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Stock market crashes since 1871

Since January 1871 the US stock market — the S&P 500 and the indexes it continues — has fallen 20% or more below a record 13 times, about once every 12 years. The worst crash took 84.8% off prices from September 1929 to June 1932; they were back at the old record in September 1954, 25 years after the peak. In October 2026 the market stood at a record.

Updated with Oct 2026 data9 min read

Falls of 20% or more since 1871

about one every 12 years; after inflation 12

The worst crash

−84.8%

Sep 1929 → Jun 1932, monthly averages

Typical way back to the record

5.4 years

the median crash, peak to new record on price; 4.4 years with dividends

The longest way back

25 years

1929–1932: prices back at the record in September 1954; with dividends after 15.3 years

Where it stood in Oct 2026

At a record

the Oct 2026 monthly average was the highest ever

How often does the stock market crash?

A crash here is a fall of 20% or more from a record, measured on monthly averages of the S&P 500 — the same rule as on our S&P 500 page. By that rule the market crashed 13 times in 155 years: on average once every 12 years, though never on a schedule. Another 10 falls stopped between 10% and 20% — “corrections” in market slang; the deepest of them reached −19.4% in July 1982.

Counted in months, the market stood at a record in 18% of all 1,870 months since 1871, less than 10% below one in 26%, and 20% or more below a past record in 35%; in 10% of the months it was more than halfway down. After inflation it stood at a record in 10% of the months and 20% or more below one in 48%.

Every crash since 1871

The chart shows how far below its latest record the market stood in every month since January 1871. Each dip past the dashed 20% line is a crash. The three deepest: −84.8% (1929–1932), −50.8% (2007–2009) and −47.3% (1872–1877).

Below the latest record−20%: the crash line

Monthly averages of the S&P 500 price (without dividends), percent below the highest average so far. Data: Robert J. Shiller, Yale University · inflation: US CPI, Shiller's data

Falls of 20% or more from a record, prices as quoted
Record	Bottom	Fall	Fell for	Back at the record	With dividends	What was going on
Apr 1872	Jun 1877	−47.3%	5.2 years	Feb 1880after 7.8 years	after 6.2 years	Panic of 1873 and the long slump after it
Jun 1881	Aug 1896	−42.1%	15.2 years	Dec 1900after 19.5 years	after 4.4 years	Railroad slump: the panics of 1884 and 1893
Sep 1902	Oct 1903	−29.3%	13 months	Mar 1905after 2.5 years	after 2.2 years	The “rich man's panic” of 1903
Sep 1906	Nov 1907	−37.7%	14 months	Aug 1909after 2.9 years	after 2.5 years	Panic of 1907
Dec 1909	Aug 1921	−37.4%	11.7 years	Jan 1925after 15.1 years	after 5.3 years	World War I and the slump of 1920–21
Sep 1929	Jun 1932	−84.8%	2.8 years	Sep 1954after 25 years	after 15.3 years	The Wall Street Crash and the Great Depression
Dec 1961	Jun 1962	−22.5%	6 months	Sep 1963after 21 months	after 16 months	The 1962 market break
Dec 1968	Jun 1970	−29.0%	18 months	Mar 1972after 3.2 years	after 3 years	The bear market of 1969–70
Jan 1973	Dec 1974	−43.4%	23 months	Jul 1980after 7.5 years	after 5.3 years	Oil shock, inflation and the recession of 1973–75
Aug 1987	Dec 1987	−26.8%	4 months	Jul 1989after 23 months	after 21 months	Black Monday, October 19, 1987
Aug 2000	Feb 2003	−43.7%	2.5 years	May 2007after 6.8 years	after 6.2 years	The dot-com bust
Oct 2007	Mar 2009	−50.8%	17 months	Mar 2013after 5.4 years	after 4.8 years	The global financial crisis
Dec 2021	Oct 2022	−20.3%	10 months	Dec 2023after 2 years	after 2 years	Inflation and rising interest rates

The shape of a crash

Each line starts at a record and follows the market month by month until it was back at that record. Most crashes were over within a few years: in the median one the market hit bottom 18 months after the peak and stood at a new record 5.4 years after it.

The crash that began in September 1929 stands apart: prices fell 84.8% in 2.8 years and did not regain the record until September 1954, 25 years after the peak.

