VYM Dividend Calculator
Dividend growth rate (CAGR)
| Year | Yield | Div / share | Annual income | Yield on cost | Cumulative income | Portfolio value | Shares |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2.1% | $3.51 | $223.00 | 1.8% | $223.00 | $13,515 | 79.64 |
| 2 | 2.0% | $3.62 | $287.98 | 1.9% | $510.98 | $17,376 | 94.88 |
| 3 | 1.9% | $3.73 | $353.78 | 2.1% | $864.75 | $21,610 | 109.34 |
| 4 | 1.8% | $3.85 | $420.43 | 2.1% | $1,285 | $26,250 | 123.07 |
| 5 | 1.7% | $3.96 | $487.97 | 2.2% | $1,773 | $31,327 | 136.10 |
| 6 | 1.6% | $4.09 | $556.45 | 2.3% | $2,330 | $36,877 | 148.45 |
| 7 | 1.6% | $4.22 | $625.90 | 2.3% | $2,956 | $42,939 | 160.17 |
| 8 | 1.5% | $4.35 | $696.37 | 2.4% | $3,652 | $49,554 | 171.28 |
| 9 | 1.4% | $4.48 | $767.91 | 2.4% | $4,420 | $56,767 | 181.81 |
| 10 | 1.4% | $4.62 | $840.56 | 2.5% | $5,260 | $64,627 | 191.79 |
Year 1-10 dividend income (preview)
Based on a $10,000 initial investment with $200.00 monthly contributions, DRIP on.
Historical dividends per share
Recent dividends
| Ex-date | Cash amount | TTM yield | Fwd yield | Share price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-03-20 | $0.86 | 3.0% | 2.4% | $145.17 |
| 2025-12-19 | $0.95 | 3.1% | 2.6% | $143.33 |
| 2025-09-19 | $0.84 | 3.1% | 2.4% | $140.46 |
| 2025-06-20 | $0.86 | 3.5% | 2.7% | $129.62 |
| 2025-03-21 | $0.85 | 2.9% | 2.6% | $128.40 |
| 2024-12-20 | $0.96 | 2.7% | 3.0% | $127.12 |
| 2024-09-20 | $0.85 | 2.9% | 2.7% | $127.00 |
| 2024-06-21 | $1.02 | 3.0% | 3.4% | $118.88 |
| 2024-03-15 | $0.66 | 3.5% | 2.2% | $116.92 |
| 2023-12-18 | $1.10 | 4.0% | 4.0% | $110.44 |
| 2023-09-18 | $0.78 | 3.8% | 2.9% | $107.08 |
| 2023-06-20 | $0.88 | 4.0% | 3.3% | $105.14 |
Source: Polygon.io. Last 12 dividend distributions, most recent first. TTM yield = sum of last 12 months of payments ÷ share price on ex-date. Forward yield = this payment × detected payout frequency ÷ share price on ex-date.
About VYM
VYM — the Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF — is a passive, broad-based dividend-equity fund managed by Vanguard. Launched in 2006, it tracks the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, which screens the FTSE All-World US universe for stocks with above-average forecasted dividend yields. The index excludes real estate investment trusts and applies straightforward market-cap weighting to the qualifying names, producing a portfolio that typically holds four hundred to five hundred dividend-paying US large- and mid-cap stocks at any time. The expense ratio is among the lowest of any dividend-focused ETF in the US market.
VYM's selection methodology is broader than SCHD's. Where SCHD overlays quality screens — minimum dividend history, return on equity, debt-to-equity, and cash flow stability — onto its dividend universe and selects only the top one hundred names, VYM applies a simpler yield-based filter and holds substantially more positions. The practical effect is that VYM looks more like a yield-tilted broad-market fund than a quality-screened dividend portfolio. Investors get diversified exposure to the dividend-paying side of US large- and mid-cap equity without the additional quality filter that produces SCHD's tighter, more concentrated basket. The expense ratios are comparable and both funds rebalance on a regular schedule, but the underlying holdings overlap only partially, and the two funds have produced different dividend growth profiles over rolling five-year windows because of that compositional difference.
