Glossary term
High yield vs median yield
On , at the auction of the 30-year bond (a reopening), the high yield was 5.618% and the median yield 5.567%, a gap of 5.1 basis points.
High minus median at the 30-year bond auction of 8 October 2026: 5.1 bp, below the median of the earlier auctions shown, 5.8 bp
Each point is one 30-year bond auction; pointing at the chart shows its date and figures.
The lineLatest:
- High minus median5.1 bp
Inspect and compare dates
| Auction date | High minus median |
|---|---|
| 5.1 basis points | |
| 5.8 basis points | |
| 6.6 basis points | |
| 5.1 basis points | |
| 6.0 basis points | |
| 5.6 basis points | |
| 5.3 basis points | |
| 4.6 basis points | |
| 3.2 basis points | |
| 4.5 basis points |
Show 14 more rows
| Auction date | High minus median |
|---|---|
| 5.3 basis points | |
| 6.4 basis points | |
| 6.4 basis points | |
| 6.6 basis points | |
| 7.3 basis points | |
| 5.1 basis points | |
| 4.4 basis points | |
| 7.0 basis points | |
| 8.3 basis points | |
| 6.3 basis points | |
| 6.8 basis points | |
| 4.3 basis points | |
| 6.0 basis points | |
| 4.3 basis points |
Right now
High yield: 5.618% at the 30-year bond auction of , a reopening.
- Median yield 5.567%
- Low yield 5.000%
- High minus median 5.1 basis points
Across auctions
5.1 bp is below the median of the 23 earlier 30-year bond auctions shown, 5.8 bp.
Of the 24 auctions shown, the highest was 8.3 bp on , the lowest 3.2 bp on .
Understanding high yield vs median yield
Where it stands today
High yield: 5.618% at the 30-year bond auction of .
What does the term mean?
The high yield is the highest yield Treasury accepted at an auction; every winning bidder gets it. The median yield is the yield at or below which half of the accepted competitive bids, by amount, were made.
Read more
Why everyone gets the high yield
A Treasury auction is a single-price auction. Treasury accepts the lowest yields first until the offering is sold, and the last yield it needs is the high yield. A bidder who asked for less still gets the high yield.
What the gap shows
The high yield minus the median yield, in basis points, says how far the cut-off sat above the middle of the winning bids. A small gap means the winning bids were bunched close to the high yield. A wide gap means Treasury had to reach well above the middle to place the whole offering. 500metrics shows this gap on every note, bond and TIPS auction page, and uses it as one of the two official stand-ins for the auction tail.
What it does not tell you
- How the yield compares with the market. That needs the when-issued yield, which is not public.
- Anything about bills or floating rate notes in yield terms. Bills are bid as a discount rate and FRNs as a discount margin; their pages show the high and median of those instead.
Drafted with AI assistance from official sources; checked against the sources listed below.
The numbers behind the chart
What were the figures at the latest auction?30-year bond (reopening), 8 October 2026
| Figure | Value |
|---|---|
| High yield | 5.618% |
| Median yield | 5.567% |
| Low yield | 5.000% |
| High minus median | 5.1 basis points |
Which pages show these figures?
Page updated