# What is bond ETF duration?

> As of Nov 4, 2026, the median bond ETF has a duration of 4.3 years across 791 funds, and 35 have a duration of ten years or more.

Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

## What is bond ETF duration?

Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.

As of Nov 4, 2026, the median bond ETF has a duration of 4.3 years across 791 funds, and 35 have a duration of ten years or more.

### In plain words

Duration measures how sensitive a bond fund is to interest rates. A fund with a duration of 4 years falls roughly 4% if rates rise 1 point, and rises roughly 4% if they fall 1 point. It is a rule of thumb, not a promise.

ETFIQ computes it from each N-PORT, with a second method as a check. The median across 791 bond funds is 4.3 years: 137 under one year, 619 from one to ten and 35 ten or more. Credit quality matters too. ETFIQ also divides yield by duration for a rate cushion: how far rates can rise before a year of income is gone.

### Questions

What does a duration of 5 years mean? About a 5% fall in price if rates rise 1 point, and the reverse if they fall.

Is a longer duration riskier? It is more sensitive to rates, in both directions.

What is a rate cushion? Yield divided by duration: how far rates can rise before the year’s income is gone.

### Where to next

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Source: ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.
Cite: ETFIQ, What is bond ETF duration?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-bond-etf-duration
Licence: https://etfiq.com/license/ Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.
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