Best Mutual Funds Awards 2026: Best Municipal Bond Funds

2026-03-21 13:55:30

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 423 municipal bond funds at least 10 years old, 27 of them, or 6%, were winners in the IBD 2026 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 2026 list of IBD’s Best Mutual Funds in every category, including bond funds, diversified stock funds, and blend and index funds.

All returns are as of Dec. 31, 2025.

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 TR USD

4.25%
3.88%
0.80%
2.34%


Colorado BondShares A Tax-Exempt
HICOX
5.27
6.88
4.09
4.58
US Fund Muni Single State Interm
0.59%
PIMCO Fixed Income SHares TE
FXIEX
5.53
6.92
2.56
3.80
US Fund High Yield Muni
0.00
American High-Income Municipal Bond A
AMHIX
4.31
6.14
2.15
3.53
US Fund High Yield Muni
0.66
AB High Income Municipal Advisor
ABTYX
4.36
5.19
1.01
3.17
US Fund High Yield Muni
0.87
AB Municipal Bond Inflation Strategy Adv
AUNYX
4.94
4.22
2.94
3.04
US Fund Muni National Short
0.50
AB Tax-Aware Fixed Income Opps Adv
ATTYX
4.67
5.13
2.10
3.02
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.71
PIMCO Municipal Bond Instl
PFMIX
4.37
5.20
1.30
2.95
US Fund Muni National Long
0.44
Fidelity New Jersey Municipal Income
FNJHX
4.83
4.76
1.34
2.90
US Fund Muni New Jersey
0.45
BBH Intermediate Municipal Bond I
BBIIX
5.43
4.63
1.53
2.83
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.44
T. Rowe Price Interm Tx-Fr Hi Yld
PRIHX
5.99
5.30
2.19
2.82
US Fund High Yield Muni
0.48
Baird Core Intermediate Municpl Bd Instl
BMNIX
4.88
4.27
1.59
2.74
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.30
Vanguard PA Long-Term Tax-Exempt Inv
VPAIX
4.31
4.48
0.96
2.74
US Fund Muni Pennsylvania
0.17
Payden California Municipal Social Imp
PYCRX
5.14
4.60
1.60
2.73
US Fund Muni California Intermediate
0.45
Brown Advisory Tax Exempt Bond Investor
BIAEX
5.48
4.99
1.63
2.66
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.46
Parametric TABS 5 to15 Yr Lad Muni Bd I
EILTX
5.99
4.74
1.47
2.64
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.39
Eaton Vance Municipal Opportunities I
EMOIX
5.03
4.95
1.47
2.63
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.67
Fidelity Tax-Free Bond
FTABX
4.49
4.56
1.07
2.62
US Fund Muni National Long
0.25
PIMCO National Interm Muni Bond Instl
PMNIX
5.14
4.74
1.74
2.61
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.45
Putnam Strategic Intermediate Muncpl A
PPNAX
4.71
4.37
1.53
2.58
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.90
Lord Abbett Short Dur Hi Inc Muni Bd I
SDHIX
4.47
4.74
1.72
2.58
US Fund High Yield Muni
0.46
Fidelity Municipal Income
FHIGX
4.31
4.34
0.97
2.50
US Fund Muni National Long
0.44
Hartford Municipal Opportunities I
HHMIX
4.53
4.55
1.17
2.50
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.45
Bridge Builder Municipal Bond
BBMUX
5.08
4.49
1.44
2.46
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.12
Nuveen Intermediate Duration Muni Bd I
NUVBX
4.82
4.17
1.14
2.43
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.44
Parametric TABS Interm-Term Muni Bd I
ETIIX
5.16
4.41
1.25
2.38
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.60
Vanguard Interm-Term Tx-Ex Inv
VWITX
4.95
4.14
1.23
2.37
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.17
Victory Tax Exempt Intermediate-Term
USATX
4.44
4.11
1.15
2.37
US Fund Muni National Interm
0.48

Sources: IBD, Morningstar Direct

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