Here's what the stock market returned the year you were born

Written by:
May 24, 2018
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Here's what the stock market returned the year you were born

For over two centuries, the U.S. stock market has embodied the American capitalist spirit. Pairing America's most successful enterprises with the provided capital of investors looking to grow their wealth, the stock market reads as a barometer for the U.S. economy and a further reflection of events around the world.

To understand the ups and downs of the market over the last 90 years, Stacker looked to historical returns for stocks covered by Standard & Poor's. Using historical data from Ycharts and NYU Professor Aswath Damodaran, we've compiled total annual returns for every year from 1928 to 2017, reflecting price appreciation as well as distributions to shareholders. In 1957, the S&P transitioned its major index into an examination of 500 select companies, creating the well-known S&P 500 index. The index tracks companies listed on the NYSE or NASDAQ using a market capitalization weighting methodology—giving more weight to larger companies—as compared to the price-weighted approach employed by the Dow Jones Industrial Average. We've also include annual returns for 3-month U.S. Treasury bills—short-term bonds that serve as an indicator of the risk-free rate—as a basis for comparison to stock market returns.

Read on to discover how the markets moved the year you were born.

1928

Annual return on the S&P 500: 43.81%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.08%

1929

Annual return on the S&P 500: -8.3%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.16%

1930

Annual return on the S&P 500: -25.12%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.55%

1931

Annual return on the S&P 500: -43.84%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 2.31%

1932

Annual return on the S&P 500: -8.64%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.07%

1933

Annual return on the S&P 500: 49.98%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.96%

1934

Annual return on the S&P 500: -1.19%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.32%

1935

Annual return on the S&P 500: 46.74%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.18%

1936

Annual return on the S&P 500: 31.94%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.17%

1937

Annual return on the S&P 500: -35.34%

Annual return on an investment in a 3-month T.Bill: 0.3%

1938

Annual return on the S&P 500: 29.28%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.08%

1939

Annual return on the S&P 500: -1.1%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.04%

1940

Annual return on the S&P 500: -10.67%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.03%

1941

Annual return on the S&P 500: -12.77%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.08%

1942

Annual return on the S&P 500: 19.17%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.34%

1943

Annual return on the S&P 500: 25.06%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.38%

1944

Annual return on the S&P 500: 19.03%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.38%

1945

Annual return on the S&P 500: 35.82%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.38%

1946

Annual return on the S&P 500: -8.43%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.38%

1947

Annual return on the S&P 500: 5.2%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.57%

1948

Annual return on the S&P 500: 5.7%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.02%

1949

Annual return on the S&P 500: 18.3%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.1%

1950

Annual return on the S&P 500: 30.81%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.17%

1951

Annual return on the S&P 500: 23.68%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.48%

1952

Annual return on the S&P 500: 18.15%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.67%

1953

Annual return on the S&P 500: -1.21%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.89%

1954

Annual return on the S&P 500: 52.56%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.96%

1955

Annual return on the S&P 500: 32.6%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.66%

1956

Annual return on the S&P 500: 7.44%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 2.56%

1957

Annual return on the S&P 500: -10.46%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.23%

1958

Annual return on the S&P 500: 43.72%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.78%

1959

Annual return on the S&P 500: 12.06%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.26%

1960

Annual return on the S&P 500: 0.34%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.05%

1961

Annual return on the S&P 500: 26.64%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 2.27%

1962

Annual return on the S&P 500: -8.81%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 2.78%

1963

Annual return on the S&P 500: 22.61%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.11%

1964

Annual return on the S&P 500: 16.42%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.51%

1965

Annual return on the S&P 500: 12.4%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.9%

1966

Annual return on the S&P 500: -9.97%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.84%

1967

Annual return on the S&P 500: 23.8%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.33%

1968

Annual return on the S&P 500: 10.81%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.26%

1969

Annual return on the S&P 500: -8.24%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 6.56%

1970

Annual return on the S&P 500: 3.56%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 6.69%

1971

Annual return on the S&P 500: 14.22%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.54%

1972

Annual return on the S&P 500: 18.76%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.95%

1973

Annual return on the S&P 500: -14.31%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 6.73%

1974

Annual return on the S&P 500: -25.9%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 7.78%

1975

Annual return on the S&P 500: 37%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.99%

1976

Annual return on the S&P 500: 23.83%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.97%

1977

Annual return on the S&P 500: -6.98%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.13%

1978

Annual return on the S&P 500: 6.51%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 6.93%

1979

Annual return on the S&P 500: 18.52%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 9.94%

1980

Annual return on the S&P 500: 31.74%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 11.22%

1981

Annual return on the S&P 500: -4.7%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 14.3%

1982

Annual return on the S&P 500: 20.42%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 11.01%

1983

Annual return on the S&P 500: 22.34%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 8.45%

1984

Annual return on the S&P 500: 6.15%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 9.61%

1985

Annual return on the S&P 500: 31.24%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 7.49%

1986

Annual return on the S&P 500: 18.49%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 6.04%

1987

Annual return on the S&P 500: 5.81%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.72%

1988

Annual return on the S&P 500: 16.54%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 6.45%

1989

Annual return on the S&P 500: 31.48%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 8.11%

1990

Annual return on the S&P 500: -3.06%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 7.55%

1991

Annual return on the S&P 500: 30.23%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.61%

1992

Annual return on the S&P 500: 7.49%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.41%

1993

Annual return on the S&P 500: 9.97%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 2.98%

1994

Annual return on the S&P 500: 1.33%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.99%

1995

Annual return on the S&P 500: 37.2%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.52%

1996

Annual return on the S&P 500: 22.68%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.02%

1997

Annual return on the S&P 500: 33.1%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.05%

1998

Annual return on the S&P 500: 28.34%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.73%

1999

Annual return on the S&P 500: 20.89%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.51%

2000

Annual return on the S&P 500: -9.03%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 5.76%

2001

Annual return on the S&P 500: -11.85%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.67%

2002

Annual return on the S&P 500: -21.97%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.66%

2003

Annual return on the S&P 500: 28.36%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.03%

2004

Annual return on the S&P 500: 10.74%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.23%

2005

Annual return on the S&P 500: 4.83%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 3.01%

2006

Annual return on the S&P 500: 15.61%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.68%

2007

Annual return on the S&P 500: 5.48%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 4.64%

2008

Annual return on the S&P 500: -36.55%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.59%

2009

Annual return on the S&P 500: 25.94%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.14%

2010

Annual return on the S&P 500: 14.82%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.13%

2011

Annual return on the S&P 500: 2.1%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.03%

2012

Annual return on the S&P 500: 15.89%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.05%

2013

Annual return on the S&P 500: 32.15%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.07%

2014

Annual return on the S&P 500: 13.52%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.05%

2015

Annual return on the S&P 500: 1.38%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.21%

2016

Annual return on the S&P 500: 11.77%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 0.51%

2017

Annual return on the S&P 500: 21.64%

Annual return on 3-month Treasury bills: 1.39%

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