Get Stock Return Value Estimator

How much will an investment of $10,000 be worth in the future? At the end of 20 years, your savings will have grown to $32,071. You will have earned in $22,071 in interest.

Most investors would view an average annual rate of return of 10% or more as a good ROI for long-term investments in the stock market. However, keep in mind that this is an average. Some years will deliver lower returns -- perhaps even negative returns. Other years will generate significantly higher returns.

ROI is calculated by subtracting the initial value of the investment from the final value of the investment (which equals the net return), then dividing this new number (the net return) by the cost of the investment, and, finally, multiplying it by 100.

Generally speaking, if you're estimating how much your stock-market investment will return over time, we suggest using an average annual return of 6% and understanding that you'll experience down years as well as up years.

The average 2020 return of all S&P 500 stocks so far is 8.94%.

The S&P 500 gained more than 16 percent in 2020, a strong return in a year of steep job losses and widespread pain.

How much will an investment of $50,000 be worth in the future? At the end of 20 years, your savings will have grown to $160,357.

The average stock market return is about 10% per year for nearly the last century. The S&P 500 is often considered the benchmark measure for annual stock market returns. Though 10% is the average stock market return, returns in any year are far from average.

As you can see, inflation-adjusted average returns for the S&P 500 have been between 5% and 8% over a few selected 30-year periods. The bottom line is that using a rate of return of 6% or 7% is a good bet for your retirement planning.