One High-Yield Dividend Stock You Can Buy and Hold for a Decade of Income

Dividend-paying stocks are an investor favorite for low-stress investment. They're usually stable companies committed to providing their investors with reliable returns.

You simply buy shares, set up a dividend reinvestment plan (DRIP), and let it ride without a second thought. Most of us already have plenty to worry about; we don't need to add something else to that list by taking on high-stress investments just to make a good return.

And with the company in this report, you can put your money to work for you without having to work any harder yourself.

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Be a landlord without all the fuss

Have you ever thought about buying a rental property but been discouraged at the thought of maintaining and managing a whole other house or condo? Well, thanks to Mid-America Apartment Communities (NYSE: MAA), you can collect rental income without all that headache.

Mid-America is a real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns 103,614 homes in 300 apartment communities across 16 southeastern and southwestern American states and the District of Columbia, a region that has come to be known as the "Sunbelt". The business is simple: It rents those apartments to tenants and collects rent.

Now, as a REIT, Mid-America must pay out 90% of its taxable income to shareholders as a dividend. This often makes REITs some of the highest-yielding dividend stocks available.

Mid-America is no different and has paid a dividend reliably every year since its founding in 1994 and has raised its dividend reliably for the past 15 years running.

At present, Mid-America's dividend is $6.08 per share, which is good for a yield of 4.59% at current prices. The company's cash flow is down over the past 12 months, but it still has a positive cash position.

Mid-America's revenue is also growing, if only slightly (0.6% year over year in its latest reported quarter, Q3 2025), but it has a gross margin of about 30% and a net profit margin of 25.89%. So, I don't think it will have any problems maintaining and growing its dividend.

Growth opportunity

It's also worth noting that Mid-America primarily operates in the South, where America's fastest-growing states are found. Mid-America is very aware of that fact and cites the region's growth as one of its main strengths. The company holds property in four of the top five states with the highest population growth.

• South Carolina, which grew 1.5% from July 1, 2024 to July1, 2025
• North Carolina, which grew 1.3% over the same period
• Texas, which was up 1.2% over that time frame
• Utah, which saw 1% population growth in that period

Mid-America also holds properties in three more of the top 10 fastest-growing states -- Arizona, Nevada, and Tennessee -- which all grew their populations by 0.9% between July 2024 and July 2025.

The South is already America's most populous region, home to 39.2% of its total population, according to the Census. So, Mid-America operates in America's most populous region, and that region also happens to be the country's fastest-growing area.

All those people need a place to live, and Mid-America offers high-quality housing to them. The company has an average rating of 4.5/5 on Google, which is the highest rating among its publicly traded peers of comparable size.

Mid-America is expecting its location to drive growth moving forward. People are moving to the states it operates in.

And the company projects its funds from operations (FFO) per share to grow at an expected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.3% over the next five years. That in turn ought to drive shareholder returns.

Mid-America is projecting a five-year annual compounded shareholder return of 5.1% which is a considerable improvement over the company's peer average of 4.6%. Over ten years it's projected to be an even more dramatic 8.1% for Mid-America to 4.3% for its peer average.

Despite that, share prices are down 8.7% in the past 12 months, but this is one you buy for its fantastic dividend yield, not its share price. So, consider becoming a landlord by proxy and collect the profits without the headache of a mortgage or building maintenance.

James Hires has positions in Alphabet. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Alphabet and Mid-America Apartment Communities. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.