Here are S&P 500 calendar-year total returns, including reinvested dividends, for every full year from 1928 through 2024. The series is a useful historical reference for large-cap U.S. stocks—not a return for every stock market or every investor.
Annual S&P 500 total returns, 1928–2024
The table reports nominal calendar-year total returns: price change plus dividends, with dividends reinvested. Figures are from NYU Stern’s historical U.S. returns table, dated January 2026; its S&P 500 series ends at 2024. The table’s annual observations are shown below.
The available source material establishes selected annual figures rather than reproducing the complete year-by-year series here. These values illustrate the range of outcomes; consult the NYU Stern historical returns table for the complete series.
| Calendar year | Total return |
|---|---|
| 1928 | 43.81% |
| 1929 | -8.30% |
| 1930 | -25.12% |
| 1931 | -43.84% |
| 2024 | 25.02% |
The 2024 figure is also reported as the S&P 500 Index total return in a SEC-filed performance brochure. NYU Stern’s January 2026 table does not include a 2025 full-year return, so no 2025 figure is inferred here.
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What “stock market return” means here
The S&P 500 is designed to represent the large-capitalization segment of U.S. equities. It is not a measure of every U.S.-listed stock, international shares, or the return earned by a particular investor. Individual results can differ with holdings, fees, taxes, timing, and cash flows.
Price return versus total return
A price return measures the change in the index level and excludes dividends. A total return adds dividends and other distributions, reinvested according to the index methodology. The S&P 500 Total Return Index reinvests distributions in the index as a whole, rather than in the specific company that paid each dividend. A SEC-filed supplement describes this convention and notes that ordinary and special dividends are reflected; see the filing’s methodology explanation.
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That distinction can make historical results materially different. S&P Dow Jones Indices’ November 2025 education report says: “Since 1936, dividends have accounted for more than one-third of the total equity return of the S&P 500®, with capital appreciation making up the other two-thirds.” Its analysis uses data from March 31, 1936, through October 31, 2025, and notes that the S&P 500 launched on March 4, 1957. The statement is a long-run attribution, not a claim about the dividend contribution in each year. Read the report.
Nominal versus inflation-adjusted returns
The figures above are nominal: they do not adjust for inflation. An inflation-adjusted, or real, return describes the change in purchasing power. Use a clearly labeled real-return series when the question is what an investment could buy over time; do not treat a nominal percentage as an inflation-adjusted result. NYU Stern provides historical annual return columns and cumulative investment values, so check the exact column label before using a real-return figure.
Calendar-year return versus annualized return
A calendar-year return is the result for one specific year. An annualized return is a compounded rate over a multi-year period; it is not the arithmetic average of the separate annual returns. Keep the measures in separately labeled columns when comparing them.
How to read the history
The selected figures show why annual returns are best read as a sequence, not as a stable yearly expectation: the series includes a 43.81% gain in 1928 and a 43.84% loss in 1931, as well as a 25.02% gain in 2024. A strong year does not erase earlier losses, and one year does not establish what the next will bring.
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Historical performance describes what happened under a particular index and return convention. It does not promise future returns; S&P Dow Jones Indices’ report includes this past-performance caveat.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Using the figures for a comparison
Before comparing a number from another source, confirm that it matches this series on benchmark, calendar period, currency, dividend treatment, and inflation adjustment. A price-only S&P 500 result is not directly comparable to a total-return figure. Nor should a multi-year annualized result be placed beside a one-year observation without labeling the difference.
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NYU Stern’s historical table also includes series for small-cap stocks, Treasury bills and bonds, corporate bonds, real estate, and gold. Those are distinct asset classes and measures, not alternative names for the stock market. Compare them only when the question calls for a cross-asset view, and retain each series’ stated return method.
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