{"slug":"what-is-a-high-vix-level","qid":"iv_ladder","label":"SPY 30-day at-the-money implied volatility, sessions per VIX-style rung","post_title":"What Is a High VIX? Levels and Extremes","post_url":"/blog/what-is-a-high-vix-level#q-iv_ladder","columns":["bucket","session_count","share_pct","latest_label"],"rows":[{"bucket":"under 15","session_count":1838,"share_pct":59.5,"latest_label":"Sep 2026"},{"bucket":"15 to 20","session_count":732,"share_pct":23.7,"latest_label":"Jul 2026"},{"bucket":"20 to 30","session_count":455,"share_pct":14.7,"latest_label":"Apr 2026"},{"bucket":"over 30","session_count":63,"share_pct":2,"latest_label":"Apr 2025"}],"shape":"ranking","sql":"SELECT\n    bucket,\n    session_count,\n    round(session_count * 100.0 / sum(session_count) OVER (), 1) AS share_pct,\n    latest_label\nFROM\n(\n    SELECT\n        bucket,\n        count()                                   AS session_count,\n        min(iv_pct)                               AS bucket_floor,\n        formatDateTime(max(date), '%b %Y')        AS latest_label\n    FROM\n    (\n        SELECT\n            date,\n            round(avg(implied_volatility) * 100, 2)   AS iv_pct,\n            multiIf(iv_pct < 15, 'under 15',\n                    iv_pct < 20, '15 to 20',\n                    iv_pct < 30, '20 to 30',\n                                 'over 30')       AS bucket\n        FROM global_markets.options_greeks\n        WHERE underlying_symbol = 'SPY'\n          AND iv_converged = 1\n          AND volume > 0\n          AND days_to_expiry BETWEEN 20 AND 45\n          AND abs(toFloat64(strike_price) / toFloat64(underlying_close) - 1) < 0.02\n        GROUP BY date\n    )\n    GROUP BY bucket\n)\nORDER BY bucket_floor","computed_at":"2026-09-16T15:05:42.501907+00:00","elapsed":0.003608614}