Inflation-Adjusted Growth ETF (VUG)

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) tracks the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index, providing exposure to large-capitalization US stocks that exhibit growth characteristics.

Nominal investment returns are an incomplete measure of performance because they don't account for inflation's impact on purchasing power. To provide a more accurate analysis, this page adjusts the historical price of VUG 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 February 2026 as the baseline (latest available CPI).

The current value of the Vanguard Growth ETF is 450.21 (as of the close of Mar 13, 2026), 10.63% lower than the all-time high of 503.75 (Oct 29, 2025).

While the nominal high reached 503.75, the inflation-adjusted peak value was 505.45 on November 3, 2025.

Since January 30, 2004, the inflation-adjusted total return for the ETF has been 492.64%, which is equivalent to an annual growth rate of 8.38%.

In nominal values, the total return since this date has been 945.71%, or an annualized rate of 11.2%.

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
Mar 2026	450.21	450.21
Feb 2026	460.87	460.87
Jan 2026	483.82	481.55
Dec 2025	491.97	487.86
Nov 2025	494.37	490.34
Oct 2025	498.34	498.34
Sep 2025	482.05	479.12
Aug 2025	461.63	457.67
Jul 2025	459.49	454.23
Jun 2025	443.22	437.49
May 2025	418.62	411.8
Apr 2025	384.11	377.07
Mar 2025	377.7	369.62
Feb 2025	413.64	403.89
Jan 2025	428.4	416.45
Dec 2024	423.05	408.58
Nov 2024	421.31	406.75
Oct 2024	394.11	380.7
Sep 2024	395.6	381.7
Aug 2024	387.13	372.93
Jul 2024	378.94	364.74
Jun 2024	386.31	371.4
May 2024	361.89	347.81
Apr 2024	340.93	327.12
Mar 2024	357.18	341.38
Feb 2024	354.66	336.79
Jan 2024	333.3	314.57
Dec 2023	328.04	307.92
Nov 2023	314.14	295.17
Oct 2023	280.89	264.46
Sep 2023	285.82	269.21
Aug 2023	303.98	285.6
Jul 2023	308.66	288.74
Jun 2023	299.21	279.36
May 2023	280.77	261.3
Apr 2023	267.64	248.46
Mar 2023	266.23	245.9
Feb 2023	247.87	228.19
Jan 2023	252.85	231.49
Dec 2022	230.9	209.71
Nov 2022	251.2	228.85
Oct 2022	239.86	218.74
Sep 2022	231.33	210.1
Aug 2022	258.86	234.61
Jul 2022	272.39	246.96
Jun 2022	240.93	218.47
May 2022	266.81	238.65
Apr 2022	277.2	245.24
Mar 2022	319.95	281.49
Feb 2022	312.34	271.18
Jan 2022	330.35	284.21
Dec 2021	367.75	313.75
Nov 2021	363.16	308.89
Oct 2021	362.36	306.7
Sep 2021	337.48	283.29
Aug 2021	357.43	299.22
Jul 2021	345.48	288.62
Jun 2021	336.43	279.72
May 2021	320.27	263.83
Apr 2021	327.53	267.66
Mar 2021	308.87	250.35
Feb 2021	305.57	245.94
Jan 2021	304.67	243.88
Dec 2020	309.1	246.38
Nov 2020	297.03	236.54
Oct 2020	268.95	214.31
Sep 2020	277.4	220.95
Aug 2020	291.52	231.87
Jul 2020	265.63	210.61
Jun 2020	248.21	195.81
May 2020	237.9	186.66
Apr 2020	222.22	174.35
Mar 2020	191.81	151.5
Feb 2020	214.07	169.46
Jan 2020	229.5	181.17
Dec 2019	223.4	175.68
Nov 2019	216.75	170.6
Oct 2019	208.32	164.05
Sep 2019	203.52	159.91
Aug 2019	203.09	159.45
Jul 2019	204.25	160.37
Jun 2019	200	156.77
May 2019	187.34	146.81
Apr 2019	200.44	156.74
Mar 2019	192.44	149.7
Feb 2019	187.66	145.16
Jan 2019	181.75	140
Dec 2018	166.75	128.2
Nov 2018	181.5	139.99
Oct 2018	179.86	139.19
Sep 2018	198.14	153.07
Aug 2018	197.43	152.34
Jul 2018	188.73	145.54
Jun 2018	184.12	141.98
May 2018	182.32	140.36
Apr 2018	175.38	134.47
Mar 2018	175.6	134.1
Feb 2018	180.49	137.52
Jan 2018	186.76	141.66
Dec 2017	175.78	132.61
Nov 2017	174.16	131.46
Oct 2017	170.04	128.35
Sep 2017	165.16	124.74
