Comparing Dividend Stock Sectors by Yield: Which Pays the Most?

UPDATED: July 6, 2026

Dividend.com maintains and updates this article weekly to track yield trends and highlight names income investors should have on their radar. Data reflects dividend-paying common stocks only, filtered to those with an active trailing yield on record. Sectors are ordered by average trailing yield, highest to lowest.

Dividend yields vary significantly across sectors — here’s how all 11 stack up based on Dividend.com’s data from last week.

Behind every sector average is a mix of industries pulling in different directions — here are the 15 highest-yielding ones across the market.

The yield numbers only tell half the story — scroll down to see which industries and stocks are actually moving the needle for income investors this week.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 5.69% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 19.00%

Financials remain the highest-yielding sector as Q2 earnings season kicks off. Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America, and Morgan Stanley report July 14, with JPMorgan Chase following July 15. Analysts expect accelerating loan growth and firmer net interest income, even as the yield curve has flattened somewhat under a Federal Reserve that’s held its benchmark rate at 3.50%–3.75% for four straight meetings.

Financials diversified and asset management lead on yield at 9.04% and 8.35%, powered by closed-end funds and BDCs with high mandated payout ratios. Banking, by contrast, yields a modest 2.55% but posts the sector’s strongest total return at 35.02%.

JPMorgan Chase (JPM) goes ex-dividend today on a declared $1.50 payout ahead of earnings. Bank of America (BAC) recently declared its $0.28 common dividend alongside a $1.75 preferred payout due July 24. In the higher-yielding asset management space, Eagle Point Credit (ECC) carries a 37.3% trailing yield ahead of a July 13 ex-dividend date.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 5.05% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 18.77%

Real estate held its spot as the second-highest-yielding sector, with the group’s fate still tied closely to where long-term rates settle after the Fed’s late-July decision. REITs continue to offer some of the market’s most dependable income streams even as commercial property valuations stay under pressure in select subsectors.

REITs average a 5.23% yield and an 18.78% total return, dwarfing smaller pockets like real estate services.

Realty Income (O), one of the sector’s largest and best-known monthly dividend payers, carries a 5.07% yield with its next payout declared at $0.271. Brandywine Realty Trust (BDN) yields 12.0% and goes ex-dividend July 8 on a declared $0.08 payout, while Global Net Lease (GNL) yields 8.25% ahead of its July 13 ex-dividend date.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 4.31% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 28.08%

Energy is coming off one of its sharpest quarters in years as the Israel-Iran ceasefire holds and shipping through the Strait of Hormuz normalizes. Brent crude has fallen back to roughly $71–73 a barrel, down more than 30% from its wartime peak above $126, as diplomacy between Washington and Tehran progresses and supply fears fade.

Oil, gas & coal dominates the sector at a 4.34% yield and 27.26% total return.

Falling prices are squeezing the royalty trusts that dominate high-yield energy names: North European Oil Royalty Trust (NRT) and Permianville Royalty Trust (PVL) both saw declared payout cuts despite trailing yields above 19%. Large-cap integrated majors are holding steadier: Exxon Mobil (XOM) and Chevron (CVX) both continue their payouts uninterrupted even as crude retreats, and Dorchester Minerals (DMLP) offers a comparatively stable 12.8% yield.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 3.74% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 18.19%

Communications names continue to split into two camps: legacy telecom carriers delivering outsized income, and media names delivering the better growth. That split persists as streaming and advertising businesses recover while traditional carriers lean on scale and cost discipline to defend margins.

Telecommunication yields 4.98% but returns just 2.21%, while media yields 3.14% with a much stronger 26.71% return.

Verizon (VZ) carries an 11.4% yield and goes ex-dividend July 10 on a declared $0.708 payout. Comcast (CMCSA) offers a large-cap alternative at a 5.55% yield. AT&T (T) also goes ex-dividend July 10 on a declared $0.278 payout.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 3.32% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 17.51%

Utilities remain a defensive anchor, but the bigger story this year is demand: AI data-center buildouts are pushing power consumption to levels many grid operators haven’t planned for, forcing utilities to accelerate capacity investment even as they navigate a rate environment that’s stayed higher for longer than expected.

Utilities diversified leads on yield at 5.41%, while utility networks and integrated utilities trail with stronger total returns.

NextEra Energy (NEE), one of the largest beneficiaries of the data-center power boom, continues its steady payout. Edison International (EIX) goes ex-dividend July 7 on a declared $0.878 payout, and Algonquin Power & Utilities (AQN) stands out with a 9.48% yield.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 3.10% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 2.54%

Consumer staples are seeing a wave of declared increases even as total returns stay thin, with grocery and packaged food names still working through input-cost pressure tied to tariffs on imported ingredients and packaging materials.

