Top CD rates today: December 31, 2024 | Ring in the new year with up to 4.65% APY
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Key takeaways
- The highest CD rate across terms is 4.65 percent APY, offered on a three-month term.
- When shopping for a CD, you can find rates as high as three times the national averages.
- The Federal Reserve has cut rates three times recently, and it may do so again. Some savers are locking in CD rates now while they’re still historically high.
As 2024 comes to a close, the highest rate across certificate of deposit (CD) terms remains 4.65 percent annual percentage yield (APY), and it’s offered on a three-month term. In all, you can find APYs on popular CD terms that range from 4.20 percent to 4.65 percent. A benefit of having your money in a fixed-rate CD is that it can give you peace of mind knowing that your savings will earn the same APY throughout the CD's entire term.
Here at Bankrate, we've enjoyed sharing with our readers the highest CD rates in 2024. While there have been three Federal Reserve rate cuts in recent months — prompting lower yields on competitive CDs — you can still lock in an APY that's historically high. Our table below shows the highest yields offered on widely available CDs, by term. It also lists national average CD rates and how much you’d earn for each term with a $5,000 investment.
Today's best CD rates by term
| CD term | Institution offering top APY | Highest APY | National average APY | Estimated earnings on $5,000 with top APY |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 3-month | Popular Direct | 4.65% | 1.29% | $57 |
| 6-month | Popular Direct | 4.61% | 1.69% | $114 |
| 9-month | America First Credit Union | 4.50% | N/A | $168 |
| 1-year | TAB Bank | 4.52% | 1.76% | $226 |
| 18-month | Popular Direct | 4.30% | 1.83% | $326 |
| 2-year | Popular Direct | 4.25% | 1.51% | $434 |
| 3-year | Popular Direct | 4.25% | 1.43% | $665 |
| 4-year | America First Credit Union | 4.20% | 1.46% | $894 |
| 5-year | America First Credit Union | 4.25% | 1.43% | $1,157 |
Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of December 31, 2024. APYs for some products may vary by region.
N/A: Not available; Bankrate doesn’t track national averages for the 9-month CD term due to limited available data. Estimated earnings are based on the highest APYs and assume interest is compounded annually.
Locking in a CD rate now could benefit you down the line
An upside of putting your funds into a guaranteed-rate CD is you’ll continue to earn the fixed APY for its entire term, even if the bank lowers the yields on new CDs it issues in the meantime. Rates on competitive CDs are currently outpacing inflation, which is currently at a rate of 2.7 percent.
The Fed cut its benchmark rate three times in 2024, on Sept. 18, Nov. 7 and Dec. 18, for a total of a full percentage point, or 100 basis points. The current federal funds rate range is 4.25 to 4.5 percent. Fed officials may choose to lower rates further in 2025. The next rate-setting meeting is scheduled for Jan. 29, 2025.
Recent trends in top CD rates
Competitive CD APYs have been trending downward throughout 2024. For example, the highest one-year CD APY at the start of January was 5.66 percent, whereas it was 4.52 percent on Dec. 31. Among the popular terms Bankrate monitors for this page, all rates have seen steeper declines in the second half of 2024, as compared to the first half.
CD glossary
Here are some terms you’ll likely come across when choosing a CD.
- Add-on CD: A CD that enables you to make additional deposits after your initial investment. This feature affords more flexibility than traditional CDs, which only allow one deposit at the beginning of the term.
- Annual percentage yield (APY): A percentage that indicates how much interest a CD earns in one year, which takes into account the effect of compounding.
- Brokered CD: A type of CD issued by a bank but sold through a brokerage firm or other financial institution.
- CD ladder: An investment strategy that involves purchasing multiple CDs with varying maturity dates to provide liquidity and take advantage of higher rates.
- Early withdrawal penalty: A fee charged if funds are withdrawn from a CD before the maturity date. Penalties often range anywhere from 90 days to 365 days’ worth of interest.
- Grace period: A specific time after the maturity date during which an account holder can make changes to the CD without penalties. A grace period typically ranges from five to 14 days.
- IRA CD: A CD that’s held within an individual retirement account.
- Minimum opening deposit: The lowest amount of money required to open a CD account, which can vary by institution. Some institutions don’t have a minimum deposit requirement.
- No-penalty CD: A type of CD that allows you to withdraw your money without facing a penalty while providing a fixed APY.
- Promotional CD: Also known as a bonus or special CD, it’s a CD with an above average APY. These may be offered by banks and credit unions as a way to obtain new customers.
- Jumbo CD: A CD that has a high minimum balance requirement, typically $100,000, sometimes as low as $95,000. This type of CD tends to offer a higher interest rate than regular CDs with the same term.
- Bump-up CD: Also known as a “raise-your-rate CD,” a bump-up CD provides savers with the option to increase the CD’s APY without having to change its term. Generally, only one rate increase is allowed during its term.