3 High-Yield Dividend Stocks Delivering 5%+ Income for Long-Term Investors

When the S&P 500 offers just 1.2% in average dividend yield, savvy income investors must look elsewhere to fund their retirement through portfolio distributions. The good news: several quality companies offer exceptional high-yield dividend stocks that have proven their staying power across decades. With $10,000 to deploy, Realty Income, T. Rowe Price, and Bank of Nova Scotia present compelling opportunities to generate substantial passive income while holding for the long term.

Realty Income: A Monthly Income Machine With Unmatched Consistency

Known as “The Monthly Dividend Company,” Realty Income stands out by delivering distributions every single month rather than the traditional quarterly schedule. This isn’t just marketing—it reflects the company’s genuine commitment to dependable income generation. The track record speaks for itself: 30 consecutive years of annual dividend increases, a rarity in today’s market.

As a net lease REIT, Realty Income operates as the dominant force in its niche, controlling over 15,600 properties globally. While its portfolio focuses primarily on retail assets, it has diversified into industrial properties as well. The company’s sheer scale means growth will remain measured, but management is actively pursuing new frontiers—including institutional asset management and data center investments to expand future revenue streams.

Realty Income won’t capture headlines as an exciting growth story. However, with a current dividend yield of 5.3%, the company delivers the income that matters most to investors seeking stability. At current prices, your $10,000 investment would purchase approximately 166 shares, positioning you to collect monthly checks indefinitely while the company continues raising its payout rate year after year.

T. Rowe Price: Leveraging Sticky Customers Into Consistent Dividend Growth

T. Rowe Price commands a powerful competitive advantage in asset management: once customers move their money into an account, they rarely feel motivated to switch. This “stickiness” creates a highly predictable revenue stream and makes the business model inherently reliable.

The asset management sector is undergoing significant transformation, however. Exchange-traded funds are steadily eroding mutual fund assets, pressuring the revenue base since fees scale with assets under management. T. Rowe Price’s solution? Aggressively expanding into rapidly growing segments like private market investments and building out its own ETF platform. A recent partnership with Goldman Sachs underscores this commitment to evolving with market trends.

The company’s debt-free balance sheet and loyal customer base provide ample cushion to navigate industry headwinds. T. Rowe Price has increased dividends annually for 39 consecutive years—a streak that rivals most S&P 500 components. The current 4.9% yield compensates investors for the modest risks inherent in a company adjusting to structural market changes. With $10,000, you’d acquire roughly 96 shares, positioning yourself to participate in both dividend growth and capital appreciation as the company executes its transformation.

Bank of Nova Scotia: Nearly Two Centuries of Dividend Reliability

While Bank of Nova Scotia’s current dividend-increase streak spans only one year, its dividend history is nothing short of remarkable: the bank has paid shareholders every single year since 1833. Few companies worldwide can claim such longevity and consistency in returning capital to shareholders.

As one of Canada’s largest financial institutions with material operations across North America and South America, Bank of Nova Scotia benefits from Canada’s conservative regulatory environment, which shapes the entire banking sector toward stability. The company is currently executing a strategic business overhaul, shifting its growth focus from South America back to North America. Although South America presented ambitious growth targets, management recognized that even the mature U.S. financial market offers superior risk-adjusted opportunities compared to economically and politically volatile emerging markets.

This repositioning amounts to a low-risk turnaround grounded in Canadian banking conservatism. Throughout the transition, investors can collect a generous 4.9% dividend yield—among the highest in the banking sector. A $10,000 investment at current levels would purchase approximately 155 shares, giving you exposure to a bank with nearly 200 years of dividend-paying credibility.

Constructing Your High-Yield Dividend Portfolio

Realty Income, T. Rowe Price, and Bank of Nova Scotia represent unglamorous yet proven wealth builders. While each operates in a relatively mature sector and faces company-specific adjustments, their dividend-paying credentials are unquestionable. These high-yield dividend stocks have weathered countless market cycles while consistently rewarding patient shareholders.

If your investment goal centers on generating reliable income you can comfortably hold through market ups and downs, these three deserve prominent placement in your portfolio. Their combined yields exceed 4.9% to 5.3%—four times the S&P 500 average—making them ideal anchors for any income-focused strategy built on dividends that you can actually live on.