VIX Records at a Glance
Data from to · 9,291 trading sessions · source: Cboe daily VIX history
- Record close
- 82.69 (Mar 16, 2020)
- Record intraday high
- 89.53 (Oct 24, 2008)
- Lowest close
- 9.14 (Nov 3, 2017)
- Lowest intraday
- 8.56 (Nov 24, 2017)
- Long-run average
- 19.42
- Median close
- 17.56
VIX by Year: High, Low, Close and Average
Every calendar year since 1990. High and low are intraday extremes; open and close are the first and last daily closes of the year. The last column counts sessions that closed at 30 or higher.
| Year | Open | High | Low | Close | Average | Days ≥ 30 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 (YTD) | 14.51 | 35.30 | 13.80 | 14.84 | 18.13 | 2 |
| 2025 | 17.93 | 60.13 | 13.38 | 14.95 | 18.93 | 12 |
| 2024 | 13.20 | 65.73 | 10.62 | 17.35 | 15.55 | 1 |
| 2023 | 22.90 | 30.81 | 11.81 | 12.45 | 16.85 | 0 |
| 2022 | 16.60 | 38.94 | 16.34 | 21.67 | 25.64 | 49 |
| 2021 | 26.97 | 37.51 | 14.10 | 17.22 | 19.66 | 6 |
| 2020 | 12.47 | 85.47 | 11.75 | 22.75 | 29.25 | 80 |
| 2019 | 23.22 | 28.53 | 11.03 | 13.78 | 15.39 | 0 |
| 2018 | 9.77 | 50.30 | 8.92 | 25.42 | 16.64 | 5 |
| 2017 | 12.85 | 17.28 | 8.56 | 11.04 | 11.09 | 0 |
| 2016 | 20.70 | 32.09 | 10.93 | 14.04 | 15.83 | 0 |
| 2015 | 17.79 | 53.29 | 10.88 | 18.21 | 16.67 | 4 |
| 2014 | 14.23 | 31.06 | 10.28 | 19.20 | 14.18 | 0 |
| 2013 | 14.68 | 21.91 | 11.05 | 13.72 | 14.23 | 0 |
| 2012 | 22.97 | 27.73 | 13.30 | 18.02 | 17.80 | 0 |
| 2011 | 17.61 | 48.00 | 14.27 | 23.40 | 24.20 | 75 |
| 2010 | 20.04 | 48.20 | 15.23 | 17.75 | 22.55 | 23 |
| 2009 | 39.19 | 57.36 | 19.25 | 21.68 | 31.48 | 111 |
| 2008 | 23.17 | 89.53 | 15.82 | 40.00 | 32.69 | 79 |
| 2007 | 12.04 | 37.50 | 9.70 | 22.50 | 17.54 | 3 |
| 2006 | 11.14 | 23.81 | 9.39 | 11.56 | 12.81 | 0 |
| 2005 | 14.08 | 36.56 | 9.88 | 12.07 | 12.81 | 0 |
| 2004 | 18.22 | 36.55 | 11.14 | 13.29 | 15.48 | 0 |
| 2003 | 25.39 | 35.66 | 14.66 | 18.31 | 21.98 | 39 |
| 2002 | 22.71 | 48.46 | 17.02 | 28.62 | 27.29 | 84 |
| 2001 | 29.99 | 49.35 | 18.74 | 23.80 | 25.75 | 46 |
| 2000 | 24.21 | 34.31 | 16.28 | 26.85 | 23.32 | 5 |
| 1999 | 26.17 | 33.66 | 17.07 | 24.76 | 24.37 | 10 |
| 1998 | 23.42 | 49.53 | 16.10 | 24.42 | 25.60 | 54 |
| 1997 | 21.14 | 48.64 | 16.36 | 24.01 | 22.36 | 18 |
| 1996 | 12.19 | 27.05 | 11.11 | 20.92 | 16.44 | 0 |
| 1995 | 14.25 | 16.99 | 10.06 | 12.52 | 12.39 | 0 |
| 1994 | 12.57 | 28.30 | 9.59 | 13.20 | 13.93 | 0 |
| 1993 | 13.36 | 18.31 | 8.89 | 11.66 | 12.69 | 0 |
| 1992 | 18.95 | 25.13 | 10.29 | 12.57 | 15.45 | 0 |
| 1991 | 26.62 | 36.20 | 13.95 | 19.31 | 18.37 | 7 |
| 1990 | 17.24 | 36.47 | 14.72 | 26.38 | 23.06 | 24 |
How Often Is the VIX at Each Level?
Share of all daily closes since 1990 that fell in each fear band. A reading above 30 has historically been the exception rather than the rule.
| VIX close | Fear level | Share of days |
|---|---|---|
| Below 12 | Complacent | 8.6% |
| 12 – 20 | Calm | 54.4% |
| 20 – 30 | Elevated | 29.0% |
| 30 – 40 | High fear | 5.7% |
| 40 and above | Crisis | 2.2% |
Largest One-Day VIX Spikes
The ten biggest daily percentage jumps in the VIX close. Many of them started from low levels, which is why percentage spikes and record highs rarely coincide.
| Date | Prior close | Close | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feb 5, 2018 | 17.31 | 37.32 | +115.6% |
| Dec 18, 2024 | 15.87 | 27.62 | +74.0% |
| Aug 5, 2024 | 23.39 | 38.57 | +64.9% |
| Feb 27, 2007 | 11.15 | 18.31 | +64.2% |
| Jan 27, 2021 | 23.02 | 37.21 | +61.6% |
| Nov 26, 2021 | 18.58 | 28.62 | +54.0% |
| Nov 15, 1991 | 13.96 | 21.18 | +51.7% |
| Jul 23, 1990 | 15.63 | 23.68 | +51.5% |
| Apr 4, 2025 | 30.02 | 45.31 | +50.9% |
| Aug 8, 2011 | 32.00 | 48.00 | +50.0% |
VIX Long-Term Chart
Where the numbers come from
All figures are computed from Cboe's official daily VIX history file (open, high, low and close for every session since January 2, 1990). Values before 2003 use the original VIX methodology as back-filled by Cboe. The tables are regenerated whenever the site's daily VIX snapshot is refreshed.
Close vs intraday
The record intraday high and the record close happened in different crises. Intraday prints capture panic within a session; closes are what most backtests and percentile figures use. Quote whichever matches the question you are answering.
Reading the averages
The VIX's long-run mean sits above its median because spikes are short and violent while calm stretches are long. A “normal” VIX is closer to the median; the mean is pulled up by a handful of crisis years like 2008 and 2020.
Behind the Numbers
The crises
2008 financial crisis · COVID crash 2020 · Volmageddon 2018 · August 2024 spike
Data: Cboe daily VIX history. Educational information only, not investment advice.