If you're evaluating mutual funds for your investment portfolio or retirement account, this list highlights the best municipal bond funds to consider now, based on each fund outperforming the Bloomberg Municipal Bond Index over the past one-, three-, five- and 10-year periods.
Shaded cells in the table below indicate the five best-of-the-best funds based on 10-year performance. Of 443 municipal bond funds at least 10 years old, 55 of them, or 12%, were winners in the IBD 2025 Best Mutual Funds awards.
A municipal bond fund invests in municipal bonds (also known as municipal debt). These bonds are issued by states, municipalities, counties and special-purpose districts to fund capital expenditures. Municipal bond funds have different objectives depending on where they are located, the credit quality of the bonds, and the duration of the bonds. Municipal bonds are exempt from federal income tax and may be exempt from state income tax.
For more details, read about how the best mutual funds deliver benchmark-beating returns, and see the full 2025 list of IBD's Best Mutual Funds in every category, including bond funds, diversified stock funds, blend and index funds, and breakouts of large-cap, midcap and small-cap funds.
All returns are as of Dec. 31, 2024.
Best Municipal Bond Funds
| Fund | Symbol | 1-year total return | 3-year total return | 5-year total return | 10-year total return | Morningstar category | Annual report net expense ratio |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Benchmark: Bloomberg Municipal | 1.05% | -0.55% | 0.99% | 2.25% | |||
| Colorado BondShares A Tax-Exempt | HICOX | 7.66 | 3.46 | 4.08 | 4.50 | Muni Single State Interm | 0.59% |
| First Eagle High Yield Municipal I | FEHIX | 11.95 | 3.89 | 4.49 | 4.43 | High Yield Muni | 0.57 |
| Goldman Sachs High Yield Muni Instl | GHYIX | 5.70 | -0.53 | 1.78 | 4.12 | High Yield Muni | 0.54 |
| PIMCO High Yield Municipal Bond I | PHMIX | 4.54 | -0.30 | 2.12 | 4.11 | High Yield Muni | 0.56 |
| NYLI MacKay High Yield Muni Bond Class I | MMHIX | 4.55 | -0.51 | 2.01 | 3.94 | High Yield Muni | 0.61 |
| PIMCO Fixed Income SHares TE | FXIEX | 5.53 | 1.43 | 2.88 | 3.76 | High Yield Muni | 0.06 |
| Invesco Pennsylvania Municipal A | OPATX | 2.89 | -0.46 | 1.61 | 3.73 | Muni Pennsylvania | 0.95 |
| American High-Income Municipal Bond A | AMHIX | 6.22 | 0.35 | 2.16 | 3.54 | High Yield Muni | 0.60 |
| Nuveen Short Duration Hi Yld Muni Bd I | NVHIX | 7.20 | 1.03 | 2.22 | 3.36 | High Yield Muni | 0.86 |
| Allspring High Yield Municipal Bd Inst | WHYIX | 5.58 | -0.23 | 1.34 | 3.31 | High Yield Muni | 0.55 |
| Putnam Tax-Free High Yield A | PTHAX | 5.44 | -0.23 | 1.69 | 3.21 | High Yield Muni | 0.96 |
| Victory High Income Municipal Bond Y | RHMYX | 7.06 | -0.37 | 2.11 | 3.20 | High Yield Muni | 0.57 |
| Robinson Tax Advantaged Income Instl | ROBNX | 8.89 | 1.03 | 2.55 | 3.12 | Muni National Long | 1.36 |
| Eaton Vance High-Yield Municipal Inc A | ETHYX | 4.78 | -0.33 | 1.33 | 3.09 | High Yield Muni | 1.01 |
| PIMCO California Municipal Bond Instl | PCTIX | 3.10 | -0.04 | 1.70 | 3.08 | Muni California Long | 0.44 |
| Vanguard High-Yield Tax-Exempt | VWAHX | 3.31 | -0.41 | 1.57 | 3.07 | Muni National Long | 0.17 |
| Vanguard NJ Long-Term Tax-Exempt Inv | VNJTX | 2.10 | -0.37 | 1.57 | 2.98 | Muni New Jersey | 0.17 |
| PIMCO Municipal Bond Instl | PFMIX | 2.90 | -0.11 | 1.60 | 2.94 | Muni National Long | 0.44 |
| AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opps Adv | ATTYX | 3.76 | 0.21 | 2.12 | 2.90 | Muni National Interm | 0.81 |
| Invesco New Jersey Municipal A | ONJAX | 2.75 | -0.33 | 1.66 | 2.87 | Muni New Jersey | 1.09 |
| BNY Mellon Municipal Opportunities M | MOTMX | 3.29 | -0.04 | 1.64 | 2.77 | Muni National Interm | 0.70 |
