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Data last updated: Oct 16, 2026
Snapshot (as of Oct 16, 2026): Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Adm (VBTLX) pays a $0.29 annual dividend ($0.02 monthly), yielding 4.16% at $9.32/share. Source: Yahoo Finance, aggregated by MerryDiv.
Dividend Yield: 4.16%
Annual Dividend: $0.29 per share
Dividend Frequency: monthly
Years of Dividend History: 26
The Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Adm dividend comes from a fund that tracks a broad index of U.S. investment-grade bonds, spanning government, corporate, mortgage-backed, and asset-backed securities with maturities over one year. VBTLX currently yields 4.22%, paid monthly, with a last dividend amount of $0.2929 per share. That monthly cadence makes it a natural fit for income-focused investors who want regular cash flow from fixed income exposure. With 26 years of dividend history, VBTLX has a long record as an income-oriented fund.
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Adm dividend safety depends on the aggregate distributions generated by its underlying holdings, which include U.S. government bonds, investment-grade corporate bonds, and mortgage-backed and asset-backed securities. Payout ratio is not applicable (fund/ETF), since distributions flow directly from bond interest payments across the index rather than from corporate earnings. The most significant data-supported pressure on the dividend is interest rate sensitivity: the annual dividend per share fell from $0.3030 in 2019 to $0.2192 in 2021, a drop of more than 27%, reflecting how rate movements can compress the income generated by the underlying bond portfolio.
Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Adm dividend history shows a CAGR of -1.5% per year from 2008 to 2025. Per-share payments moved from $0.4870 at the start of the window to $0.3779 by 2025 (2026 is a partial year and excluded from this calculation). The largest annual increase in the window was 22.0% in 2023, but the overall trend across the full period is negative. Growth is slow, and the long-run direction has been downward.
| Period | CAGR | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3-Year | +15.5% | $0.25 (2022) | $0.38 (2025) |
| 5-Year | +6.3% | $0.28 (2020) | $0.38 (2025) |
| 10-Year | +4.1% | $0.25 (2015) | $0.38 (2025) |
VBTLX fits income-focused investors who want monthly distributions from a broad, investment-grade bond portfolio rather than equity dividend growth. The current yield is high (above 4%), which is the fund's primary draw. The trade-off is clear: the long-run dividend per share has declined at -1.5% per year since 2008, so income in dollar terms has eroded over time. Four consecutive years of increases through 2025 show recent momentum, but the history table also contains multi-year stretches of declining payments. An investor gets a high current yield and monthly income; they accept that the payment level is tied to interest rate conditions and has not grown in real terms over the long run.
| Payment Date | Amount per Share |
|---|---|
| 2026-08-31 | $0.0335 |
| 2026-07-31 | $0.0334 |
| 2026-06-30 | $0.0324 |
| 2026-05-29 | $0.0329 |
| 2026-04-30 | $0.0320 |
| 2026-03-31 | $0.0329 |
| 2026-02-27 | $0.0303 |
| 2026-01-30 | $0.0327 |
| 2025-12-31 | $0.0326 |
| 2025-11-28 | $0.0316 |
| Year | Total Dividends |
|---|---|
| 2026 | $0.2601 |
| 2025 | $0.3779 |
| 2024 | $0.3481 |
| 2023 | $0.2993 |
| 2022 | $0.2453 |
Project income from VBTLX with the VBTLX dividend calculator or track your full portfolio with the dividend tracker.