Highest Dividend Yield US Stocks — Top Income Stocks on NYSE & NASDAQ

About This Screen

The Highest Dividend Yield screen is built for US income investors seeking NYSE- and NASDAQ-listed stocks that deliver reliable cash returns above and beyond price appreciation. Dividend yield is one of the oldest and most intuitive valuation signals in US investing — when a company's stock price falls while its dividend remains stable, the yield rises, sometimes to levels that make the stock compelling on a pure income basis relative to US Treasury bonds, money market funds, or other fixed-income instruments. In a high-rate environment shaped by Federal Reserve policy, dividend-paying US equities compete directly with risk-free Treasury yields, making yield comparison a critical part of any income investor's framework.

This screen applies two filters before ranking by yield. First, the stock must currently have a positive dividend yield recorded in its snapshot data — companies that have suspended or never paid dividends are excluded. Second, the company must have at least three historical dividend payment records in our dividend history database, ensuring that the yield is not a one-time anomaly but reflects a genuine pattern of returning capital to shareholders. US companies that have paid dividends fewer than three times do not appear regardless of their current stated yield. This filter significantly reduces the risk of investing in a one-off special dividend that distorts the apparent yield.

An extremely high dividend yield — sometimes called a 'yield trap' — can be a warning sign rather than an opportunity in the US market. If a company's share price has collapsed due to fundamental deterioration (poor earnings, rising debt, revenue decline), the yield appears high simply because the denominator (price) has shrunk. Always examine the payout ratio, the trend in free cash flow per share, and the company's debt-to-equity ratio before treating a high yield as a buy signal. A yield supported by strong US business free cash flow and a manageable payout ratio is far more sustainable than one funded by borrowing.

The 'Total Payments' column shows how many individual dividend distribution records exist in our database for each US company — a higher number indicates a longer, more established dividend track record. Aristocrat-level US dividend payers (those that have raised dividends for 25+ consecutive years) tend to have the highest payment counts. This screen updates daily so that dividend yield changes driven by stock price movements are reflected in the same US trading day's data. For tax-aware US investors, check each company's ex-dividend date and whether dividends qualify for preferential qualified dividend tax rates under US tax law.