Inflation-Adjusted Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO)

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) offers investors diversified exposure to mid-sized companies in the US stock market.

Nominal returns are an incomplete measure of performance because they don't reflect the real growth of an investment's purchasing power. To provide a more accurate analysis, this page adjusts the historical price of VO for inflation using the US Consumer Price Index to reveal its real performance over time.

Nominal prices are adjusted for stock splits and assume reinvestment of any dividends to reflect total return. Inflation-adjusted prices use September 2025 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF is 292.88 (as of the close of Dec 4, 2025), 1.13% lower than the all-time high of 296.23 (Oct 27, 2025).

Since January 30, 2004, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 361.79%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 7.26%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 709.89%, or an annualized rate of 10.05%.

Inflation-Adjusted Values by Month

This data presents the ETF'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
Dec 2025	292.88	292.88
Nov 2025	292.15	292.15
Oct 2025	290.91	290.91
Sep 2025	293.74	293.74
Aug 2025	289.64	288.91
Jul 2025	286.53	284.98
Jun 2025	280.78	278.84
May 2025	270.96	268.18
Apr 2025	257.39	254.21
Mar 2025	260.74	256.72
Feb 2025	272.13	267.34
Jan 2025	278.49	272.38
Dec 2024	268.64	261.03
Nov 2024	288.4	280.13
Oct 2024	266.04	258.56
Sep 2024	267.48	259.66
Aug 2024	261.25	253.2
Jul 2024	255.06	247.01
Jun 2024	245.44	237.42
May 2024	247.12	238.95
Apr 2024	240.91	232.56
Mar 2024	253.83	244.09
Feb 2024	245	234.08
Jan 2024	234.85	223.01
Dec 2023	239.7	226.37
Nov 2023	223.5	211.29
Oct 2023	202.76	192.07
Sep 2023	212.73	201.59
Aug 2023	224.17	211.9
Jul 2023	233.58	219.84
Jun 2023	226.06	212.36
May 2023	209.13	195.81
Apr 2023	215.32	201.11
Mar 2023	218.1	202.68
Feb 2023	221.26	204.94
Jan 2023	228.67	210.63
Dec 2022	213.52	195.11
Nov 2022	224.92	206.17
Oct 2022	211.68	194.23
Sep 2022	195.86	178.98
Aug 2022	217.81	198.61
Jul 2022	224.32	204.62
Jun 2022	204.73	186.78
May 2022	228.98	206.07
Apr 2022	232.34	206.81
Mar 2022	254.02	224.85
Feb 2022	250.74	219.03
Jan 2022	255.52	221.18
Dec 2021	279.71	240.1
Nov 2021	270	231.05
Oct 2021	278.27	236.96
Sep 2021	263.24	222.32
Aug 2021	275.5	232.04
Jul 2021	267.97	225.23
Jun 2021	265.76	222.31
May 2021	263.56	218.44
Apr 2021	263.55	216.69
Mar 2021	253.47	206.71
Feb 2021	249.28	201.86
Jan 2021	237.94	191.63
Dec 2020	240.09	192.54
Nov 2020	231.03	185.1
Oct 2020	203.67	163.28
Sep 2020	203.9	163.39
Aug 2020	207.52	166.07
Jul 2020	201.75	160.94
Jun 2020	190.69	151.36
May 2020	187.94	148.35
Apr 2020	175.21	138.3
Mar 2020	152.35	121.07
Feb 2020	186.3	148.38
Jan 2020	204.78	162.64
Dec 2019	206.08	163.04
Nov 2019	201.01	159.18
Oct 2019	194.63	154.21
Sep 2019	192.93	152.52
Aug 2019	189.12	149.39
Jul 2019	194.47	153.62
Jun 2019	192.28	151.63
May 2019	179.57	141.58
Apr 2019	191.56	150.71
Mar 2019	185.67	145.32
Feb 2019	184.23	143.38
Jan 2019	177.45	137.52
Dec 2018	160.94	124.49
Nov 2018	177.86	138.02
Oct 2018	173.22	134.86
Sep 2018	189.34	147.16
Aug 2018	190.38	147.79
Jul 2018	185.86	144.21
Jun 2018	181.29	140.65
May 2018	179.87	139.33
Apr 2018	177.4	136.84
Mar 2018	178.45	137.11
Feb 2018	179.06	137.27
Jan 2018	187.4	143.01
Dec 2017	180.72	137.17
Nov 2017	178.76	135.76
Oct 2017	173.3	131.61
Sep 2017	170.72	129.73
