It’s also a tempting one. A 5.2% coupon backed by the U.S. government feels like the safe, sensible choice. Lock it in, collect your payments, and stop worrying about the stock market.

But that coupon has limits. It never grows. Ten thousand dollars pays $520 a year in 2027 and the same $520 in 2036. Inflation chips away at it the whole time. And “risk-free” only applies if you hold to maturity. If yields keep rising, the note’s market value falls.

5 Stocks That Clear the 10-Year Bar

There’s a common perception that beating 5.2% in stocks means reaching for junk. The fundamentals tell a different story. Plenty of companies pay yields at or above the 10-year Treasury. Many still have real growth drivers.

The key is knowing what you’re buying. A Treasury pays you to wait. A dividend stock pays you to own a business that can expand. Over a decade, that difference can add up.

Here are five high-yield dividend stocks that clear the 10-year bar. They aren’t risk-free. Some carry variable payouts tied to commodity prices or shipping rates. But each offers something a Treasury never will: the chance for your income and capital to grow.

Pipelines Feeding the AI Buildout

Energy Transfer (NYSE: ET) is the steadiest name on this list. The pipeline giant earns fees for moving natural gas. That means its cash flow depends more on volume than commodity prices.

That model is working. In July, Energy Transfer raised its quarterly distribution to $0.34 per unit, its 19th consecutive increase. Management plans to grow the payout 3% to 5% per year. The yield sits near 6.6%, well above the 10-year.

The growth story is just as compelling. Data centers need enormous amounts of power, and natural gas supplies much of it. Energy Transfer recently raised its full-year adjusted EBITDA guidance to between $18.8 billion and $19.1 billion. One caveat for investors. Energy Transfer operates as a partnership, so investors receive a K-1 tax form.

High Yield From Low-Decline Wells

TXO Partners (NYSE: TXO) takes a different approach to oil and gas. It focuses on mature, conventional fields in the Permian, San Juan, and Williston basins. These wells produce steadily without the steep declines of shale.

TXO pays out essentially everything it earns. Its variable distribution policy is designed to deliver all available cash to unitholders. That means payouts rise and fall with energy prices. Investors should expect volatility.

Right now, the trend is moving the right way. The quarterly distribution climbed from $0.30 to $0.36 to $0.40 in 2026. Daily oil production has grown at a 30% compound annual rate since 2022. At its latest payout, TXO’s annualized yield runs well above the 10-year.

A 2026 Winner With Room to Run

Star Bulk Carriers (NASDAQ: SBLK) has been one of the market’s standout performers this year. The dry bulk shipper was up nearly 47% year-to-date by early August. Stronger shipping rates are driving surging earnings and cash flow.

Shareholders are getting their cut. In August, Star Bulk raised its quarterly dividend 80% to $0.90 per share. That puts the yield above 12%. Like TXO, the payout is variable and moves with shipping rates.

The rally may not be over. Even after the big run, SBLK trades around 6 times forward earnings. That’s a steep discount to the broader market. Analysts keep raising estimates, a sign the fundamentals are still catching up to the momentum.

The Contrarian Renewable Play

Renewable energy hasn’t been a popular sector. That’s exactly why Clearway Energy (NYSE: CWEN) deserves a look. The company owns about 5,000 megawatts of wind and solar. It also has 2,500 megawatts of natural gas generation.

The stock has had a big year. Even so, the Class C shares (CWEN) yield around 5.6%. Clearway raises its dividend every quarter. It has grown the payout roughly 7% annually over the past five years.

There’s also a potential catalyst ahead. Renewable energy policy has been a political lightning rod. The November midterm elections could shift the outlook for clean energy incentives. For contrarians, that uncertainty may be an opportunity rather than a reason to stay away.

Affordable Housing in a Locked-Up Market

The housing market remains stuck. High mortgage rates are keeping buyers out and owners locked into their homes. That’s pushing more Americans toward affordable alternatives like manufactured housing.

