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 99 calendar years: 67 positive and 30 negative (a 68% 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 +10.1%.
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.
Latest Snapshot
- Updated
- 2026-07-11
- Latest value
- 7,575.392026-07-10
- CAGR
- +6.36%
- Sample
- 1928-01-31 – 2026-07-10
- Observations
- 1,183
- Sample
- 1928-01-31 – 2026-07-10
the S&P 500 annual returns, 1928–2026
| Year | Return |
|---|---|
| 2026 | +10.1% |
| 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
Static Preview
Data & Source
GET /api/sp500/century.json — Canonical dataset endpoint.
Yahoo Finance · Macrotrends · Robert Shiller · FRED · S&P Global · Nasdaq · 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 including Yahoo Finance, Macrotrends, Robert Shiller, FRED, S&P Global, Nasdaq, and NBER. 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.