Aug 2017	167.78	126.83
Jul 2017	169.31	127.6
Jun 2017	166.2	125.34
May 2017	165.37	124.61
Apr 2017	164.02	123.48
Mar 2017	162.61	122.05
Feb 2017	162.68	122.01
Jan 2017	158.36	118.4
Dec 2016	154.71	115
Nov 2016	153.7	114.21
Oct 2016	146.58	109.09
Sep 2016	151.41	112.54
Aug 2016	151.15	112.08
Jul 2016	151.12	111.96
Jun 2016	144.28	107.07
May 2016	144.76	107.06
Apr 2016	142.72	105.13
Mar 2016	142.65	104.59
Feb 2016	132.62	96.82
Jan 2016	130.94	95.51
Dec 2015	141.96	103.38
Nov 2015	145.33	106.19
Oct 2015	144.59	105.88
Sep 2015	136.38	99.91
Aug 2015	141.38	103.74
Jul 2015	148.85	109.37
Jun 2015	147.14	108.11
May 2015	150.2	109.97
Apr 2015	149.29	108.75
Mar 2015	154.86	112.58
Feb 2015	150.68	108.89
Jan 2015	142.73	102.7
Dec 2014	144.97	104.8
Nov 2014	143.72	104.49
Oct 2014	139	101.61
Sep 2014	134.09	98.27
Aug 2014	138.61	101.5
Jul 2014	132.16	96.95
Jun 2014	135.47	99.41
May 2014	131.79	96.53
Apr 2014	129.24	94.33
Mar 2014	130.78	95.14
Feb 2014	131.97	95.39
Jan 2014	124.89	89.94
Dec 2013	128.42	92.14
Nov 2013	124.71	89.49
Oct 2013	121.95	87.69
Sep 2013	117.69	84.85
Aug 2013	112.63	81.1
Jul 2013	115.78	83.27
Jun 2013	109.57	78.77
May 2013	111.11	79.69
Apr 2013	109.28	78.24
Mar 2013	107.31	76.91
Feb 2013	102.98	73.61
Jan 2013	102.58	72.73
Dec 2012	96.53	68.24
Nov 2012	93.9	66.56
Oct 2012	91.98	65.51
Sep 2012	93.01	66.27
Aug 2012	91.62	64.98
Jul 2012	89.4	63.06
Jun 2012	89.21	63.03
May 2012	86.9	61.49
Apr 2012	93.44	66.19
Mar 2012	94.31	66.61
Feb 2012	93.25	65.36
Jan 2012	89.77	62.65
Dec 2011	84.53	58.73
Nov 2011	84.64	58.96
Oct 2011	85.09	59.32
Sep 2011	75.09	52.45
Aug 2011	83.46	58.21
Jul 2011	89.96	62.57
Jun 2011	93.24	64.8
May 2011	95.41	66.38
Apr 2011	96.27	66.66
Mar 2011	94.33	64.9
Feb 2011	93.66	63.81
Jan 2011	90.39	61.28
Dec 2010	88.89	59.99
Nov 2010	83.34	56.14
Oct 2010	81.63	54.97
Sep 2010	78.52	52.81
Aug 2010	70.97	47.7
Jul 2010	74.44	49.97
Jun 2010	69.64	46.73
May 2010	74.17	49.82
Apr 2010	80.06	53.74
Mar 2010	77.4	51.86
Feb 2010	72.62	48.46
Jan 2010	69	46.03
Dec 2009	71.8	47.74
Nov 2009	67.54	44.99
Oct 2009	64.33	42.81
Sep 2009	67.37	44.8
Aug 2009	63.42	42.14
Jul 2009	60.56	40.15
Jun 2009	55.5	36.85
May 2009	56.26	37.04
Apr 2009	54.05	35.48
Mar 2009	47.43	31.06
Feb 2009	43.83	28.63
Jan 2009	48.69	31.65
Dec 2008	52.51	33.99
Nov 2008	49.53	32.39
Oct 2008	53.46	35.65
Sep 2008	67.84	45.69
Aug 2008	77.84	52.51
Jul 2008	76.29	51.67
Jun 2008	79.84	53.78
May 2008	87.4	58.3
Apr 2008	84.32	55.77
Mar 2008	79.42	52.21
Feb 2008	82.07	53.49
Jan 2008	83.57	54.31
Dec 2007	89.98	58.19
Nov 2007	90.32	58.45
Oct 2007	95.7	61.56
Sep 2007	94.23	60.48
Aug 2007	91.82	58.77
Jul 2007	90.97	58.34
Jun 2007	95.37	61.17
May 2007	97.28	62.28
Apr 2007	93.82	59.7
Mar 2007	91.16	57.64
Feb 2007	91.16	57.11
Jan 2007	91.46	57
Dec 2006	88.76	55.15
Nov 2006	89.12	55.29
Oct 2006	85.56	53.16
Sep 2006	82.09	51.28
Aug 2006	80.36	50.45
Jul 2006	78.95	49.47
Jun 2006	80.9	50.54
May 2006	81.49	50.81
Apr 2006	84.92	52.68
Mar 2006	84.88	52.22
Feb 2006	82.77	50.63
Jan 2006	83.6	51.04
Dec 2005	79.91	48.42
Nov 2005	78.57	47.8
Oct 2005	74.12	45.46
Sep 2005	76.93	47.09
Aug 2005	76.69	46.38
Jul 2005	77.37	46.55
Jun 2005	73.91	44.26
May 2005	71.79	42.97
Apr 2005	68.04	40.77
Mar 2005	71.11	42.32
Feb 2005	72.5	42.81
Jan 2005	70.3	41.28
Dec 2004	72.53	42.49
Nov 2004	69.36	40.79
Oct 2004	64.68	38.02
Sep 2004	63.17	36.93
Aug 2004	60.74	35.44
Jul 2004	61.16	35.66
Jun 2004	63.52	37.1
May 2004	62.48	36.38
Apr 2004	61.26	35.46
Mar 2004	64.19	37.04
Feb 2004	64.77	37.13
Jan 2004	63.42	36.16

