Top CD Rates Today, July 1, 2024 - 6 Options to Lock in 5.50% or More Until 2025 (2024)

Key Takeaways

  • The top CD rate in the country is 6.00%, offered by Nuvision Credit Union for a 10-month term. But the maximum deposit is $5,000.
  • Five more CDs will let you lock in 5.50% or more until at least January 2025, including Paramount Bank's 11-month CD offering 5.55%.
  • To stretch your rate guarantee until 2026, you might like Credit Human's 5.10% rate for a take-your-pick term of 18 or 23 months. Or CDs with rate locks of 4.80% to 5.00% until 2027, 2028, or 2029.
  • With two top jumbo rates dropping today, you can now earn more with a standard CD than a jumbo CD in every term but one (5 years).
  • The Fed held rates steady for a seventh time last month, as it waits for inflation to ease. But with rate cuts likely this year, it's smart to grab one of today's best CDs before APYs drop.

Below you'll find featured rates available from our partners, followed by details from our ranking of the best CDs available nationwide.

Top Rates from 5.50% to 6.00%—With 6 Guaranteed Until 2025

NuVision Credit Union continues to wear the national CD rate crown with its 6.00% rate on a 10-month certificate. Until last month, we hadn't seen a rate that high since last fall. Although this is the best CD return nationwide, NuVision's promotional certificate only accepts a $5,000 maximum deposit.

Want to put more than that in a CD, but still earn a tip-top rate? You might like one of five additional certificates that are paying 5.50% APY or better on terms of at least 6 months—which means they'll stretch into 2025. They include a 5.55% offer from Paramount Bank for 11 months.

An additional CD is paying the runner-up rate of 5.55%, available from INOVA Federal Credit Union for 5 months. That will guarantee your rate until December.

Long-Term CDs Pay Up to 5.10%—Locked Until 2026 or Beyond

It's generally predicted that U.S. interest rates will decline over the next couple of years. If that proves true, now is a smart time to lock in a high multi-year rate while you can. The top 2-year CD rate is 5.10% APY, offered by Credit Human on a term of your choosing between 18 to 23 months. That would let you stretch this rate into 2026.

If you're looking for an even longer rate guarantee, consider the best 3-year CDs, which are paying 5.00% APY. Vibrant Credit Union promises that APY for 30 months, while DollarSavingsDirect and Transportation Federal Credit Union offer it for a full 36 months.

To secure your rate even further, the best 4-year CD pays 4.86%, or you can secure 4.80% for 5 years. Eight additional 5-year CDs are paying 4.50% and up.

Large U.S. Bank is 5-Year CD Rate Leader

The top nationwide CD rates are typically offered by smaller banks and credit unions. But right now, the top 5-year return comes from a large U.S. Bank. BMO Alto is the online-only arm of banking giant BMO, which operates about 1,000 physical branches and is the 12th-largest U.S. bank by deposits. Though it only pays the top nationwide rate in the 5-year term, BMO Alto also has reasonably competitive rates on CDs ranging from 6 months to 4 years.

CD TermsFriday's Top National RateToday's Top National RateDay's Change (percentage points)Top Rate Provider
3 months5.51% APY5.51% APYNo changeTotalDirectBank
6 months5.55% APY5.55% APYNo changeINOVA Federal Credit Union
1 year6.00% APY6.00% APYNo changeNuvision Credit Union
18 months5.25% APY5.25% APYNo changeDR Bank and NASA Federal Credit Union
2 years5.10% APY5.10% APYNo changeCredit Human
3 years5.00% APY5.00% APYNo changeVibrant Credit Union, DollarSavingsDirect, and Transportation Federal Credit Union
4 years4.86% APY4.86% APYNo changeWellby Financial
5 years4.80% APY4.80% APYNo changeBMO Alto

CD Rates Are Near Their Highest Level in 20 Years

CD rates briefly touched a historic peak of 6.50% in October 2023, and they have drifted just slightly lower since then. In February of this year, 30 CDs in our daily ranking guaranteed at least 5.50% APY. Now, however, you'll find just nine.

Despite that, looking back over the past 20 years shows that today's CD rates remain exceptional. APYs above 4% still present a great investment opportunity, and it may be worth locking one in now—before the Fed cuts rates.

Note that you don't have to get the absolute highest APY to feel satisfied with your choice. If you find a certificate account with a term length and features you like, it may be wise to grab it now, rather than perhaps regret it later if rates go down and you miss your opportunity.

Jumbo CDs Offer a Premium Rate in Some Terms

If you've got a big enough deposit for a jumbo CD, you can also shop our ranking of the best jumbo CDs. But in every term but one right now, you can earn more from the best standard CD. The one term where you can score a slight rate premium with a jumbo CD is the 5-year term, where Grow Financial Federal Credit Union is paying 4.86% vs. BMO Alto's standard-CD rate of 4.80% APY.

