Stats › Long run returns › Inflation

Inflation cuts the S&P 500's 9.79% a year to about 6.9%

15: 0.1%0.1%1516: 1.3%1.3%1617: 2.1%2.1%1718: 2.4%2.4%1819: 1.8%1.8%1920: 1.2%1.2%2021: 4.7%4.7%2122: 8%8%2223: 4.1%4.1%2324: 2.9%2.9%2425: 2.6%2.6%2526: 3.5%3.5%26

From 1.2% to 8.0% and back down inside three years. Source: US Inflation Calculator, using BLS CPI data.

Every long run stock return is quoted before inflation unless someone says otherwise. For the S&P 500 since 1928 that difference is roughly three percentage points a year. About a third of the headline return only preserved purchasing power rather than adding to it.

9.79% a yearS&P 500, nominal
about 6.9% a yearS&P 500, after inflation
17.4%Highest year, 1917
-10.5%Lowest year, 1921

Members only

The rest of this page is for members

Below this point there are 6 sections, 1 chart and 2 named sources, roughly 650 words of it. Every figure carries the source it came from and the date the data is from.

You can keep browsing every statistic in the library for free. The intro and the summary are always open.