Is CA or VYM a better dividend investment in 2026?

CA currently yields 3.21% with a 5% 5-year dividend growth rate. VYM yields 2.41% with 7.8% growth. The better choice depends on your goal: CA offers higher current income.

What is the dividend yield difference between CA and VYM?

CA has a forward dividend yield of 3.21% ($0.79/share annually). VYM yields 2.41% ($3.51/share annually). The yield gap is 0.80 percentage points.

Home › Compare › CA vs VYM

CA vs VYM: Dividend Comparison 2026

CA yields 3.21% · VYM yields 2.41%● Live data

vsPost on X →

After 10 years · $10,000 invested · DRIP enabled

🏆 VYM wins by $3.3K in total portfolio value

INVESTMENT

TIME HORIZON10 years

● Live price

3.21%

Share price

$24.78

Annual div

$0.79

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$24.6K

Annual income

$394.17

Full CA calculator →

VYM

Vanguard High Dividend Yield ETF

● Live price

2.41%

Share price

$145.48

Annual div

$3.51

5Y div CAGR

Payout ratio

50%

After 10 yrs · $10,000 · DRIP

Portfolio value

$27.8K

Annual income

$278.55

Full VYM calculator →

Portfolio growth — CA vs VYM

📍 VYM pulled ahead of the other in Year 1

Annual dividend income

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Recession Test — Did They Cut Dividends?

How each stock treated shareholders during the 3 biggest crises of the last 20 years

Crisis Period	CA	VYM
2008–2009 GFC	— No data	— No data
2020 Q1–Q2 COVID	— No data	— No data
2022 Q4 Rate Hike	— No data	— No data

Based on dividend payment history. "Increased" = dividend grew during crisis. "Maintained" = held within 3%. "Cut" = reduced by more than 3%.

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Dividend Calendar Overlap

Combined, CA + VYM cover 0 of 12 months — good coverage

Jan

—

Feb

—

Mar

—

Apr

—

May

—

Jun

—

Jul

—

Aug

—

Sep

—

Oct

—

Nov

—

Dec

—

CA pays

VYM pays

Both pay

Neither

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Tax Bracket Optimizer

Which stock is actually better after tax? Adjust your rate to find out.

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$272.55/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$335.04/yr

VYM

Annual income on $10K today (after 15% tax)

$205.23/yr

After 10yr DRIP, annual income (after tax)

$236.77/yr

At 15% tax rate, CA beats the other by $98.28/year in after-tax income after 10 years on $10,000

⚖️

Lazy Portfolio Split Optimizer

What's the optimal mix of CA + VYM for your $10,000?

CA: 50%VYM: 50%

100% VYM50/50100% CA

Portfolio after 10yr

$26.2K

Annual income

$336.35/yr

Blended yield

1.28%

📊

Analyst Conviction Gap

Where Wall Street is split right now

Analyst Ratings

Hold

Consensus: Hold

Altman Z

2.9

Piotroski

7/9

VYM

No analyst data

Analyst ratings via FMP. Altman Z-Score: >3.0 safe, 1.81–3.0 grey zone, <1.81 distress. Piotroski: 7–9 strong, 0–3 weak.

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Copy Congress — What Are Politicians Buying?

Senate & House STOCK Act disclosures (last 90 days)

CA buys

VYM buys

Politician	Chamber	Ticker	Type	Amount	Date
Josh Gottheimer	🏢 House	$CA	▼ Sell	$1,001 - $15,000	2018-11-05

STOCK Act mandates disclosure within 45 days of transaction. Data via FMP.Full tracker →

MetricCAVYM

Forward yield	3.21% ✓	2.41%
Annual dividend / share	$0.79	$3.51 ✓
Payout ratio	50%	50%
1-year div growth	0%	0%
5-year div CAGR	0%	0%
Portfolio after 10y	$24.6K	$27.8K ✓
Annual income after 10y	$394.17 ✓	$278.55
Total dividends collected	$3.6K ✓	$2.6K
Payment frequency	quarterly	quarterly
Sector	Stock	ETF

Year-by-year: CA vs VYM ($10,000, DRIP)

Year	CA Portfolio	CA Income/yr	VYM Portfolio	VYM Income/yr	Gap
1← crossover	$11,021	$320.64	$11,151	$241.44	$130.00 → VYM
2	$12,122	$330.25	$12,413	$246.79	$291.00 → VYM
3	$13,310	$339.50	$13,794	$251.79	$484.00 → VYM
4	$14,591	$348.39	$15,306	$256.47	$715.00 → VYM
5	$15,969	$356.91	$16,960	$260.84	$991.00 → VYM
6	$17,452	$365.07	$18,768	$264.92	$1.3K → VYM
7	$19,046	$372.87	$20,745	$268.71	$1.7K → VYM
8	$20,760	$380.31	$22,905	$272.24	$2.1K → VYM
9	$22,600	$387.41	$25,265	$275.51	$2.7K → VYM
10	$24,576	$394.17	$27,842	$278.55	$3.3K → VYM

CA vs VYM: Complete Analysis 2026

CA — Stock

Xtrackers California Municipal Bond ETF (the “fund”) seeks investment results that correspond generally to the performance, before fees and expenses, of the ICE AMT-Free Broad Liquid California Municipal Index (the “Underlying Index”).

Full CA Calculator →

VYM — ETF

Seeks to track the performance of the FTSE High Dividend Yield Index, which measures the investment return of common stocks of companies characterized by high dividend yields. Provides a convenient way to track the performance of stocks that are forecasted to have above-average dividend yields. Follows a passively managed, full-replication approach.

Full VYM Calculator →

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⚠️ Educational purposes only. Not financial advice. Congressional trades sourced from SEC STOCK Act filings via FMP. Past performance does not guarantee future results.