Returns from Investing in the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF

How much did an investment in the VO 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 Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF by year, both inflation-adjusted and nominal. You can sort any column by clicking on the header.

Year	Inflation-Adjusted Return	Nominal Return
2024	12.07%	15.31%
2023	12.26%	16.02%
2022	-23.67%	-18.74%
2021	16.5%	24.7%
2020	16.5%	18.09%
2019	28.05%	30.97%
2018	-10.95%	-9.25%
2017	16.81%	19.27%
2016	8.98%	11.25%
2015	-2.07%	-1.36%
2014	12.88%	13.74%
2013	33.03%	35.03%
2012	14.2%	16.19%
2011	-4.91%	-2.09%
2010	23.81%	25.67%
2009	36.72%	40.44%
2008	-41.64%	-41.59%
2007	1.37%	5.51%
2006	11.08%	13.9%
2005	10.18%	13.94%

Vanguard Mid-Cap Etf: 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 Vanguard Mid-Cap over various trailing periods ending September 30, 2025, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	9.82%	13.12%
Last 3 years	14.46%	17.96%
Last 5 years	7.57%	12.45%
Last 10 years	7.97%	11.39%
Last 20 years	6.93%	9.59%

Real Returns of Investing in the Vanguard Mid-Cap

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 Vanguard Mid-Cap five years ago yielded an 97.97% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 57.67%.

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 2020 - Sep 2025	$197.97	97.97%	57.67%
Last 10 years Feb 2015 - Sep 2025	$269.76	169.76%	94.94%

About the Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF

The Vanguard Mid-Cap ETF (VO) is an exchange-traded fund managed by Vanguard that seeks to track the performance of the CRSP US Mid Cap Index. Launched in January 2004, VO provides investors with convenient exposure to the mid-capitalization segment of the US stock market.

The fund includes a diverse mix of stocks from various sectors, representing companies that are larger than small-caps but smaller than large-caps. With its low expense ratio, VO is a common choice for investors seeking to add mid-cap growth potential to their portfolios.

Last Close Dec 4, 2025	292.88
Highest Oct 27, 2025	296.23
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Oct 27, 2025	296.23
Annualized return Since Jan 30, 2004	10.05%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Jan 30, 2004	7.26%