What if you invested $1,000 in Total Market (VTI) in 2015? (Inflation-Adjusted)
VTI · Index · Adjusted to 2026 dollars using BLS CPI-U data
View nominal (non-adjusted) versionNominal returns can be misleading over long periods. $1,000 in Total Market (VTI) in 2015 became $4,359 by 2026. Over those 12 years, cumulative CPI inflation reached 39% (BLS CPI-U). Restating the return in constant purchasing power, the real value of your gain in 2015 dollars is $3,136, a real annualized return of +10.4%.
Nominal final value
$4,359
+335.9% total return
Real value (2015 dollars)
$3,136
+213.6% real total return
Real annualized return
+10.4%
vs. +13.7% nominal annualized
Year-by-Year (Inflation-Adjusted)
$1,000 in Total Market (VTI) since 2015, values in constant 2015 dollars
| Year | Nominal Value | Real Value (2015 $) |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | $1,000 | $1,000 |
| 2016 | $973 | $959 |
| 2017 | $1,186 | $1,143 |
| 2018 | $1,485 | $1,389 |
| 2019 | $1,451 | $1,326 |
| 2020 | $1,746 | $1,570 |
| 2021 | $2,108 | $1,805 |
| 2022 | $2,498 | $1,959 |
| 2023 | $2,288 | $1,728 |
| 2024 | $2,727 | $2,001 |
| 2025 | $3,440 | $2,475 |
| 2026 | $3,972 | $2,857 |
Inflation adjustment uses BLS CPI-U annual data, deflated to 2026 dollars. Nominal stock data from Yahoo Finance (split-adjusted closing prices). Real values are expressed in constant 2015 purchasing-power dollars. For informational and educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Past performance does not guarantee future results. See our methodology and full disclaimer.