Best 1-year credit union CD rates for December 2024

Bankrate’s picks for the top 1-year credit union CD rates

Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of Nov. 27. Bankrate's editorial team validates this information regularly, typically biweekly. APYs may have changed since they were last updated and may vary by region for some products. Bankrate includes in its lists only banks that are members of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) or National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) credit unions insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF). But only NCUA credit unions are on this page.

State Employees’ Credit Union: 4.65% APY, $250 minimum deposit

State Employees’ Credit Union serves approximately 2.8 million members and has 275 locations. All of its locations are in North Carolina. It has been around since 1937 and has its main office in Raleigh, North Carolina.

• Membership requirements:  You’ll need to meet one of the State Employees’ Credit Union eligibility requirements to become a member. Some ways to become a member are by being an employee of the state of North Carolina, being a federal employee assigned to North Carolina state agencies, being an employee of public boards of education or being a county employee of social services, health, mental health or civil defenses. Immediate family of a current member, which includes a spouse, children, parents or siblings, may also be eligible for membership.
• Early withdrawal penalty: You’ll lose 90 days’ worth of interest or all interest accrued, whichever is less.

Delta Community Credit Union: 4.50% APY, $1,000 minimum deposit

Delta Community Credit Union began as the Delta Employees Credit Union in 1940 when it was founded by eight Delta Air Lines employees. Today, the credit union has more than 500,000 members and 29 branches in metro Atlanta and three branches outside of Georgia.

• Membership requirements:  Anyone living or working in metro Atlanta and employees of more than 150 businesses are welcome at Delta Community Credit Union. Delta Air Lines, Chick-fil-A and UPS are some of the eligible businesses.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 90 days of interest

Suncoast Credit Union: 4.50% APY, $500 minimum deposit

Suncoast Credit Union was started in 1934 as Hillsborough County Teachers Credit Union, and it surpassed one million members in early 2022. Suncoast offers both standard and jumbo CDs, as well as a “Smart Start Certificate” that is set up to receive monthly electronic deposits.

• Membership requirements: Membership is open to people who attend school, live, work or worship in a county in Florida that Suncoast Credit Union serves.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 90 days of dividends on terms of 12 months or less and 180 days of dividends on terms longer than 12 months.

America First Credit Union: 4.45% APY, $500 minimum deposit

America First Credit Union offers regular certificates of deposit (CDs), individual retirement account (IRA) CDs and bump-rate CDs.

• Membership requirements: America First serves people who live, work, worship, volunteer or attend school in select counties in Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah and Washington.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 60 days of dividends, with a minimum fee of $5

Navy Federal Credit Union: 4.30% APY, $1,000 minimum deposit

Navy Federal Credit Union is the world’s largest credit union with 13 million members. In addition to CDs, Navy Federal also offers checking and savings accounts, loans and credit cards.

• Membership requirements: Membership at Navy Federal Credit Union is open to all Department of Defense and Coast Guard Active Duty, civilian, contract personnel, veterans and their families.
• Early withdrawal penalty: The lesser of all dividends for 90 days on the amount that you withdraw or all of the dividends withdrawn since the certificate was issued or renewed.

Alliant Credit Union: 4.10% APY, $1,000 minimum deposit

Alliant offers competitive APYs with low minimum balance requirements for CDs. It also has traditional individual retirement account CDs, Roth IRA CDs and SEP IRA CDs.

• Membership requirements: Current or retired employees from a business that partners with Alliant Credit Union may be eligible to join. You can also qualify to join if you live or are employed in a community near Alliant’s Chicago headquarters. If those circumstances don’t apply to you, then you can make a one-time $5 payment and become an Alliant Credit Union Foundation digital inclusion advocate. Alliant Credit Union will donate that money to their foundation so you can become an Alliant Credit Union member.
• Early withdrawal penalty: Dividends on the number of days the CD is open, up to 90 days. (For example, if funds are withdrawn after 180 days, the penalty is 90 days of dividends; if funds are withdrawn after 20 days, the penalty is 20 days of dividends.)

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union: 4.25% APY, $20,000 minimum deposit

SchoolsFirst offers low minimum balances and CD terms from as short as 30 days to as long as five years. The more money you put into your CD, the higher the APY. CDs at this credit union have five balance tiers: $500, $20,000, $50,000, $100,000 or $250,000.

