Inflation-Adjusted Vanguard S&P 500 ETF (VOO)

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).

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.

Returns from Investing in the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF

How much did an investment in the VOO 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 S&P 500 ETF 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.

Vanguard S&P 500 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 S&P 500 over various trailing periods ending September 30, 2025, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Real Returns of Investing in the Vanguard 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 Vanguard S&P 500 five years ago yielded an 145.78% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 95.74%.

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.

About the Vanguard S&P 500 ETF