Aug 2017	164.33	123.47
Jul 2017	162.91	122.03
Jun 2017	158.76	119.01
May 2017	159.59	119.52
Apr 2017	155.36	116.26
Mar 2017	152.36	113.67
Feb 2017	150.52	112.2
Jan 2017	144.65	107.49
Dec 2016	140.54	103.83
Nov 2016	138.96	102.63
Oct 2016	137.08	101.4
Sep 2016	140.9	104.1
Aug 2016	140.38	103.46
Jul 2016	140.95	103.79
Jun 2016	134.29	99.05
May 2016	135.63	99.71
Apr 2016	132.87	97.28
Mar 2016	134.56	98.06
Feb 2016	126.06	91.47
Jan 2016	126.67	91.84
Dec 2015	134.99	97.71
Nov 2015	137.87	100.13
Oct 2015	137.38	99.99
Sep 2015	126.01	91.75
Aug 2015	129.52	94.46
Jul 2015	138.03	100.8
Jun 2015	133.67	97.61
May 2015	136.39	99.25
Apr 2015	135.09	97.8
Mar 2015	131.66	95.13
Feb 2015	137.86	99.02
Jan 2015	130.32	93.2
Dec 2014	131.71	94.64
Nov 2014	132.23	95.55
Oct 2014	127.61	92.72
Sep 2014	123.58	90.02
Aug 2014	125.99	91.7
Jul 2014	120.24	87.67
Jun 2014	122.1	89.05
May 2014	119.47	86.97
Apr 2014	115.75	83.97
Mar 2014	116.08	83.94
Feb 2014	118.72	85.29
Jan 2014	112.83	80.76
Dec 2013	116.81	83.31
Nov 2013	112.94	80.55
Oct 2013	110.09	78.68
Sep 2013	105.32	75.47
Aug 2013	100.6	72
Jul 2013	102.62	73.36
Jun 2013	97.24	69.48
May 2013	99.61	71
Apr 2013	98.08	69.79
Mar 2013	96.42	68.68
Feb 2013	93.18	66.2
Jan 2013	93.17	65.65
Dec 2012	89.51	62.89
Nov 2012	89.2	62.84
Oct 2012	87.02	61.6
Sep 2012	89.8	63.59
Aug 2012	88.39	62.31
Jul 2012	85.96	60.26
Jun 2012	84.78	59.54
May 2012	82.28	57.87
Apr 2012	87.7	61.75
Mar 2012	88.23	61.93
Feb 2012	85.92	59.86
Jan 2012	82.36	57.12
Dec 2011	77.83	53.75
Nov 2011	78.31	54.21
Oct 2011	78.41	54.33
Sep 2011	70.11	48.68
Aug 2011	76.04	52.71
Jul 2011	80.83	55.88
Jun 2011	81.49	56.29
May 2011	82.81	57.26
Apr 2011	83.81	57.68
Mar 2011	81.81	55.95
Feb 2011	82.61	55.94
Jan 2011	80.78	54.44
Dec 2010	79.67	53.44
Nov 2010	75.87	50.8
Oct 2010	75.16	50.3
Sep 2010	71.54	47.82
Aug 2010	64.86	43.33
Jul 2010	68.17	45.48
Jun 2010	63.44	42.31
May 2010	67.4	45
Apr 2010	73.53	49.05
Mar 2010	72.56	48.32
Feb 2010	68.96	45.74
Jan 2010	66.4	44.03
Dec 2009	69.84	46.15
Nov 2009	67.7	44.82
Oct 2009	63.94	42.3
Sep 2009	64.86	42.86
Aug 2009	62.38	41.2
Jul 2009	61.3	40.4
Jun 2009	57.13	37.71
May 2009	57.12	37.38
Apr 2009	54.75	35.73
Mar 2009	49.92	32.49
Feb 2009	46.56	30.24
Jan 2009	50.58	32.68
Dec 2008	53.41	34.36
Nov 2008	52.42	34.08
Oct 2008	56.3	37.31
Sep 2008	67.81	45.4
Aug 2008	76.41	51.23
Jul 2008	75.2	50.62
Jun 2008	76.86	51.46
May 2008	83.4	55.29
Apr 2008	81.26	53.42
Mar 2008	77.1	50.38
Feb 2008	78.69	50.97
Jan 2008	79.83	51.56
Dec 2007	87.22	56.06
Nov 2007	87.32	56.16
Oct 2007	90.76	58.03
Sep 2007	88.34	56.36
Aug 2007	84.97	54.06
Jul 2007	83.21	53.04
Jun 2007	85.01	54.2
May 2007	86.25	54.89
Apr 2007	83.84	53.03
Mar 2007	80.83	50.79
Feb 2007	81.31	50.63
Jan 2007	83.29	51.59
Dec 2006	81.44	50.29
Nov 2006	81.76	50.41
Oct 2006	79.74	49.24
Sep 2006	76.76	47.66
Aug 2006	74.36	46.4
Jul 2006	72.28	45.01
Jun 2006	74.15	46.04
May 2006	74.74	46.32
Apr 2006	77.76	47.95
Mar 2006	78.42	47.95
Feb 2006	77.92	47.38
Jan 2006	78.3	47.51
Dec 2005	77.21	46.5
Nov 2005	77.46	46.84
Oct 2005	73.78	44.97
Sep 2005	74.55	45.35
Aug 2005	75.24	45.22
Jul 2005	76.7	45.87
Jun 2005	73.83	43.94
May 2005	74.22	44.15
Apr 2005	70.35	41.89
Mar 2005	72.6	42.94
Feb 2005	74.75	43.87
Jan 2005	74.14	43.26
Dec 2004	76.69	44.66
Nov 2004	74.34	43.45
Oct 2004	71.39	41.7
Sep 2004	70.76	41.12
Aug 2004	69.74	40.44
Jul 2004	70.44	40.82
Jun 2004	74.59	43.3
May 2004	74.12	42.89
Apr 2004	73.57	42.32
Mar 2004	74.49	42.72
Feb 2004	76.29	43.47
Jan 2004	75.97	43.05

