Best 3-year CD rates for January 2025

Written by
Karen Bennett
Edited by
Marc Wojno, MBA
Reviewed by
Robert R. Johnson

Rates updated between Jan. 13 and Jan. 19 | Content updated Jan. 10

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A certificate of deposit typically pays a higher yield the longer its term, which can vary from weeks to years. A three-year CD, for example, frequently pays a higher rate than a three-month CD, making it a good investment for mid-term financial obligations, such as a down payment on a car.

Current 3-year CD trends Caret Up Icon Caret Down Icon

Bankrate Partner average
3.70% APY
National average
1.42% APY
Info Icon
CD rates remain high, but are projected to move lower.
The Fed is predicted to continue cutting rates in 2025. Read more from Bankrate's experts in our CD rates forecast.
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Bankrate's picks for best 3-year CD rates

Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown were updated between Jan. 13 and Jan. 19. 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 only FDIC banks or NCUA credit unions in its listings.

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union_logo

SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union

4.5 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    4.15%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $500

Why SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union?

SchoolsFirst serves the education community in California. Certain school employees, certain retired school employees and immediate family members of SchoolsFirst Federal Credit Union members are eligible to join. SchoolsFirst offers CDs ranging from 30 days to five years. To open a CD, a $500 minimum deposit is required. If you put in more money you may be rewarded with a higher APY, as SchoolsFirst has five rate tiers: $500, $20,000, $50,000, $100,000 and $250,000.

America First Credit Union_logo

America First Credit Union

5.0 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    4.15%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $500

Why America First Credit Union?

America First Credit Union was founded in 1939 in Salt Lake City. It has CDs with terms ranging from three months to five years. The minimum opening deposit for CDs is $500. It also offers a variety of checking and savings accounts.

Popular Direct_logo

Popular Direct

4.0 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    4.15%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $10,000

Why Popular Direct?

Popular Direct CDs require a minimum $10,000 deposit, making them best suited to established savers. The CDs come in terms ranging from three months to five years. Popular Direct’s Select Savings account offers a competitive yield and requires a $100 minimum deposit.

Synchrony Bank_logo

Synchrony Bank

4.9 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    4.00%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $0

Why Synchrony Bank?

Synchrony Bank offers competitive CD yields across nine terms, including five terms that are less than two years. An 11-month no-penalty CD and a two-year bump-up CD are also available. The bank also offers a savings account and a money market account. The savings account features a competitive APY and has no minimum balance requirement.

TAB Bank_logo

TAB Bank

4.1 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    3.91%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $1,000

Why TAB Bank?

TAB Bank was established in 1998 in Ogden, Utah, as a banking service inside truck stops. TAB (Transportation Alliance Bank) serves businesses and individual customers. It offers several checking accounts, a savings account, a money market account and CDs in six terms, from 12 months to five years.

Bread Savings_logo

Bread Savings

3.5 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    3.90%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $1,500

Why Bread Savings?

Bread Financial, formerly Comenity Direct, is an online bank that offers a high-yield savings account and five terms of CDs ranging from one year to five years. Bread Financial is part of Comenity Capital Bank, which is a unit of Bread Financial.

First Internet Bank of Indiana_logo

First Internet Bank of Indiana

4.1 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    3.77%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $1,000

Why First Internet Bank of Indiana?

First Internet Bank of Indiana is an FDIC-insured financial institution that operates online and has no branches. It opened in 1999 and offers products in all 50 states. First Internet Bank offers eight terms of CDs, a money market savings account with a competitive yield, a savings account and two checking accounts.

Marcus by Goldman Sachs_logo

Marcus by Goldman Sachs

4.9 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    3.75%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $500

Why Marcus by Goldman Sachs?

Marcus by Goldman Sachs is an online bank known for offering CDs and a savings account. It also used to be known for its personal loans, but it no longer offers those. Not many banks can match the number of CDs that Marcus offers. It has nine terms of regular CDs — ranging from six months to six years — three no-penalty CDs and a rate bump CD. All of these CDs have a $500 minimum deposit requirement.

Limelight Bank_logo

Limelight Bank

4.4 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    3.75%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $1,000

Why Limelight Bank?

Limelight Bank is an online-only bank that’s a division of Capital Community Bank. It’s known for supporting eco-friendly causes such as solar initiatives. The bank offers four CD terms ranging from six months to three years. A minimum deposit of $1,000 is required. Limelight doesn’t offer any types of bank accounts other than CDs.

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union_logo

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union

4.3 Bankrate CD score

  • Annual percentage yield

    3.71%

  • Min. deposit to open

    $1,000

Why Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union?

Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union is headquartered in Live Oak, Texas, and operates more than 60 branches serving four major markets in the state: Austin, Corpus Christi, Dallas-Fort Worth and San Antonio. It has more than 1 million members. Randolph-Brooks Federal Credit Union has CDs with terms ranging from six months to seven years. It also offers a Really Free Checking account that requires no minimum balance and charges no monthly fee.

What is a 3-year CD?

A three-year CD is a deposit account in which you agree to keep the money in the account for three years. Yields on three-year CDs are often higher than money market account and savings account yields.

Bankrate’s CD calculator can help you determine how much interest you could earn when your CD matures. Your principal is protected, so you won’t have to worry about fluctuations in value like you might when investing in the stock market. Plus, with a CD, your interest rate is locked in, so you also don’t have to worry about your yield decreasing.

How to find the best 3-year CD rates

Include online banks, credit unions and other banks in your search to find the best three-year CD rates. Many savers tend to stick with the same bank that provides their checking account. But that can be a mistake, especially at large national banks, where deposit rates tend to fall well short of what some smaller institutions offer.

Opening a three-year CD might make sense for people who don’t need access to their money for at least three years. As a result, these accounts are ideal for midterm goals, like setting aside money for a car down payment. Getting a three-year CD could also be a good idea if you’re planning to build a CD ladder.

Search for the best three-year CD rates online, and compare your options. If you’re looking for a higher yield, consider some of the lesser-known institutions willing to offer good interest rates to attract depositors.

In addition to comparing APYs when considering a CD, it’s important to make sure you’re okay with locking in the funds, says Louise Eisenach, Vice President of Savings and Deposits at Capital One. “It's crucial to ensure that you’re comfortable with the term length and understand that you’ll incur a penalty if you withdraw the money before the full length of the term. If you do invest in a three-year CD, consider how you’d like to structure your finances outside of the money in this account."

“For example, you may take part of your savings and put it into the CD, while holding your emergency funds in an easily accessible savings account, should you need to pull from it during the CD term.”

Diversifying your savings among accounts in such a way can help you avoid needing access to the money in a CD before it matures, which could incur an early withdrawal penalty, Eisenach says.

3-year CD FAQs

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 over 100 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: APY, the minimum deposit needed to earn that APY (or to open the CD) and whether it is broadly available. All of the accounts on this page are insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) or the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA).