Average Russell 3000 return

Over the last 10 years the Russell 3000 has returned +14.7% a year (CAGR) with dividends reinvested — +13.1% from price alone, and +11.1% after inflation. Since 2001 the annualized figure is +8.6%. Every standard window, through Oct 2, 2026:

Window	Since	Total return /yr	Price only /yr	Dividends /yr	After inflation /yr
1 year	Oct 2, 2025	+15.70%	+14.62%	+1.08%	+12.68%
3 years	Oct 3, 2023	+23.16%	+21.84%	+1.32%	+19.84%
5 years	Oct 4, 2021	+12.73%	+11.38%	+1.36%	+8.56%
10 years	Oct 3, 2016	+14.70%	+13.07%	+1.63%	+11.05%
15 years	Oct 3, 2011	+15.41%	+13.60%	+1.81%	+12.46%
20 years	Oct 2, 2006	+10.89%	+9.09%	+1.80%	+8.13%
26.4 years (all data)	May 26, 2000	+8.61%	+6.89%	+1.71%	+5.90%

Annualized (CAGR) from IWV daily closes at exact anniversary dates; inflation adjustment uses CPI (CPIAUCSL). The dividends column is the reinvested-dividend contribution — total return minus price return.

The years behind the average#

“Average” hides how lumpy the ride is: across 25 full calendar years, the market finished positive 80% of the time, with a best year of +33.0% (2013) and a worst of -37.2% (2008). The arithmetic mean of single years is +10.3% and the median +15.7% — but compounding through the crashes brings the realized annualized return to +8.6%. Almost no individual year lands near the average.