One crash, from its record back to itThe deepest and the latest

Monthly averages, price without dividends; 0% is the record each fall started from. Hover or tap a line to see which crash it is. Data: Robert J. Shiller, Yale University · inflation: US CPI, Shiller's data

How long does the stock market take to recover?

From the peak to the first month back above the old record took 5.4 years in the median crash — from 21 months (1961–1962) to 25 years (1929–1932). In 10 of the 13 crashes the fall itself was shorter than the climb back.

Dividends shorten the wait. Counting reinvested dividends, someone who bought at the peak was whole again after 4.4 years in the median crash. The biggest difference was in 1881–1896: 19.5 years on price alone, 4.4 years with dividends.

After inflation the waits were longer. In dollars of constant buying power the market had 12 crashes, and the longest, from September 1929, took 29.2 years to regain its record (19.8 years with dividends). Switch the charts to “After inflation” to see them.

FallingClimbing backWhole again with dividendsBack at the record, price

Years from the record to the first month above it; with dividends, to the month from which the total return stayed above its level at the peak. Data: Robert J. Shiller, Yale University · inflation: US CPI, Shiller's data

What monthly averages hide

Robert Shiller's series has one price a month: the average of the month's daily closes. That is what carries it back to 1871, but it smooths the sharpest days. Black Monday, October 19, 1987, is still the worst single day in the index's history, yet in monthly averages the 1987 crash is a 26.8% fall from August 1987 to December 1987.

In early 2020 daily closes fell much further and faster, but the monthly average fell 19.1% from January 2020 to March 2020 — just short of the 20% line, so that fall is not on the list. Every fall here is a little shallower than in daily closes, but all of them are measured the same way, all the way back to 1871.

Is the stock market crashing now?

No: in October 2026 the S&P 500's monthly average was at a record, the highest of all 1,870 months since 1871. After inflation it was at a record too.

This data cannot say why the market falls on a given day; it shows how deep and how long past falls were. Every crash on the list began at a record high. All 13 have ended at a new record so far, the slowest after 25 years.

Questions people ask

How often does the stock market crash?

13 times since 1871, counting falls of 20% or more from a record in monthly averages: on average once every 12 years. Counting falls of 10% or more, 23 times.

What was the worst stock market crash?

From September 1929 to June 1932 the S&P 500's monthly average fell 84.8%. Prices were back at the record in September 1954, 25 years after the peak; with dividends reinvested, someone who bought at the peak was whole again after 15.3 years. After inflation the deepest fall was −80.6% (1929–1932).

How long does it take the stock market to recover from a crash?

In the median crash since 1871, 5.4 years from the peak back to the record on price alone and 4.4 years with dividends reinvested. The quickest took 21 months (1961–1962), the slowest 25 years (1929–1932). After inflation the median was 5.1 years.

How far below its record is the stock market today?

None: in October 2026 the S&P 500's monthly average was at a record, the highest of all 1,870 months since 1871. After inflation it was at a record too.

What is the difference between a correction, a bear market and a crash?

There are no official definitions. By market convention a fall of 10% from a high is a correction and a fall of 20% a bear market; “crash” is usually said of a sudden fall. This article calls every fall of 20% or more from a record a crash, fast or slow, as our S&P 500 page does.

Go deeper

S&P 500 history since 1871Price and total return, the table of falls, monthly returns, CAPE Time MachineWhat a sum invested in any month became, crashes included Average stock market returnEvery year since 1871 as a brick, the best and worst decades Inflation calculatorWhat a dollar of any month since 1871 is worth today

How the numbers are calculated

Data: Robert J. Shiller, Online Data (Yale University): the S&P Composite index (the S&P 500 and, before 1957, its predecessors), dividends and US consumer prices, monthly since January 1871.
A crash: a fall of 20% or more from a record monthly average to the lowest monthly average before the next record — the rule of our S&P 500 page. Falls are found separately in prices as quoted and after inflation, so the two lists differ.
Back at the record: the first month whose average is above the record the fall started from (price only). With dividends: the first month from which the total return index, dividends reinvested every month, stayed above its level in the peak month.
After inflation: values divided by the US consumer price index of their month.
Monthly averages of daily closes smooth the sharpest days: in daily closes the falls were deeper and the bottoms came on single days.
Shiller's notes on the latest months: Oct price is Oct 2nd close; Sept/Oct CPI estimated; Oct GS10 is Oct 2nd value.
Past crashes are history, not a forecast. Nothing here is investment advice.