CD Rates in Ohio 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 seven days to 10 years, though some banks offer terms 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 likely need around $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 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 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. 

Whether to invest in a short-term or long-term CD is dependent on your financial situation.

Ohio residents should consider both CDs available only 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 Ohio by number of branches include Huntington National Bank, Fifth Third Bank and PNC Bank. All of these banks offer CDs, and while each institution offers a handful of promotional CDs with competitive yields, most of them come with lackluster APYs. If you already bank at one of these institutions and want to keep your finances under one roof, you may find some good options here. But, if you're looking for the highest yields on the market, it's best to look elsewhere. 

Many online-only banks tend to offer higher yields than those offered by big institutions. If you choose to open a CD at an online bank, you may also consider opening other deposit accounts at the same bank, as it makes it easy to transfer funds (such as credited interest that can be withdrawn without penalty) between accounts.