CD Rates in Washington for December 2024

There are three main components you should consider when choosing a CD: the term length, the yield and the penalty for early withdrawal. 

Choosing the CD term

A CD term is the length of time your money is slated to stay within the account. Terms typically range anywhere from three months to five years, though some banks offer terms as short as seven days to as long as 10 years, even longer than a decade. To find the right term for you, consider how long you can park your cash in the account without needing to withdraw it. Unless you're opening a no-penalty CD, you'll likely need to pay a penalty for withdrawing your money before the CD's maturity date.

You'll also want to consider the minimum opening deposit when choosing your term. While some banks don't have a minimum deposit requirement, others may ask for a relatively standard $500 or $1,000 minimum deposit. If you're interested in a jumbo CD, you'll typically need $100,000 to open an account. 

Choosing the yield

Getting the best yield is probably the most important factor for most consumers when choosing a CD. Thanks to historic interest rate hikes by the U.S. Federal Reserve, yields on CD rates have soared over the last three years. Top-notch rates for CDs surpass 5.00 percent APY in today's market, but not all institutions are offering yields that high. In general, big institutions such as Bank of America and Chase Bank are still offering lackluster rates compared with online-only banks like Ally Bank and Marcus by Goldman Sachs.

But choosing a CD based solely on the highest yield may not always be the right move. If you suspect you may need to withdraw your money before a CD matures, you'll likely need to pay an early withdrawal penalty, which could even eat at some of your principal (the money you originally invest in a CD). 

Mind the early withdrawal penalties

Banks typically impose an early withdrawal penalty if you withdraw some or all of the principal before a CD matures. Early withdrawal penalties range widely from bank to bank. A relatively standard early withdrawal penalty for a 12-month CD could range anywhere from three to six months' worth of interest. And some banks may even impose a flat fee on top of that penalty, further ratcheting up the cost of withdrawing from a CD before maturity. 

Here, you'll want to consider your risk tolerance, balancing the term and the yield with the associated penalty. If you're more likely than not to withdraw early, you may want to consider a CD with a lower yield but a softer penalty. 

Washington residents should consider both CDs available at their bank, those only available in their region and those available to anyone in the U.S., as is the case with most online-only banks. 

The most popular banks in Washington by number of branches include Chase Bank, U.S. Bank and KeyBank. Each of these banks offer CDs, but the competitiveness of their yields varies widely. While there are some good promotional options, most offerings at these banks come with lackluster APYs. 

If you're looking for the highest yields, you should consider an online-only bank. These banks tend to offer higher APYs than most brick-and-mortar institutions. Regardless of what you choose, you may also consider opening another account at the same bank as your CD, as it makes it easy to transfer funds (such as credited interest that can be withdrawn without penalty) between accounts.