Key Takeaways
- Today’s highest CD rate is 5.39% for a 3-month CD.
- CD rates from online banks are commonly twice as high as the national average rates.
- CD ladders let you leverage high rates without locking up all of your money long-term.
As of today, the best interest rates on CDs—certificates of deposit—pay up to 5.39%, based on certificate term lengths. Here’s an overview of how CD rates are changing, followed by a guide to the current top CD rates across different terms.
Highest CD Rates Today
A CD is a savings account with a fixed interest rate and a maturity period, which is what makes them time deposit accounts. When you open a CD, you agree to lock up your deposit without touching it until the CD’s term is up, whether that’s in six months or five years. Your patience is rewarded with interest that’s usually better than what you’d earn from a regular savings account.
Withdraw money from a CD before “maturity”—when it reaches the end of its term—and you can be slapped with stiff penalties. For example, you can lose up to six months’ worth of interest if you make an early withdrawal from a one-year CD.
The longer the term, the harsher the early withdrawal penalty. It’s not unusual to lose one full year’s worth of interest or more if you break open a five-year CD too soon. Be absolutely certain you understand the penalty before you make your investment.
Today’s 3-Month CD Rates
For short-term savings goals, three-month CDs might make sense. The current average rate on a three-month CD sits at 1.34%, but the highest rate is 5.39%. Last week, three-month CDs were earning 1.33% on average.
Today’s 6-Month CD Rates
If you’d like a CD with a shorter term than one year, today’s best rate on a six-month CD is 5.25%. That compares with 5.25% a week ago. The current average APY for a six-month CD is 1.88%, steady with last week at this time.
APY provides a more accurate portrait of the yearly interest you’ll earn with a CD because it takes into account compound interest. That’s the interest you earn not only on your deposit (or principal) but also on the interest in the account.
Today’s 1-Year CD Rates
The highest interest rate currently being offered on a 12-month CD—one of the most popular CD terms—is 5.37%. If you find a one-year CD with a rate in that vicinity, you’ve found a good deal. One week ago, the best rate was the same.
The average APY, or annual percentage yield, on a one-year CD is now 1.97%, the same as a week ago.
Today’s 2-Year CD Rates
If you can hold out for two years, 24-month CDs today are being offered at interest rates as high as 4.88%. The top rate last week at this time was a similar 4.88%. Two-year CDs now have an average APY of 1.70%. That’s the same as last week at this time.
Today’s 3-Year CD Rates
CDs with longer terms often have some of the most attractive interest rates and APYs—if you’re willing to keep your money locked up for years.
Within the last week, the highest rate on a three-year CD has been 4.67%, so you’ll want to shop around for that rate or something near it.
Today’s 5-Year CD Rates
On a five-year CD, the highest rate today is 4.49%, the same as one week ago. APYs are averaging 1.61%, the same as this time last week.
The longer the term, the harsher the early withdrawal penalty. It’s not unusual to lose one full year’s worth of interest or more if you break open a five-year CD too soon. Be absolutely certain you understand the penalty before you make your investment.
Today’s Jumbo CD Rates
The best rate on today’s jumbo CDs is 5.27% for a 6-month term. The average APY for this category of CD is currently 1.91%, compared to 1.76% last week.
Most jumbo CDs require a minimum deposit of $100,000—and some even require $250,000. However, there’s no universally agreed-upon definition regarding what qualifies as a “jumbo” CD. Some banks and credit unions slap the label “jumbo” on CDs you can open with $50,000, $25,000 or even less.
Other Top CD Rates by Term
How CDs Work
CDs may seem a little exotic as bank accounts go, but how they work is actually pretty simple. You open the account with an amount of money, leave your deposit alone for a period of months or years, and let the compound interest work its magic.
Many CDs and their cousins, the share certificates offered by credit unions, require you to deposit hundreds, thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars to open your account. Other financial institutions have no minimum deposit requirement, meaning you could open the account with as little as a penny.
But banks and credit unions typically won’t allow you to add to your deposit once the term begins and the clock starts ticking. And they’re serious about not letting you crack open your CD or share certificate too soon. The early withdrawal penalties can be so tough they’ll eat into your principal, not just take back some of your interest.
CD Ladder
If you want to earn great returns without sacrificing access to your hard-earned cash, a CD ladder might be just what you’re looking for. This simple savings strategy involves spreading your funds across several CDs instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket.
Say you have $5,000 to invest in CDs. Rather than putting that entire amount in a single, high-yield CD, consider putting $1,000 in five CDs with terms ranging from one to five years. As each CD reaches maturity, reinvest the funds into a new five-year CD. If you manage to do this for five years, you’ll then have one, high-yield CD maturing every 12 months.
If you experience financial difficulties during any particular year, you can withdraw your funds from the maturing CD instead of starting a new one. This degree of flexibility can give you peace of mind by providing a steady flow of maturing CDs.
To ensure you get the best CD rates, compare offers from leading banks and credit unions. The current CD landscape is highly competitive, so it’s worth taking time to research your options. Once you identify the financial institution that best suits your needs, start a ladder by splitting your money across several CDs.
Methodology
Curinos determines the average rates for certificates of deposit (CDs) by focusing on specific CDs and excluding others. Certain types, such as promotional offers, relationship-based rates, private, youth, senior, student/minor, affinity, bump-up, no-penalty, callable, variable, step-up, auto transfer, club, gifts, grandfathered, internet-only and IRA CDs are not considered in the calculation.
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