CD TermToday's Top National Bank RateToday's Top National Credit Union RateToday's Top National Jumbo Rate
3 months5.51% APY*5.30% APY5.20% APY
6 months5.51% APY5.55% APY*5.51% APY
1 year5.55% APY6.00% APY*5.41% APY
18 months5.25% APY5.15% APY5.20% APY
2 years5.00% APY5.10% APY*4.91% APY
3 years5.00% APY*5.00% APY*4.86% APY
4 years4.70% APY4.86% APY*4.48% APY
5 years4.80% APY4.75% APY4.86% APY*

Where Are CD Rates Headed in 2024?

To combat decades-high inflation, the Federal Reserve aggressively hiked the federal funds rate between March 2022 and July 2023, raising the benchmark rate to its highest level in 22 years. That's important to savers because when the fed funds rate rises, banks and credit unions increase the interest rates they're willing to pay on customer deposits.

As a result, this past fall saw historically favorable conditions for CD shoppers and anyone holding cash in ahigh-yield savingsormoney market account. Rates on CDs rose to an October-November peak that was the highest we've seen in two decades.

However, the Fed has been in a holding pattern since its last rate hike in July 2023. As was all but certain, the Federal Reserve's rate-setting committee announced on June 12 that it was once again maintaining the federal funds rate at its current level. It was the seventh meeting in a row in which the central bank has held its benchmark rate steady.

That's because inflation has been cooling, allowing the Fed to stop raising interest rates. Yet, further inflation progress has been elusive. That puts the central bank in wait-and-see mode as it looks for evidence that inflation is falling enough to justify starting to lower the federal funds rate.

The written June 12 statement from the Fed again included familiar language about remaining focused on tamping down inflation that is still too high: "Inflation has eased over the past year but remains elevated. In recent months, there has been modest further progress toward the Committee's 2% inflation objective."

The rate decision was also accompanied by the quarterly "dot plot" release, which reveals where each Fed board member (represented by an unnamed dot on a graph) predicts the federal funds rate will be at the end of the current year and the next two years.

The June dot plot shows a median projection of one rate cut of 0.25 percentage points by the end of 2024. However, a sizable group predicted we'll see two rate decreases. At the other end of the spectrum, a 20% contingent forecasted the federal funds rate will stay where it is for the rest of this year.

During his customary press conference following the statement release, Fed Chair Jerome Powell made it clear that the committee is looking for continued evidence of a decline in inflation before implementing a rate cut.

"Goals have moved toward better balance, but the economic outlook is uncertain," Powell said. "We remain highly attentive to inflation risks. We've stated that we do not expect it will be appropriate to reduce the target range for the federal funds rate until we have gained greater confidence that inflation is moving sustainably toward 2%."

In response to the Fed's announcement and Powell's remarks, fed funds traders have increased their bets that a first rate cut will come in September. For the next meeting, concluding July 31, less than 10% of traders currently expect a rate cut. But by the Sept. 18 meeting announcement, about two-thirds are predicting the Fed will have implemented a decrease.

In the meantime, Fed officials will continue watching and waiting for additional data before making any decisions. This means CD rates are generally expected to continue their plateau. When at some point the Fed signals it's ready to start cutting rates, which could happen in the not-too-distant future, that will begin driving CD yields down more quickly. So, it's a good time to lock in one of today's stellar CD rates while you can.

Daily Rankings of the Best CDs and Savings Accounts

Best 3-Month CD Rates

Best 6-Month CD Rates

Best 1-Year CD Rates

Best 18-Month CD Rates

Best 2-Year CD Rates

Best 3-Year CD Rates

Best 4-year CD Rates

Best 5-Year CD Rates

Best High-Yield Savings Accounts

Best Money Market Accounts

Note that the "top rates" quoted here are the highest nationally available rates Investopedia has identified in its daily rate research on hundreds of banks and credit unions. This is much different than the national average, which includes all banks offering a CD with that term, including many large banks that pay a pittance in interest. Thus, the national averages are always quite low, while the top rates you can unearth by shopping around are often 5, 10, or even 15 times higher.

How We Find the Best CD Rates

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rate data of more than 200 banks and credit unions that offer CDs to customers nationwide and determines daily rankings of the top-paying certificates in every major term. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the CD's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000.

Banks must be available in at least 40 states. And while some credit unions require you to donate to a specific charity or association to become a member if you don't meet other eligibility criteria (e.g., you don't live in a certain area or work in a certain kind of job), we exclude credit unions whose donation requirement is $40 or more. For more about how we choose the best rates, read our full methodology.

Article Sources

Investopedia requires writers to use primary sources to support their work. These include white papers, government data, original reporting, and interviews with industry experts. We also reference original research from other reputable publishers where appropriate. You can learn more about the standards we follow in producing accurate, unbiased content in oureditorial policy.

Top CD Rates Today, July 1, 2024 - 6 Options to Lock in 5.50% or More Until 2025 (2024)

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