• Membership requirements: SchoolsFirst FCU serves the California educational community. Certain school employees, certain retired school employees and immediate family members of existing SchoolsFirst FCU members may be able to join.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 90 days of dividends

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union: 4.05% APY, $20,000 minimum deposit

In addition to CDs, Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union offers a Really Free Checking account that requires no minimum balance and charges no monthly fee.

• Membership requirements:  Where you live, attend school, work or worship are some of the more than 4,000 ways to become a member at Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 60 days interest

Vystar Credit Union: 3.90% APY, $500 minimum deposit

VyStar has 10 terms of CDs, ranging from three months to five years.

• Membership requirements: Membership at VyStar Credit Union is open to anyone who works or lives in the 49 Florida counties or the Georgia counties listed on its website.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 180 days

Pentagon Federal Credit Union: 3.65% APY, $1,000 minimum deposit

PenFed has nine terms of CDs, ranging from six months to seven years.

• Membership requirements: Anyone is eligible to apply for PenFed membership. All you need is to open and maintain a savings account balance of at least $5. Some products may require military affiliation to receive certain available benefits.
• Early withdrawal penalty: All dividends during the first year.

First Technology Federal Credit Union: 3.60% APY; $500 minimum deposit

First Technology FCU’s CDs come in terms ranging from six months to five years. The minimum deposit is a reasonable $500.

• Membership requirements:  First Technology FCU is open to those who live or work in Lane County, Oregon; those who work for the State of Oregon or for a company on the credit union’s partner list; members of the Computer History Museum or the Financial Fitness Association; and those with a family member or household member who is already a First Tech member.
• Early withdrawal penalty: 180 days of simple dividends

Boeing Employees’ Credit Union: 3.50% APY; $500 minimum deposit

Boeing Employees' Credit Union (BECU) is one of the nation’s largest credit unions, with more than 1.4 million members. Membership is open to Boeing employees as well as residents, employees and business owners in Washington and parts of Idaho and Oregon.

Among the credit union’s offerings are savings, checking and money market accounts, as well as CDs that range from three months to five years. Specialty CDs offered include a bump-up CD and another that allows you to add funds during the term.

BECU members with the Member Advantage Checking account generally earn a higher APY on CDs. 

• Membership requirements: Working at Boeing, BECU or a credit union or living in Washington state or certain counties in Idaho or Oregon are a few ways to join BECU. 
• Early withdrawal penalty: CDs with a term of one year or less have an early withdrawal penalty of 30 days of interest and CD terms longer than a year have an early withdrawal penalty of 90 days of interest.

Credit union share certificates are similar to certificates of deposit (CDs) offered by banks. The main difference is that CDs are products offered by for-profit banks, while share certificates are offered by member-owned, not-for-profit credit unions. For that reason, “share certificate” and “credit union CD” are often used interchangeably. Also, whereas CDs earn interest, share certificates earn dividends, but the effect for the saver is the same. By looking at annual percentage yields (APYs), consumers can compare interest and dividends on an apples-to-apples basis.

The average one-year CD yield was 1.77 percent APY, according to Bankrate’s survey of institutions on Dec. 22, 2024.

Compare FDIC-insured banks and National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) credit unions to find the best one-year CD for you.
You can find the best one-year share certificate by: 

• Looking at APYs
• Comparing financial institution ratings
• Choosing minimum opening deposit requirements based on how much money you want to deposit into a CD
• Understanding the early withdrawal penalties

Online-only Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) banks tend to offer higher yields than National Credit Union Administration (NCUA) credit unions for savings accounts – based on the institutions that Bankrate tracks. 

But for one-year CDs, the top online bank and the top credit union have similar APYs.  

Compare one-year CDs at banks with one-year CDs at top credit unions to find the right CD for you.

Research methodology

At Bankrate, we strive to help you make smarter financial decisions. We follow strict guidelines to ensure that our editorial content is unbiased and not influenced by advertisers. Our editorial team receives no direct compensation from advertisers and our content is thoroughly fact-checked to ensure accuracy.

Bankrate regularly surveys around 70 widely available financial institutions, made up of the biggest banks and credit unions, as well as a number of popular online banks.

To find the best CDs, our editorial team analyzes various factors, such as annual percentage yield (APY), the minimum needed to earn that APY (or to open the CD) and whether or not it is broadly available. All of the accounts on this page are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. or the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund.

When selecting the best CD for you, consider the purpose of the money and when you’ll need access to these funds to help you avoid early withdrawal penalties.