S&P 500 return calculator
$1,000
once in
Dollar-cost averaging invests the same amount every period, so the chart compares value against what you put in.January 2016
Priced at a real closing price — the month's last trading day, or that exact day's close when you pick one.today
Monthly data: valued at the closing price on the last trading day of that month.A $1,000 investment in the Russell 2000 in January 2016 would be worth $3,134 as of October 2026 with dividends reinvested — 11.3% a year compounded (CAGR). Use the controls above to try any amount or starting month back to May 2000.
Over the same period, the same $1,000 in the Nasdaq-100 proxy QQQ would be worth $7,777.
At a flat 5% a year compounded — what a compound interest calculator or a high-yield savings account assumes — the same $1,000 would be $1,683; the index beat it by $1,450.
Growth of $1,000 in the Russell 2000 since January 2016— monthly
the Russell 2000 (the Russell 2000). Total return approximated via dividend- and split-adjusted closes (no taxes or fees). Not investment advice.
What $1,000 in the Russell 2000 would be worth today, by starting month— each bar = one starting month, held to today
$1,000 invested in the Russell 2000, by year— dividends reinvested, held to today
| Invested in | Worth today | Multiple | Annualized |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | $3,134 | 3.1× | 11.3% |
| 2017 | $2,350 | 2.3× | 9.2% |
| 2018 | $2,005 | 2.0× | 8.4% |
| 2019 | $2,078 | 2.1× | 10.0% |
| 2020 | $1,904 | 1.9× | 10.1% |
| 2021 | $1,466 | 1.5× | 7.0% |
| 2022 | $1,484 | 1.5× | 8.8% |
| 2023 | $1,537 | 1.5× | 12.4% |
| 2024 | $1,503 | 1.5× | 16.5% |
| 2025 | $1,266 | 1.3× | 15.2% |
Methodology
The calculator grows the investment at IWM's split- and dividend-adjusted closes, the fund that tracks the Russell 2000 — its record is the index's investable history, which is why the series begins May 2000 and runs through October 2026. A “buy” is priced at a real closing price: the last trading day of the chosen month, or that exact day's close when a specific date is picked. Price-only values use the unadjusted closes; inflation-adjusted values divide total return by CPI. Monthly contributions are fixed nominal dollar amounts; taxes, fund fees and transaction costs are excluded. See the annual Russell 2000 returns, or the IWM fund page. Past performance does not predict future results; not investment advice.
ChartRow is not affiliated with, sponsored by, or endorsed by S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC, S&P Global, Nasdaq, Inc., Robert Shiller, RSBB-I, LLC, or Yale University. "S&P 500®" and "Dow Jones®" are registered trademarks of S&P Dow Jones Indices LLC; "Nasdaq-100®" is a registered trademark of Nasdaq, Inc.; "CAPE®" is a registered trademark of RSBB-I, LLC. They are used here only to identify the indexes and series discussed. All index-related figures on this page are independently derived from public sources — SEC filings, the public Shiller S&P 500 monthly series, and our own computations — not from any index provider's data feed.
FAQ#
- What would $1,000 invested in the Russell 2000 be worth today?
- $1,000 invested in the Russell 2000 in January 2016 would be worth about $3,134 as of October 2026, with dividends reinvested — an annualized return of 11.3%.
- Does the Russell 2000 return calculator include dividends?
- Yes. Dividends reinvested is the default total-return basis. You can turn it off to see price appreciation alone. Taxes, fund fees and trading costs are excluded.
- Can the calculator adjust Russell 2000 returns for inflation?
- Yes. The After inflation option deflates the dividends-reinvested total-return series by CPI, expressing the ending value in the starting investment's purchasing-power dollars.
- How far back does the Russell 2000 calculator go?
- The monthly series begins May 2000, the first full month of IWM's record — the fund that tracks the Russell 2000 — and runs to October 2026.
- How does this compare with a compound interest calculator?
- A compound interest calculator grows a deposit at one fixed rate. This calculator grows it at what the Russell 2000 actually returned month by month, dividends included, and states the flat-rate equivalent beside the result: the same $1,000 at 5% a year compounded is shown for the same dates so the two can be read against each other. The Russell 2000's own figure since 2000 is on the result card, and it arrives unevenly — the January 2016 start above shows the path, not just the endpoint.
More on Russell 2000
- Returns by year+14.4%
- Monthly returns+1.3%
- Weekly returns-0.2%
- Trailing returns+15.4%
- YTD return+14.4%
- Drawdown from high−7.7%