VYM's distributions are funded entirely by the cash dividends received from its underlying holdings — there is no options overlay, no managed-distribution policy, and no return-of-capital component in normal operating periods. The headline yield reflects the aggregate dividend yield of the index minus the fund's expense ratio, and the per-share distribution grows or shrinks each year as the underlying companies hike or cut their payouts. Because the index includes both mature dividend payers and higher-yielding cyclical names — energy, financials, healthcare are typically heavily represented — the aggregate dividend growth rate is more moderate than SCHD's, which screens out names with weaker dividend-growth profiles. Over five-year rolling windows, VYM's distribution growth has typically run in the low single digits, compared to high single digits for SCHD.
How VYM pays dividends
VYM distributes cash dividends quarterly. The ex-dividend date typically falls in the third week of March, June, September, and December, with the pay date following a few business days later. The per-share cash amount is the aggregate dividend collected from the portfolio's holdings during the quarter, scaled by index weight and net of expenses. Quarter-to-quarter amounts can vary modestly because individual constituents pay on different schedules within the quarter and because the fund's holdings rotate as the underlying index rebalances annually. Over a calendar year, the total distribution is the meaningful figure for income-planning purposes; quarter-to-quarter variation is normal and not a signal of any change in underlying strategy.
VYM's distributions are composed almost entirely of qualified dividends — income from underlying US companies that meets the IRS holding-period requirements. For shareholders who also meet the qualified-dividend holding requirement (generally sixty-one days around the ex-date), these distributions are taxed at long-term capital gains rates rather than ordinary income rates. This is a meaningful tax advantage for taxable accounts at high marginal brackets, where the spread between qualified-dividend rates and ordinary-income rates is largest. Tax-advantaged accounts (IRA, Roth IRA, 401(k)) shelter the income entirely and the qualified-versus-ordinary distinction is irrelevant inside the wrapper.
The annual distribution has grown steadily since the fund's inception in 2006, though the trajectory has been more uneven than SCHD's. Energy-heavy and financial-heavy weighting means VYM's per-share annual distribution can step down in years when those sectors cut payouts broadly — the fund's distribution declined modestly during 2020 as several constituents reduced dividends through the COVID-19 demand shock, before recovering in subsequent years. SCHD's quality screens insulated it from a comparable share of those cuts. Investors evaluating VYM for long-horizon income planning should expect modest annual growth on average, with the possibility of occasional flat-to-down years when the underlying yield-tilted basket experiences sector-wide cuts.
Who VYM suits
VYM suits investors who want broad US dividend exposure at a low expense ratio, prefer quarterly cash flow over monthly, and value yield level over yield quality. The fund's holding count is roughly four-to-five times higher than SCHD's, which produces more diversification and less single-name concentration, at the cost of including names that SCHD's quality screens would exclude. For investors who prefer broader exposure and are comfortable with the occasional cyclical-cut episode, VYM is the simpler and more diversified vehicle. For investors who want the quality filter and are willing to hold a more concentrated basket of one hundred names with stronger dividend-growth track records, SCHD is the alternative.
The VYM-versus-SCHD comparison is the most important one to run for anyone shopping the dividend-ETF aisle. The two funds occupy adjacent positions: both are low-cost, both pay quarterly, both are funded by underlying dividends with no options overlay, and both have multi-year track records. They differ on selection methodology (yield only versus yield-plus-quality), on holding count (broader versus tighter), and on historical dividend growth rate (modest versus more robust). The dividend calculator on this page can be run on both tickers with the same inputs to compare the projected income lines side by side — the differences over a 10- or 25-year horizon are meaningful and worth understanding before committing to either as a long-term income holding.
VYM is held in both taxable and tax-advantaged accounts. In taxable accounts the qualified-dividend treatment is a real after-tax advantage relative to option-income ETFs (JEPI, JEPQ, MSTY) whose distributions are largely ordinary income or return-of-capital. In tax-advantaged accounts the wrapper renders distribution-character differences irrelevant, and the choice between VYM, SCHD, and other dividend ETFs comes down to underlying composition and expected growth rate rather than tax treatment. For investors comparing VYM to broad-market funds like VTI or VOO, the framing is different: VTI and VOO are total-return holdings with incidental dividends in the 1.3-to-1.5-percent range, while VYM is a yield-tilted holding with a forward yield typically two to three times higher. The choice between the categories is a choice between income-focus and total-return focus, not between two flavors of the same strategy.
