{"url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf","section":"learn","title":"What is the 12-month yield of an ETF? | ETFIQ","description":"As of Nov 4, 2026, the median income ETF has a 12-month yield of 16.5%, against 1.6% for stock ETFs and 4.4% for bond ETFs. Updated every trading night.","as_of":"Nov 4, 2026","structured_data":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf#article","headline":"What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?","description":"As of Nov 4, 2026, the median income ETF has a 12-month yield of 16.5%, against 1.6% for stock ETFs and 4.4% for bond ETFs.","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf","mainEntityOfPage":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf","dateModified":"2026-11-04","datePublished":"2026-11-04","author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ETFIQ Research","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"ETFIQ Research","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"about":"What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?","inLanguage":"en"},{"@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf#questions","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What is the difference between yield and total return?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Yield counts only the cash paid. Total return adds the change in price. A fund can pay a high yield and still lose value."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Is the 12-month yield a forecast?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"No. It is what was paid over the past year."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"Why do income ETFs yield more?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"Many write options, which earns cash now at the cost of giving up some gain."}}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"ETFIQ","item":"https://etfiq.com/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Learn","item":"https://etfiq.com/learn/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?","item":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf"}]},{"@type":"WebPage","name":"What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?","description":"As of Nov 4, 2026, the median income ETF has a 12-month yield of 16.5%, against 1.6% for stock ETFs and 4.4% for bond ETFs. Updated every trading night.","url":"https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf","dateModified":"2026-11-04","isPartOf":{"@type":"WebSite","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"speakable":{"@type":"SpeakableSpecification","cssSelector":[".lede",".faq"]},"publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org"}}],"characters":2149,"truncated":false,"content":"ETFIQ / Learn / What is the 12-month yield of an ETF? \n \n What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?\n Data as of Nov 4, 2026. Rebuilt every trading night.\n As of Nov 4, 2026, the median income ETF has a 12-month yield of 16.5%, against 1.6% for stock ETFs and 4.4% for bond ETFs.\n \n In plain words\n A 12-month yield is the cash a fund paid over the past year divided by its price: $2 paid on a $50 fund is 4%. It looks back, so it says what was paid, not what will be paid.\n A high yield says nothing about total return. If the price fell by more than the cash paid, the fund lost value. The SEC yield differs: it is the income earned over the last 30 days after costs, as a yearly rate, and can sit below what a fund pays out. ETFIQ shows cash paid, price change and total return side by side over the same window.\n Questions\n What is the difference between yield and total return? Yield counts only the cash paid. Total return adds the change in price. A fund can pay a high yield and still lose value.\n Is the 12-month yield a forecast? No. It is what was paid over the past year.\n Why do income ETFs yield more? Many write options, which earns cash now at the cost of giving up some gain.\n Where to next\n Income ETFs Income calendar Screener: filter every ETF What is a weekly dividend ETF? What is the difference between price return and total return? How high can an income ETF yield go? All ETF explainers How ETFIQ computes these numbers \n Cite this page. ETFIQ, What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf Free to use with attribution for data ETFIQ computes; issuer data stays under its owner's terms. The underlying files are at Open data .\n Other forms Plain ETFIQ, What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf APA ETFIQ. (Nov 4, 2026). What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?. Retrieved from https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf Markdown [What is the 12-month yield of an ETF? (ETFIQ, Nov 4, 2026)](https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf)","source":"ETFIQ, independent ETF data. Recomputed nightly from public filings and prices.","publisher":{"@id":"https://etfiq.com/#org","name":"ETFIQ","url":"https://etfiq.com"},"license":"https://etfiq.com/license/","license_text":"Data ETFIQ computes is free to use with attribution: ETFIQ (etfiq.com). Issuer data stays under its owner's terms.","citation":"ETFIQ, What is the 12-month yield of an ETF?, data as of Nov 4, 2026. https://etfiq.com/learn/what-is-the-12-month-yield-of-an-etf"}