UMH Properties (NYSE: UMH) is positioned to benefit. The REIT owns 145 manufactured home communities across 12 states. As of June 30, portfolio occupancy reached 89%. Rental home occupancy hit 95.3%. Both numbers have been climbing.

The dividend is $0.90 per share annually, a yield of about 5.4%. The payout hasn’t increased yet in 2026. But rising occupancy and the conversion of inventory into rental homes give UMH room to grow its cash flow.

Safety Doesn’t Have to Mean Standing Still

A 5.2% Treasury note is a reasonable choice for investors who need guaranteed income. But it’s a fixed bet that today’s yield will be enough tomorrow.

These five stocks offer a different trade. Each yields at or above the 10-year. Each has a growth driver the market may be underestimating. And each gives investors a chance to grow their income instead of watching inflation erode it.

The reason is that more Americans are renting again.

In fact, as noted by Fortune.com, “For the first time since 2016, America’s homeownership rate has tipped into negative territory, signaling a subtle but profound shift in the nation’s housing dynamics, Redfin reports in its new analysis of U.S. Census Bureau data. In the second quarter of 2025, the number of U.S. homeowner households fell ever so slightly, by 0.1% year over year to 86.2 million, while renter households surged by 2.6% to 46.4 million—one of the largest increases in recent memory.”

That tells us the percentage of people owning a home isn’t growing much, if at all. 

By now, the reasons for the housing slowdown have become obvious: rising home prices, high mortgage rates, and economic uncertainty. But as investors, we can profit from stock appreciation and dividends from those higher rent numbers with real estate investment trusts (REITs).

REITs have been poor investments for the better part of two years But that may be about to change, and here are three names that belong on a list of dividend stocks to own.

Dividend Stocks to Own: AvalonBay Communities

With a yield of 4.02%, AvalonBay Communities (NYSE: AVB) is an attractive first choice for income investors. But AVB stock is also starting to look like a compelling growth play as well. Analysts give the stock a consensus price target of $209.35, which is 17% above the stock price as of this writing. It’s worth noting that recent price targets have been moving higher. 

AvalonBay is an equity REIT in the business of developing, redeveloping, acquiring and managing apartment communities in leading metropolitan areas in New England, the New York/New Jersey Metro area, the Mid-Atlantic, the Pacific Northwest, and Northern and Southern California.

The company owned or held a direct or indirect ownership interest in 3,315 apartment communities containing 97,212 apartment homes in 11 states and the District of Columbia, of which 20 communities were under development.

One benefit of owning a REIT stock is that they are required to pay out a high percentage of its earnings as dividends. To that end, AvalonBay just paid a dividend of $1.75 a share on October 15.

Dividend Stocks to Own: Equity Residential

Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) is the next REIT on this list of dividend stocks to own. The company’s dividend has a yield of 4.72% as of this writing. Analysts also have price targets that suggest that EQR stock is undervalued.

Equity Residential is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around cities that attract affluent long-term renters. It owns or has investments in 317 properties consisting of 85,936 apartment units, in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft. Worth and Austin.

Equity Residential paid a dividend of just over 69 cents on October 10. That dividend payout has increased for four consecutive years.

Dividend Stocks to Own: UMH Properties

UMH Properties Inc. (NYSE: UMH) is an intriguing choice for investors who are tracking trends.

UMH Properties owns and operates a portfolio of 144 manufactured home communities with approximately 26,900 developed homesites, of which 10,800 contain rental homes, and over 1,000 self-storage units. These communities are located in New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Indiana, Maryland, Michigan, and Alabama.

Manufactured homes are becoming a popular choice for first-time homeowners who are looking for options beyond an apartment complex. And demand for self-storage units has been growing since the “great relocation” started in 2020.

UMH stock has a dividend yield of 6.17% and will pay a dividend of just over 22 cents per share on December 15 to shareholders of record as of November 17.