Hypothetical scenarios
Scenario 1: $10,000 invested in VYM at the start of 2014
Consider a hypothetical purchase of $10,000 of VYM at the start of 2014, when shares traded in the low-to-mid sixties. That initial capital would have purchased roughly 160 shares. The fund paid four quarterly distributions that year, and by holding the position with dividends reinvested through DRIP, the share count compounded each quarter as new dividends purchased fractional shares at the prevailing market price.
Across the ten-year window from 2014 forward, three structural forces operated together. First, the per-share annual distribution grew at a low-to-mid-single-digit rate on a rolling basis, with year-to-year variation reflecting the underlying index composition. Some years saw mid-single-digit growth driven by sector-wide hike cycles; one year saw a modest decline driven by COVID-19 cuts across several constituents; subsequent years recovered. Second, the share count grew as DRIP reinvested every quarter at the prevailing price — slower than at a higher-yielding fund, because VYM's entry yield in the low-three-percent range produced a smaller distribution stream to reinvest. Third, the share price rose over the holding window in line with the broader US large-cap dividend universe, lifting the dollar value of the share count.
By the end of a ten-year window, the cash income received in the final year would have been roughly fifty to seventy percent higher than the income paid in year one on the same initial position, reflecting both per-share distribution growth and the share-count accumulation from DRIP. Layering on share-price appreciation pushes the total return into the high-single-digit annualized range historically. This scenario illustrates how three forces compound together: the per-share dividend grows as constituent companies hike payouts (with occasional flat-to-down years on the broader yield-tilted basket), the share count grows as DRIP reinvests every distribution, and the share price grows over time when the broader equity market trends higher. None of these forces is guaranteed; the scenario is offered as a structural illustration, not a forecast.
Scenario 2: $50,000 today plus $500/month for 20 years
Consider a hypothetical accumulation strategy: $50,000 starting capital, plus $500 per month added on a regular cadence for 20 years, all in VYM. The calculator on this page can model this exactly — set Initial investment to $50,000, Extra contribution to $500, Contribution frequency to Monthly, time horizon to 20 years, and leave DRIP on. Use a dividend growth assumption in the low-single-digit range, consistent with VYM's rolling five-year history and acknowledging the structural difference from SCHD's tighter quality-screened basket.
The mechanics: each month, the new $500 buys additional shares at the current price, which adds to the share count and therefore to next quarter's dividend. Quarterly, the dividend received from all accumulated shares is reinvested, adding more shares. Over 20 years this dual-track accumulation — DCA contributions plus dividend reinvestment — produces a portfolio whose annual cash distribution is meaningful in absolute dollar terms, though smaller than the equivalent run on a higher-yielding income ETF.
What's worth focusing on in the calculator is the trade-off between yield level and yield quality. VYM's lower DGR relative to SCHD means the per-share dividend line grows more slowly in the projection; VYM's higher headline yield relative to VTI or VOO means the absolute starting income on $50,000 is several times larger. The "right" choice depends on the investor's planning horizon and income-versus-total-return preference. Run the same calculator on SCHD and on VTI with identical inputs to see all three projection lines side by side — the differences over 10 and 20 years are meaningful and should drive the holding decision rather than headline-yield comparisons in isolation.
These scenarios assume the historical pattern of dividend growth continues at a similar rate. Real outcomes depend on the fund's underlying holdings, expense ratios, tax treatment in your specific account, and the broader path of US equity markets. Educational only; not a forecast.
Sources & methodology
Dividend history and price data come from Polygon.io's reference and aggregates endpoints. Forward yield is computed as the sum of the most recent four cash distributions divided by the previous-close share price. The dividend growth rate shown on this page is the compound annual growth rate of total annual distributions across the available history in this snapshot.
Last updated: 2026-05-15.
Information here is for educational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Past dividend history does not guarantee future payments. Verify all figures with the issuer or a registered financial advisor before making investment decisions.