S&P 500 · Annual Returns — Nearly a Century of Annual Verdicts
Annual returns — Every calendar-year return since 1928, one bar per year.
Since 1928, every bar is a year-end reckoning — green for gains, red for losses. The caption below tallies up / down / flat counts and the record best and worst years, recomputed live from the data.
What this page answers
Since 1928, the S&P 500 has logged 98 calendar years: 66 positive and 30 negative (a 67% hit rate), with an arithmetic-average annual return of +8.1%. The best year was 1954 (+45.0%); the worst was 1931 (-47.1%). The most recent year, 2026 (year-to-date), stands at +13.2%.
Since 1928, every bar is a year-end reckoning — green for gains, red for losses. The caption below tallies up / down / flat counts and the record best and worst years, recomputed live from the data. The data is refreshed by the History of Market pipeline and published as a stable JSON endpoint for research, citation, and AI-agent use.
The plate
Latest Snapshot
- Updated
- 2026-08-08
- Latest value
- 7,757.642026-08-07
- CAGR
- +6.38%
- Sample
- 1928-01-31 – 2026-08-07
- Observations
- 1,184
- Sample
- 1928-01-31 – 2026-08-07
S&P 500 — annual returns, 1928–2026
| Year | Return |
|---|---|
| 2026 | +13.2% |
| 2025 | +16.4% |
| 2024 | +23.3% |
| 2023 | +24.2% |
| 2022 | -19.4% |
| 2021 | +26.9% |
| 2020 | +16.3% |
| 2019 | +28.9% |
| 2018 | -6.2% |
| 2017 | +19.4% |
| 2016 | +9.5% |
| 2015 | -0.7% |
| 2014 | +11.4% |
| 2013 | +29.6% |
| 2012 | +13.4% |
| 2011 | -0.0% |
| 2010 | +12.8% |
| 2009 | +23.5% |
| 2008 | -38.5% |
| 2007 | +3.5% |
| 2006 | +13.6% |
| 2005 | +3.0% |
| 2004 | +9.0% |
| 2003 | +26.4% |
| 2002 | -23.4% |
| 2001 | -13.0% |
| 2000 | -10.1% |
| 1999 | +19.5% |
| 1998 | +26.7% |
| 1997 | +31.0% |
| 1996 | +20.3% |
| 1995 | +34.1% |
| 1994 | -1.5% |
| 1993 | +7.1% |
| 1992 | +4.5% |
| 1991 | +26.3% |
| 1990 | -6.6% |
| 1989 | +27.3% |
| 1988 | +12.4% |
| 1987 | +2.0% |
| 1986 | +14.6% |
| 1985 | +26.3% |
| 1984 | +1.4% |
| 1983 | +17.3% |
| 1982 | +14.8% |
| 1981 | -9.7% |
| 1980 | +25.8% |
| 1979 | +12.3% |
| 1978 | +1.1% |
| 1977 | -11.5% |
| 1976 | +19.2% |
| 1975 | +31.6% |
| 1974 | -29.7% |
| 1973 | -17.4% |
| 1972 | +15.6% |
| 1971 | +10.8% |
| 1970 | +0.1% |
| 1969 | -11.4% |
| 1968 | +7.7% |
| 1967 | +20.1% |
| 1966 | -13.1% |
| 1965 | +9.1% |
| 1964 | +13.0% |
| 1963 | +18.9% |
| 1962 | -11.8% |
| 1961 | +23.1% |
| 1960 | -3.0% |
| 1959 | +8.5% |
| 1958 | +38.1% |
| 1957 | -14.3% |
| 1956 | +2.6% |
| 1955 | +26.4% |
| 1954 | +45.0% |
| 1953 | -6.6% |
| 1952 | +11.8% |
| 1951 | +16.4% |
| 1950 | +21.7% |
| 1949 | +10.5% |
| 1948 | -0.7% |
| 1947 | 0.0% |
| 1946 | -11.9% |
| 1945 | +30.7% |
| 1944 | +13.8% |
| 1943 | +19.5% |
| 1942 | +12.4% |
| 1941 | -17.9% |
| 1940 | -15.1% |
| 1939 | -5.2% |
| 1938 | +24.6% |
| 1937 | -38.6% |
| 1936 | +27.9% |
| 1935 | +41.4% |
| 1934 | -4.7% |
| 1933 | +44.1% |
| 1932 | -14.8% |
| 1931 | -47.1% |
| 1930 | -28.5% |
| 1929 | -11.9% |
| 1928 | +37.9% |
Showing the full record (99 rows). Raw series: https://historyofmarket.com/api/sp500/century.json
Data & Source
GET /api/sp500/century.json — Canonical dataset endpoint.
Exchange closing prices · Company filings · Robert Shiller · FRED · NBER.
FAQ
What was the best year on record?
1954, when the S&P 500 returned +45.0%.
What was the worst year on record?
1931, when the S&P 500 fell -47.1%.
Where does this data come from?
History of Market combines public market and macro datasets — exchange closing prices, company filings, Robert Shiller, FRED, NBER, and the UBS Global Investment Returns Yearbook (Dimson–Marsh–Staunton). The exact endpoint for this panel is linked below.
How often is it updated?
Daily-tier datasets refresh after the U.S. market close, with a broader weekly refresh on Sunday. The timestamp shown on this page comes from the JSON payload.
Can I use the data?
Yes, for research and education with attribution to History of Market. Upstream data sources retain their own terms.