| Western Asset Municipal High Income A | STXAX | 3.39 | -0.12 | 1.44 | 2.67 | High Yield Muni | 0.81 |
| AB Municipal Bond Inflation Strategy Adv | AUNYX | 2.57 | 0.88 | 2.87 | 2.65 | Muni National Short | 0.50 |
| BlackRock NY Municipal Opps Instl | MANKX | 2.36 | 0.07 | 1.16 | 2.63 | Muni New York Long | 0.71 |
| Fidelity New Jersey Municipal Income | FNJHX | 1.46 | -0.14 | 1.43 | 2.61 | Muni New Jersey | 0.45 |
| Vanguard CA Long-Term Tax-Exempt Inv | VCITX | 2.09 | -0.44 | 1.200 | 2.61 | Muni California Long | 0.17 |
| BlackRock California Muni Opps Instl | MACMX | 3.31 | -0.03 | 1.19 | 2.59 | Muni California Intermediate | 0.52 |
| T. Rowe Price Interm Tx-Fr Hi Yld | PRIHX | 4.59 | 0.11 | 1.46 | 2.57 | High Yield Muni | 0.48 |
| BBH Intermediate Municipal Bond I | BBIIX | 2.40 | 0.69 | 1.47 | 2.57 | Muni National Interm | 0.44 |
| Macquarie Tax-Free CA A | DVTAX | 2.79 | -0.55 | 1.48 | 2.56 | Muni California Long | 0.80 |
| Eaton Vance Municipal Opportunities I | EMOIX | 3.55 | -0.17 | 1.33 | 2.56 | Muni National Interm | 0.52 |
| DFA Municipal Real Return Institutional | DMREX | 3.10 | 1.39 | 2.98 | 2.54 | Muni National Short | 0.24 |
| Eaton Vance CA Municipal Opportunities A | EACAX | 2.67 | 0.26 | 1.30 | 2.52 | Muni California Intermediate | 0.75 |
| Parametric TABS 5 to15 Yr Lad Muni Bd I | EILTX | 1.10 | 0.16 | 1.42 | 2.51 | Muni National Interm | 0.39 |
| PIMCO NY Municipal Instl | PNYIX | 2.27 | 0.00 | 1.42 | 2.50 | Muni New York Intermediate | 0.45 |
| AB Municipal Income II New Jersey A | ANJAX | 2.23 | -0.18 | 1.38 | 2.47 | Muni New Jersey | 0.82 |
| Payden California Municipal Social Imp | PYCRX | 1.99 | 0.63 | 1.68 | 2.45 | Muni California Intermediate | 0.45 |
| Macquarie Tax-Free PA A | DELIX | 2.87 | -0.42 | 1.56 | 2.45 | Muni Pennsylvania | 0.83 |
| JHancock CA Municipal Bond A | TACAX | 2.62 | 0.48 | 1.52 | 2.45 | Muni California Long | 0.78 |
| PIMCO National Interm Muni Bond Instl | PMNIX | 2.18 | 0.89 | 1.63 | 2.43 | Muni National Interm | 0.45 |
| Goldman Sachs Dynamic Municipal Inc A | GSMIX | 3.01 | -0.07 | 1.22 | 2.43 | Muni National Interm | 0.72 |
| Hartford Municipal Opportunities I | HHMIX | 2.67 | -0.17 | 1.19 | 2.41 | Muni National Interm | 0.45 |
| T. Rowe Price California Tax-Free Bond | PRXCX | 2.74 | -0.06 | 1.36 | 2.41 | Muni California Long | 0.57 |
| SMA Relationship M | SRTMX | 1.23 | -0.30 | 1.13 | 2.40 | Muni National Interm | 0.00 |
| Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl A | PPNAX | 1.93 | 0.25 | 1.44 | 2.38 | Muni National Interm | 0.90 |
| T. Rowe Price NJ Tax-Free Bond | NJTFX | 2.87 | -0.27 | 1.29 | 2.32 | Muni New Jersey | 0.57 |
| Macquarie Tax-Free CO A | VCTFX | 3.51 | -0.54 | 1.27 | 2.32 | Muni Single State Long | 0.82 |
| Putnam CA Tax Exempt Income A | PCTEX | 2.63 | -0.51 | 1.13 | 2.31 | Muni California Long | 0.88 |
| PIMCO Ca Muni Oppc Val Instl | GCMFX | 2.22 | 1.65 | 1.87 | 2.31 | Muni California Intermediate | 0.63 |
| PIMCO Ntnl Muni Oppc Val Instl | GNMFX | 2.37 | 1.00 | 1.51 | 2.30 | Muni National Interm | 0.63 |
| BNY Mellon AMT-Free Municipal Bond Z | DRMBX | 2.33 | -0.43 | 1.02 | 2.28 | Muni National Interm | 0.49 |
| Nuveen Intermediate Duration Muni Bd I | NUVBX | 1.90 | -0.32 | 1.07 | 2.27 | Muni National Interm | 0.45 |
| T. Rowe Price Maryland Tax-Free Bond | MDXBX | 2.91 | -0.31 | 1.22 | 2.26 | Muni Single State Long | 0.49 |
| T. Rowe Price Tax-Free Income Inv | PRTAX | 2.53 | -0.45 | 1.25 | 2.26 | Muni National Long | 0.53 |
| Brown Advisory Tax Exempt Bond Investor | BIAEX | 2.38 | 0.oo | 1.23 | 2.25 | Muni National Interm | 0.45 |
Sources: IBD, Morningstar Direct
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