S&P 500 Historical Annual Returns 1993–2024
Annual total returns (price appreciation + dividends reinvested) for the S&P 500 from 1993 to 2024. Source: S&P Dow Jones Indices via Macrotrends. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).
32-year CAGR (1993–2024)
10.5%
$10k invested in 1993
$246,681
Best year (1995)
+37.58%
Worst year (2008)
-37.00%
10-year CAGR (2015–2024)
12.9%
$10k → $33,789
20-year CAGR (2005–2024)
10.3%
$10k → $70,761
32-year CAGR (1993–2024)
10.5%
$10k → $246,681
Annual Total Returns by Year
Total return assumes dividends reinvested. Figures are approximate and rounded to 2 decimal places.
| Year | Annual Return | Direction |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +10.08% | Up |
| 1994 | +1.32% | Up |
| 1995 | +37.58% | Up |
| 1996 | +22.96% | Up |
| 1997 | +33.36% | Up |
| 1998 | +28.58% | Up |
| 1999 | +21.04% | Up |
| 2000 | -9.10% | Down |
| 2001 | -11.89% | Down |
| 2002 | -22.10% | Down |
| 2003 | +28.68% | Up |
| 2004 | +10.88% | Up |
| 2005 | +4.91% | Up |
| 2006 | +15.79% | Up |
| 2007 | +5.49% | Up |
| 2008 | -37.00% | Down |
| 2009 | +26.46% | Up |
| 2010 | +15.06% | Up |
| 2011 | +2.11% | Up |
| 2012 | +16.00% | Up |
| 2013 | +32.39% | Up |
| 2014 | +13.69% | Up |
| 2015 | +1.38% | Up |
| 2016 | +11.96% | Up |
| 2017 | +21.83% | Up |
| 2018 | -4.38% | Down |
| 2019 | +31.49% | Up |
| 2020 | +18.40% | Up |
| 2021 | +28.71% | Up |
| 2022 | -18.11% | Down |
| 2023 | +26.29% | Up |
| 2024 | +23.31% | Up |
| Summary | 10.54% CAGR | 26↑ / 6↓ |
Key observations
- Positive years dominate. The S&P 500 delivered a positive total return in 26 of 32 years (81%) between 1993 and 2024. Despite four significant drawdowns (2000–2002, 2008, 2018, 2022), long-term investors recovered fully and went on to new highs each time.
- The CAGR and arithmetic average diverge. The arithmetic average annual return over this period is approximately 12.1%, but the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) is 10.5%. The gap arises from volatility drag — a 50% loss requires a 100% gain to recover. This is why CAGR is the correct metric for measuring real investment growth.
- Decade variation is wide. The 1990s were exceptional (7 consecutive positive years, 1991–1999); the 2000s were called the "lost decade" (net ~0% total return 2000–2009); the 2010s were strong (roughly 10.3% CAGR 2005–2024); the 2020s have so far been above the long-term average despite 2022's sharp correction.
- The 7% real return benchmark. The commonly-cited "7% long-run real return" for equities is nominal return (~10%) minus historical US inflation (~3%). The nominal CAGR in this dataset (10.5%) is consistent with long-run historical evidence going back to 1926 (approximately 10% nominal).
- Sequence-of-returns matters for retirees. For accumulators (still contributing), the order of returns barely matters. For retirees drawing down, a crash early in retirement is devastating — drawing 4% per year from a portfolio that just dropped 37% (2008) means selling a lot of shares at low prices, permanently impairing recovery. This is the sequence-of-returns risk.
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