ETFs / VTI
What If You Had Invested in VTI 10 Years Ago?
Vanguard Total Stock Market ETF (VTI) with real monthly prices, dividends reinvested, through November 2026.
VTI $360.52 ▼ -4.35% last close, Nov 05, 2026
If you had invested $1,000 in VTI in November 2016, today it would be worth
$3,715
Same $1,000 in QQQ: $5,893
If you had put $500 a month into VTI since November 2016, your $60,500 would be worth today
$125,099
Same plan in QQQ: $153,941
More options in the What If calculator.
VTI live price chart
VTI returns by period
| Period | Total return | Per year | $1,000 became | QQQ per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | $0.9560 | -8.4% | ||
| Jun 26, 2026 | $1.0440 | +4.6% | ||
| Mar 27, 2026 | $0.9980 | +4.9% | ||
| Dec 22, 2025 | $0.9510 | +4.9% | ||
| Sep 29, 2025 | $0.9070 | -0.7% | ||
| Jun 30, 2025 | $0.9130 | -7.3% | ||
| Mar 27, 2025 | $0.9850 | +4.7% | ||
| Dec 23, 2024 | $0.9410 | +8.0% | ||
| Sep 27, 2024 | $0.8710 | -8.5% | ||
| Jun 28, 2024 | $0.9520 | +4.5% | ||
| Mar 22, 2024 | $0.9110 | -9.1% | ||
| Dec 21, 2023 | $1.0020 | — |
VTI year by year
Best full year: 2013 (+33.4%). Worst: 2008 (-37.0%).
| Year | VTI | QQQ | What happened |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (so far) | +8.5% | +5.7% | |
| 2025 | +17.1% | +20.8% | |
| 2024 | +23.8% | +25.6% | |
| 2023 | +26.0% | +54.9% | |
| 2022 | -19.5% | -32.6% | The Federal Reserve raised rates at the fastest pace in decades to fight inflation, and stocks and bonds fell together. |
| 2021 | +25.7% | +27.4% | |
| 2020 | +21.1% | +48.4% | The COVID crash in February and March was one of the fastest falls on record, and the rebound by year end was just as fast. |
| 2019 | +30.7% | +39.0% | |
| 2018 | -5.2% | -0.1% | |
| 2017 | +21.2% | +32.7% | |
| 2016 | +12.8% | +7.1% | |
| 2015 | +0.4% | +9.4% | |
| 2014 | +12.5% | +19.2% | |
| 2013 | +33.4% | +36.6% | |
| 2012 | +16.5% | +18.1% | |
| 2011 | +1.0% | +3.5% | |
| 2010 | +17.4% | +20.1% | |
| 2009 | +28.9% | +54.7% | |
| 2008 | -37.0% | -41.7% | The global financial crisis. Bank failures and a deep recession made this one of the worst years for stocks since the 1930s. |
| 2007 | +5.4% | +19.0% |
VTI: all at once or every month?
Take $12,000: all of it on day one, or $1,000 a month for a year. Across every starting month since 2001 (294 of them), the lump sum was ahead after 12 months in 230 (78%). The lump sum usually won, but roughly one start in 5 favored spreading it out. The best case for monthly investing was a start in May 2008, when it finished the year 40% ahead.
Worst drop
VTI's worst fall in this history was -50.8%, a loss of more than half, from October 2007 to February 2009. Getting back to the old high took until March 2012: 37 months from the bottom and 4.4 years from the peak. $1,000 invested at that peak shrank to about $492 at the low.
VTI dividends
VTI paid $3.95 per share over the last 12 months, quarterly. At $360.52 that is 1.10%, a small yield; nearly all of the return has come from the price. From 2020 to 2025 the yearly payout grew +6.3% a year, steadily. The yearly total fell in 2020. Amounts are adjusted for splits.
| Year | Dividends / share | Change | Yield |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $3.76 | +2.2% | 1.12% |
| 2024 | $3.67 | +7.7% | 1.27% |
| 2023 | $3.41 | +7.2% | 1.44% |
| 2022 | $3.18 | +8.7% | 1.67% |
| 2021 | $2.93 | +5.8% | 1.21% |
| 2020 | $2.77 | -4.6% | 1.42% |
| 2019 | $2.91 | +11.6% | 1.78% |
| 2018 | $2.60 | +11.1% | 2.04% |
| 2017 | $2.34 | +5.8% | 1.71% |
| 2016 | $2.21 | +7.2% | 1.92% |
Yield = each year’s dividends divided by the price at the end of the year.
VTI dividend history: last 12 payments
| Ex-dividend date | Amount | Change |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 28, 2026 | $0.9560 | -8.4% |
| Jun 26, 2026 | $1.0440 | +4.6% |
| Mar 27, 2026 | $0.9980 | +4.9% |
| Dec 22, 2025 | $0.9510 | +4.9% |
| Sep 29, 2025 | $0.9070 | -0.7% |
| Jun 30, 2025 | $0.9130 | -7.3% |
| Mar 27, 2025 | $0.9850 | +4.7% |
| Dec 23, 2024 | $0.9410 | +8.0% |
| Sep 27, 2024 | $0.8710 | -8.5% |
| Jun 28, 2024 | $0.9520 | +4.5% |
| Mar 22, 2024 | $0.9110 | -9.1% |
| Dec 21, 2023 | $1.0020 | — |
Stock splits
- June 2008: 2-for-1
About VTI
| Issuer | Vanguard |
| Launched | May 2001 |
| Tracks | CRSP US Total Market |
| Expense ratio | 0.03% |
| Holdings | About 3,500 U.S. companies of every size |
Fund details as of 2025. Check the issuer for the current expense ratio and holdings.
VTI owns nearly every publicly traded U.S. company, from the giants to small caps. Because it is weighted by size, large companies still dominate, so its returns track the S&P 500 closely, usually within a percentage point or so a year.
The extra mid and small companies make VTI slightly more diversified than an S&P 500 fund. In years when small companies beat large ones, VTI edges ahead; when the biggest tech names lead, it lags a little.
VTI or VOO?
About 80% to 85% of VTI's value is in the same companies as the S&P 500, so the two funds rise and fall almost together. The rest is mid-size and small companies. Over the last fifteen years the giants did better, so VOO came out slightly ahead; in earlier periods, such as the early 2000s, small companies led and VTI edged ahead. If you already own VTI, there is little reason to add VOO, and the reverse is also true.
The three-fund portfolio
VTI is one of the three building blocks of the 'three-fund portfolio' popular with long-term index investors: total U.S. stocks (VTI), total international stocks (VXUS) and total U.S. bonds (BND). The idea is to own nearly every public company and bond in the world for a very low total cost and rebalance once a year.
Questions about VTI
How much would $10,000 invested in VTI 20 years ago be worth today?
About $74,086 with dividends reinvested, invested at the November 2006 close: 640.9% in total, or 10.5% a year.
When does VTI pay dividends?
In the last 12 months the payments went out in March, June, September and December, $3.95 per share in total.
Did VTI beat QQQ?
No. Over the last 20 years it trailed by 4.8 percentage points a year: +10.5% a year for VTI against +15.3% for QQQ, dividends reinvested. Its worst fall was about the same as QQQ's.