Direct Answer
The S&P 500 has experienced 14 bear markets (declines of 20%+) since 1929. The Great Depression crash of 1929-1932 remains the deepest at -86.2%. Modern era bear markets: 2000-2002 dot-com bust (-49.1%), 2007-2009 financial crisis (-56.8%), 2020 COVID crash (-33.9%, shortest recovery), and 2022 bear market (-25.4%).
S&P 500 Major Drawdown History
S&P 500 bear markets: peak, trough, and recovery
| Peak date | Trough date | Decline % | Duration (months) | Recovery to new high |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sep 1929 | Jun 1932 | -86.2% | 33 | ~25 years |
| Mar 1937 | Mar 1938 | -54.5% | 12 | ~9 years |
| May 1946 | May 1947 | -28.0% | 12 | ~4 years |
| Aug 1956 | Oct 1957 | -21.6% | 14 | ~2 years |
| Dec 1961 | Jun 1962 | -29.2% | 6 | ~18 months |
| Nov 1968 | May 1970 | -36.1% | 18 | ~3.5 years |
| Jan 1973 | Oct 1974 | -48.2% | 21 | ~7 years |
| Nov 1980 | Aug 1982 | -27.1% | 21 | ~2 years |
| Aug 1987 | Dec 1987 | -33.5% | 4 | ~2 years |
| Jul 1990 | Oct 1990 | -19.9% | 3 | ~6 months |
| Mar 2000 | Oct 2002 | -49.1% | 31 | ~7 years |
| Oct 2007 | Mar 2009 | -56.8% | 17 | ~5.5 years |
| Feb 2020 | Mar 2020 | -33.9% | 1 | ~5 months |
| Jan 2022 | Oct 2022 | -25.4% | 9 | ~2 years |
Source: St. Louis Fed: S&P 500 Index. Data through 2022; last checked September 2026.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take the market to recover from bear markets?
Recovery time varies enormously. The Great Depression bear market took approximately 25 years for the nominal price level to recover (and much longer on a real, inflation-adjusted basis). Modern era recoveries have been faster: the 2000-2002 downturn took approximately 7 years (until 2007), then immediately fell again. The 2007-2009 crisis recovered by March 2013. The 2020 COVID crash recovered in approximately 5 months. The 2022 bear market recovered by early 2024. Recoveries have accelerated due to faster Federal Reserve intervention and larger economic stabilization programs.
How should I invest during a bear market?
Academic research and behavioral finance consistently recommend: (1) continuing regular contributions (dollar-cost averaging) regardless of market level; (2) rebalancing toward target allocation (buying equities when they become underweight); (3) avoiding panic selling which locks in losses and forces missing the recovery. The most damaging investor behavior is selling during declines and waiting on the sidelines, missing the initial recovery phase. The best single-day returns often occur during bear markets. Practical behavioral advice: don't check your portfolio daily during downturns.
Is there a pattern to bear market causes?
Bear markets have historically been caused by: (1) valuation excess unwinding (1929, 2000); (2) economic recessions (most bear markets accompany NBER recessions); (3) financial crises and credit events (1987 Black Monday, 2008); (4) external shocks (1973 oil embargo, 2020 COVID). The 2022 bear market was unusual: caused by monetary policy tightening to fight inflation, with the economy remaining relatively strong throughout. Pure valuation-driven bear markets (no recession) tend to be shallower and recover faster. Recession-driven bear markets are deeper and take longer to recover.
Worked Example: What Each Decline Costs, and What It Takes to Get Back
Put $100,000 into the index at the October 2007 peak. The 56.8% decline in the table leaves $43,200 at the March 2009 trough, and getting back to $100,000 needs a gain of 131%, not 56.8%, because the gain is measured from the smaller base. The table says that took about five and a half years. The 2020 decline of 33.9% leaves $66,100 and needs 51% to recover, which took about five months. The 1929 decline of 86.2% leaves $13,800 and needs a 625% gain.
The rule behind those figures is required gain = decline ÷ (1 − decline), and it is why the recovery column grows faster than the decline column: a loss twice as deep needs far more than twice the gain. Two cautions when using the table this way. Peak and trough are closing levels, so an investor who bought a few weeks before the peak or sold after the trough did better or worse than the row shows. And the recovery column is nominal and price-only: dividends shorten the real recovery, inflation lengthens it, and for 1929 the inflation-adjusted recovery ran well past the 25 years shown.
Cite This Page
If you reference this table in your own work, use the following citation format and add the date you accessed it:
Swoopr Editorial Team. (2026). S&P 500 Major Drawdown History. Swoopr Investment. https://www.getswoopr.com/tables/returns/sp500-drawdown-history/
Check the figures against the primary sources listed under References before you rely on or republish them; the series they come from are revised.