S&P 500 annual returns by year, 1928 to 2025
98 calendar years of total returns on one page. Click a year, then read the annualized return for any start and end year.
What stands out
- The best year was 1954, with a total return of +52.6%. The worst was 1931, at -43.8%.
- 72 of 98 calendar years were positive (73%). The other 26 ended below where they began.
- The worst 20-year stretch ran from the start of 1929 to the end of 1948: 2.37% a year, dividends reinvested, before inflation.
Each year, one square
Every square is one calendar year of S&P 500 total return, dividends reinvested. Select a year to see its return, the inflation that year, and what $1,000 invested at the start of that year would be worth now.
2008
- Total return
- -36.55%
- Price return
- -38.49%
- US inflation
- 0.09%
- Total return after inflation
- -36.61%
If you had put $1,000 into the S&P 500 at the start of 2008 and reinvested dividends, it would be worth $6,495 at the end of 2025, about 10.95% a year. In 2008 dollars, after inflation, that is $4,207.
Calculated with the same backtest engine as the S&P 500 calculator. One lump sum, no fees or taxes, past returns do not predict future ones.
The return triangle
One cell for every start year and end year: the compound annual return you would have earned by holding from the start of the row year to the end of the column year. Short holding periods sit near the diagonal and swing the most; the longer ones, further right, settle toward the long-run average.
S&P 500 return for each year
The same 98 years as plain text, newest first. Total return includes dividends; inflation is the US consumer price change for the year. For averages by decade and the effect of inflation, see S&P 500 returns by decade.
| Year | S&P 500 total return | Inflation |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | +17.72% | +2.74% |
| 2024 | +24.88% | +2.89% |
| 2023 | +26.06% | +3.35% |
| 2022 | -18.04% | +6.45% |
| 2021 | +28.47% | +7.04% |
| 2020 | +18.02% | +1.36% |
| 2019 | +31.21% | +2.29% |
| 2018 | -4.23% | +1.91% |
| 2017 | +21.61% | +2.11% |
| 2016 | +11.77% | +2.07% |
| 2015 | +1.38% | +0.73% |
| 2014 | +13.52% | +0.76% |
| 2013 | +32.15% | +1.50% |
| 2012 | +15.89% | +1.74% |
| 2011 | +2.10% | +2.96% |
| 2010 | +14.82% | +1.50% |
| 2009 | +25.94% | +2.72% |
| 2008 | -36.55% | +0.09% |
| 2007 | +5.48% | +4.08% |
| 2006 | +15.61% | +2.54% |
| 2005 | +4.83% | +3.42% |
| 2004 | +10.74% | +3.26% |
| 2003 | +28.36% | +1.88% |
| 2002 | -21.97% | +2.38% |
| 2001 | -11.85% | +1.55% |
| 2000 | -9.03% | +3.39% |
| 1999 | +20.89% | +2.68% |
| 1998 | +28.34% | +1.61% |
| 1997 | +33.10% | +1.70% |
| 1996 | +22.68% | +3.32% |
| 1995 | +37.20% | +2.54% |
| 1994 | +1.33% | +2.67% |
| 1993 | +9.97% | +2.75% |
| 1992 | +7.49% | +2.90% |
| 1991 | +30.23% | +3.06% |
| 1990 | -3.06% | +6.11% |
| 1989 | +31.48% | +4.65% |
| 1988 | +16.54% | +4.42% |
| 1987 | +5.81% | +4.43% |
| 1986 | +18.49% | +1.10% |
| 1985 | +31.24% | +3.80% |
| 1984 | +6.15% | +3.95% |
| 1983 | +22.34% | +3.79% |
| 1982 | +20.42% | +3.83% |
| 1981 | -4.70% | +8.92% |
| 1980 | +31.74% | +12.52% |
| 1979 | +18.52% | +13.29% |
| 1978 | +6.51% | +9.02% |
| 1977 | -6.98% | +6.70% |
| 1976 | +23.83% | +4.86% |
| 1975 | +37.00% | +6.94% |
| 1974 | -25.90% | +12.34% |
| 1973 | -14.31% | +8.71% |
| 1972 | +18.76% | +3.41% |
| 1971 | +14.22% | +3.27% |
| 1970 | +3.56% | +5.57% |
| 1969 | -8.24% | +6.20% |
| 1968 | +10.81% | +4.72% |
| 1967 | +23.80% | +3.04% |
| 1966 | -9.97% | +3.46% |
| 1965 | +12.40% | +1.92% |
| 1964 | +16.42% | +0.97% |
| 1963 | +22.61% | +1.64% |
| 1962 | -8.81% | +1.33% |
| 1961 | +26.64% | +0.67% |
| 1960 | +0.34% | +1.36% |
| 1959 | +12.06% | +1.73% |
| 1958 | +43.72% | +1.76% |
| 1957 | -10.46% | +2.90% |
| 1956 | +7.44% | +2.99% |
| 1955 | +32.60% | +0.37% |
| 1954 | +52.56% | -0.74% |
| 1953 | -1.21% | +0.75% |
| 1952 | +18.15% | +0.75% |
| 1951 | +23.68% | +6.00% |
| 1950 | +30.81% | +5.93% |
| 1949 | +18.30% | -2.07% |
| 1948 | +5.70% | +2.99% |
| 1947 | +5.20% | +8.84% |
| 1946 | -8.43% | +18.13% |
| 1945 | +35.82% | +2.25% |
| 1944 | +19.03% | +2.30% |
| 1943 | +25.06% | +2.96% |
| 1942 | +19.17% | +9.03% |
| 1941 | -12.77% | +9.93% |
| 1940 | -10.67% | +0.71% |
| 1939 | -1.10% | +0.00% |
| 1938 | +29.28% | -2.78% |
| 1937 | -35.34% | +2.86% |
| 1936 | +31.94% | +1.45% |
| 1935 | +46.74% | +2.99% |
| 1934 | -1.19% | +1.52% |
| 1933 | +49.98% | +0.76% |
| 1932 | -8.64% | -10.27% |
| 1931 | -43.84% | -9.32% |
| 1930 | -25.12% | -6.40% |
| 1929 | -8.30% | +0.58% |
| 1928 | +43.81% | -1.16% |
Method
Total return includes dividends. Annualized return is the geometric average over the whole holding period. Dollar values use the same backtest as the S&P 500 calculator: a lump sum at the start of the year, valued at the end of 2025, before fees and taxes. Annual data hides what happened inside each year. Educational data, not financial advice, and past returns do not predict future returns.
Data: Aswath Damodaran, NYU Stern, "Historical Returns on Stocks, Bonds and Bills", retrieved September 27, 2026 from pages.stern.nyu.edu. The full table and CSV and JSON downloads are on the S&P 500 returns dataset page. This page is also available en español.
How to cite
Cite this page and, where you can, the original source as well.
WealthSim. (2026). Every year of the S&P 500 since 1928 [Interactive data visualization]. https://www.wealthsim.app/data/sp500-every-year. Original data: Damodaran, A. Historical returns on stocks, bonds and bills. NYU Stern. https://pages.stern.nyu.edu/~adamodar/New_Home_Page/datafile/histret.html