Stats › Bear markets and drawdowns › Bear markets
The average S&P 500 bear market takes 35.2% over 289 days
192919501970199020102026
Fifteen of the twenty seven occurred before 1950. Since 1945 the frequency has fallen to roughly one every 5.1 years, against roughly one every 1.5 years between 1928 and 1945.
A bear market is a fall of 20% or more from the peak on a major index. The S&P 500 has had 27 of them since 1929, averaging a 35.2% decline over 289 days. Almost none of them resembled the average.
27Bear markets since 1929
-35.2%Average decline
289 daysAverage length
-61.81%Deepest, 1931 to 1932
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