Returns from Investing in the Vanguard Growth ETF

How much did an investment in the VUG 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 Growth 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.

Year	Inflation-Adjusted Return	Nominal Return
2024	28.96%	32.69%
2023	42.07%	46.83%
2022	-37.21%	-33.16%
2021	18.97%	27.35%
2020	38.36%	40.24%
2019	33.97%	37.03%
2018	-5.14%	-3.32%
2017	25.08%	27.72%
2016	4.11%	6.27%
2015	2.49%	3.23%
2014	12.76%	13.61%
2013	30.51%	32.47%
2012	15%	17%
2011	-2.32%	0.58%
2010	14.08%	15.78%
2009	30.77%	34.33%
2008	-38.77%	-38.71%
2007	7.09%	11.46%
2006	5.49%	8.17%
2005	0.67%	4.1%

Vanguard Growth 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 Growth over various trailing periods ending February 28, 2026, offering a clearer view of long-term, real investment performance.

Period	Avg. Annual Return (Inflation-Adjusted)	Avg. Annual Return (Nominal)
Last 1 year	11.42%	14.11%
Last 3 years	22.97%	26.4%
Last 5 years	8.57%	13.38%
Last 10 years	13.84%	17.55%
Last 20 years	9.29%	12.05%

Real Returns of Investing in the Vanguard Growth

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 Growth five years ago yielded an 94.81% nominal gain, but the real return (the actual increase in buying power) was 57.75%.

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	$194.81	94.81%	57.75%
Last 10 years Feb 2016 - Sep 2025	$523.8	423.8%	282.39%

About the Vanguard Growth ETF

The Vanguard Growth ETF (VUG) is an exchange-traded fund that seeks to track the performance of the CRSP US Large Cap Growth Index. Launched in January 2004, VUG focuses on large-cap US companies that are expected to grow at an above-average rate compared to other companies. The fund emphasizes stocks with strong earnings growth potential and typically includes companies from sectors like technology, healthcare, and consumer discretionary. VUG offers investors a cost-effective way to gain concentrated exposure to growth-oriented large-cap US equities through a single diversified investment vehicle.

Last Close Mar 13, 2026	450.21
Highest Oct 29, 2025	503.75
Highest, Inflation-Adjusted Nov 3, 2025	505.45
Annualized return Since Jan 30, 2004	11.2%
Annualized return, Inflation-Adjusted Since Jan 30, 2004	8.38%