Consumer products is the largest, highest-yielding industry at 3.56%, though its -3.39% return lags; retail consumer staples yields less but returns far more.

Coca-Cola (KO) and PepsiCo (PEP) remain steady large-cap anchors. General Mills (GIS) yields 6.49% and goes ex-dividend July 10 on a declared $0.61 payout. Casey’s General Stores (CASY) declared a 14% increase, and Kroger (KR) followed with 11.4%.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 2.50% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 17.84%

Health care’s income appeal is anchored in pharma, where the administration’s Most-Favored-Nation drug pricing framework continues to reshape the industry. Pfizer is among 17 major manufacturers that have signed voluntary MFN pricing agreements, a policy shift investors are watching closely for its effect on future drug pricing and margins.

Biotech & pharma leads with a 4.89% yield and 19.06% return, well ahead of medical equipment & devices.

Johnson & Johnson (JNJ) remains a steady large-cap payer through the policy shift. Quest Diagnostics (DGX) goes ex-dividend July 8 on a declared $0.86 payout. Pfizer (PFE) yields 7.07%, and Perrigo (PRGO) yields an even higher 10.5%.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 2.41% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 14.38%

Consumer discretionary is seeing a cluster of declared increases this week spanning airlines, restaurants, and home improvement — a sign of confidence in consumer spending even as tariff-related cost pressure lingers across retail supply chains.

Commercial services leads the sector on yield at 3.19%, while automotive posts the strongest return at 36.68%.

McDonald’s (MCD) and Home Depot (HD) remain the sector’s steadiest large-cap payers. Delta Air Lines (DAL) declared a 14.7% increase ahead of its July 9 ex-dividend date, and Darden Restaurants (DRI) declared an 8% increase, going ex-dividend July 10.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 1.95% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 29.84%

Materials names are showing some of the sharpest dividend swings in the market as tariff policy continues to reshape metals and chemicals supply chains, pushing some producers toward reshoring investment while others face margin pressure from higher input costs.

Containers & packaging and chemicals lead on yield, while metals & mining delivers an 87.34% average return despite a slim 1.11% yield.

Dow (DOW) offers a high 5.05% yield among large-cap chemicals names. Freeport-McMoRan (FCX) declared a 100% payout increase ahead of its July 15 ex-dividend date, while CVR Partners (UAN) saw its payout cut more than 90% despite a still-high 10.8% trailing yield.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 1.84% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 41.79%

Industrials posted the second-strongest total return of any sector even with one of the lowest yields, as resilient capital spending, reshoring incentives, and defense budgets continue to support machinery and transport names through a volatile macro backdrop.

Transportation & logistics combines a 3.05% yield with a 60.19% return, the standout industry in the sector.

Honeywell (HON) remains a reliable large-cap payer at a 4.09% yield. Caterpillar (CAT) declared a 7.95% increase ahead of its July 20 ex-dividend date, and General Electric (GE) goes ex-dividend today on a declared $0.47 payout.

Avg. Trailing Yield: 1.65% | Avg. 1Y Total Return: 44.50%

Technology remains the lowest-yielding sector, but its total return still leads the market despite a volatile stretch for chipmakers. Semiconductor stocks have swung sharply this year — including a fresh selloff in early July tied to reports that a major memory producer may slow high-bandwidth memory expansion — even as hyperscaler AI infrastructure spending keeps climbing. A more hawkish Fed tone under Chair Warsh has added to the pressure on richly valued growth names.

Semiconductors posts a 130.86% total return despite a thin 1.00% yield, while technology services offers the highest yield in the sector at 2.10%.

Texas Instruments (TXN) and IBM (IBM) remain steadier income options within a sector dominated by growth. Cisco Systems (CSCO) goes ex-dividend today on a declared $0.42 payout, and Accenture (ACN) yields 4.64% ahead of its July 9 ex-dividend date.

This week’s data points to a market still rewarding patience in income names while punishing complacency around commodity and rate-sensitive payouts. Financials and Real Estate remain the steadiest yield anchors heading into bank earnings and the Fed’s July 29 decision, while sharp swings in Energy, Materials, and Technology are a reminder that macro catalysts — oil diplomacy, tariff policy, AI infrastructure spending, and monetary policy under a new Fed Chair — are moving faster than usual this year. Investors should watch this week’s cluster of ex-dividend dates and declared increases closely, since they’re often the clearest signal of where management confidence is building, and treat outsized yields in energy trusts and closed-end funds as satellite positions rather than core holdings until volatility settles.

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