If you’re CD shopping, five “cream of the crop” options allow you to lock in a record return you can enjoy until at least next summer. The leading nationwide rate remains 6.00% APY, available for a 1-year term from American 1 Credit Union. But there are also four offers with a second-place rate of 5.75% APY, ranging in duration from nine to 12 months.
Key Takeaways
- The top rate in our daily ranking of the best nationwide CDs continues to be 6.00% APY on a 1-year certificate—the first nationally available CD to reach that threshold since the Fed began raising interest rates last year.
- Four CDs currently offer the next-highest rate of 5.75% APY.
- Today’s count of nationally available CDs paying 5.50% APY or higher climbed by one to 46. Two weeks ago the number was 30.
- The best longer-term option offering at least 5.00% is a 3-year CD at 5.23% APY.
- It’s overwhelmingly expected the Fed will hold rates steady when it meets in two weeks, but odds of a Fed hike in November are currently running about 45%.
To help you earn as much as possible, here are the top CD rates available from our partners, followed by more information on the best-paying CDs that are available to U.S. customers everywhere.
Looking to secure a record rate for a longer term? You can score 5.23% APY from the leader of our best 3-year CDs ranking, or at least 5.00% from five other contenders in that term. The current top rates in the 4-year and 5-year terms, meanwhile, are 4.81% APY and 4.86% APY, respectively.
If you have a jumbo-sized deposit, you can earn a bit more than the standard rates in some terms. The top jumbo rate is currently 5.85% APY—available on a 6-month certificate requiring at least a $100,000 deposit—with additional options paying a close 5.80% APY in the 1-year and 18-month terms.
Despite the suggestion that a larger deposit entitles you to a higher return, that’s not always the case for jumbo certificate rates, which often pay less than standard CDs. Though today’s best jumbo offers, which typically require a deposit of $100,000 or more, beat the best standard rates in five CD terms, you can do just as well or better in the other three terms with a standard CD. So always be sure to shop every certificate type before making a final decision.
Will CD Rates Go Up This Year?
The Fed has been aggressively combating decades-high inflation since March of last year, with fast-and-furious 2022 hikes to the federal funds rate, and then easing to more moderate increases in 2023. On July 26, the Fed bumped rates for the 11th time in 12 meetings, taking the cumulative increase to 5.25%. That raises the benchmark rate to its highest level since 2001. In turn, it’s created record rate conditions for CD shoppers, as well as for anyone holding cash in a high-yield savings or money market account.
The Fed’s official July announcement provided no strong indications on whether it will raise its benchmark rate even higher this year. The written statement simply reiterated the Fed’s commitment to bring inflation back down to its target level of 2%.
In an Aug. 25 speech, Fed Chair Jerome Powell said further rate increases were on the table if inflation doesn’t come down enough in the coming months or if economic growth is too fast (which would put upward pressure on inflation.) Echoing a similar sentiment, Boston Federal Reserve President Susan M. Collins said this week that it’s too early to tell whether the Fed can end its rate-hike campaign.
The Fed’s next meeting will conclude Sept. 20, and markets are betting on near-certainty that the central bank will hold its benchmark rate steady this time. But the probability of the Fed hiking rates at its November meeting is currently pegged at about 45% odds.
Any further Fed increase would certainly push CD rates a bit higher. But September’s expected hold will leave markets—and CD shoppers—guessing if the pause will turn out to be temporary or permanent. Once the end of the Fed’s campaign is more confidently in sight, that will signal that CD rates have likely peaked.
Note that the “top rates” quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often five, 10, or even 15 times higher.
Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure
Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the CD’s minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.
Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don’t meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don’t live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.
Correction—Sep. 2, 2023: This article has been updated to state the prior day’s top rate for a 3-year CD and the current top rate for a 4-year jumbo CD.
Investopedia / Alice Morgan & Sabrina Jiang
