nominally increased, as in 2011.

Year Inflation-Adjusted Return Nominal Return
2024 21.38% 24.88%
2023 22.08% 26.17%
2022 -23.14% -18.18%
2021 20.26% 28.72%
2020 16.73% 18.32%
2019 28.28% 31.21%
2018 -6.37% -4.58%
2017 19.18% 21.69%
2016 9.71% 11.99%
2015 0.49% 1.22%
2014 12.6% 13.45%
2013 30.34% 32.29%
2012 13.39% 15.36%
2011 -1.05% 1.88%
2010 13.35% 15.05%
2009 22.99% 26.34%
2008 -36.86% -36.8%
2007 1.01% 5.14%
2006 12.97% 15.84%
2005 0.83% 4.27%
2004 7.2% 10.69%
2003 25.81% 28.17%
2002 -23.41% -21.59%
2001 -13.11% -11.76%
2000 -12.7% -9.74%
1999 17.24% 20.39%
1998 26.65% 28.69%
1997 31.23% 33.47%
1996 18.55% 22.49%
1995 33.89% 37.29%
1994 -4.76% -2.21%

Spdr S&P 500 Etf Trust: 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 SPDR S&P 500 Trust over various trailing periods ending April 30, 2026, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted) Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year 26.27% 31.08%
Last 3 years 17.82% 21.54%
Last 5 years 8.13% 13.01%
Last 10 years 11.4% 15.15%
Last 20 years 8.1% 10.85%
Last 30 years 7.42% 10.16%

Real Returns of Investing in the SPDR S&P 500 Trust

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 SPDR S&P 500 Trust five years ago yielded an 87.03% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 51.45%.

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 $187.03 87.03% 51.45%
Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025 $404.61 304.61% 195.37%
Last 25 years Feb 2001 - Sep 2025 $831.25 731.25% 349.92%

About the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust

The SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust, commonly known by its ticker symbol SPY, is one of the largest and most popular exchange-traded funds (ETFs) in the world. Launched in January 1993 by State Street Global Advisors, SPY was the first ETF listed in the United States and it tracks the S&P 500 Index. This index is a market-capitalization weighted index of 500 leading publicly traded companies in the U.S.

SPY is designed to provide investment results that, before expenses, correspond generally to the price and yield performance of the S&P 500 Index. It offers investors a way to gain diversified exposure to the U.S. large-cap equity market through a single security. Because it trades like a stock on exchanges, SPY offers intraday liquidity and can be bought and sold throughout the trading day at market prices. It is widely used by individual and institutional investors for various purposes, including long-term investment, asset allocation, and trading.

Last Close
May 20, 2026
741.25
Highest
May 14, 2026
748.17
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted
May 14, 2026
748.17
Annualized return
Since Jan 29, 1993
10.59%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted
Since Jan 29, 1993
7.81%

More in ETFs

Other Inflation-Adjusted Data