Top CDs Today, Aug. 19, 2024 - Leading Rates Hold Firm, Offering Up to 5.40%

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

Top Rates Hold Steady in Every Term—With Short CDs Paying the Most

The top CD rates across our national leader board have been declining, ahead of widely anticipated interest-rate cuts by the Fed in the coming months. But fortunately, all the leading term rates held steady today.

The best CD rates in the country are currently offered on short terms, with a total of six CDs paying 5.30% to 5.40% APY. Those offers range in term from 5 to 15 months, guaranteeing your rate into 2025.

Overall leader INOVA Federal Credit Union is paying 5.40% APY on a 5-month term. If you'd like your rate guaranteed for an additional month, you could opt for runner-up DR Bank, which will let you lock in 5.35% for 6 months.

CD shoppers interested in securing a top rate for about a year can score up to 5.30% with West Town Bank & Trust on a 13-month term, or Jovia Financial Credit Union for 15 months. The Jovia offer will guarantee your return almost until Thanksgiving 2025.

Longer-Term CDs Are a Smart Buy Right Now

Despite paying lower annual percentage yields (APYs) than shorter-term CDs, attractive multi-year CDs are a smart move—before the Fed starts cutting its benchmark federal funds rate. That's expected to begin Sept. 18, and it could continue with additional 2024 and 2025 cuts. Downward pressure on interest rates could even persist into 2026.

The longest term in which CD shoppers can lock in a rate of at least 5.00% is currently 2 years, with two institutions paying that rate for 24 months: USAlliance Financial and West Town Bank & Trust.

In the 3-year term, EFCU Financial will guarantee you a 4.75% rate for 30 months, while American 1 Credit Union extends that return for a full 36 months.

Meanwhile, top rates in the mid-4% range can be secured for even longer. The 4-year leader is The Federal Savings Bank, paying 4.55%, while the top 5-year CD rate is 4.50%, available from Pima Federal Credit Union. These offers could guarantee your return until 2028 or 2029.

CD Rates Are Down From Their Peak—But Still a Smart Move

Today's CD rates aren't at their absolute peak, but they're still running historically high. October brought us a top nationwide rate of 6.50%—for just a few days—and today the leading rate is down to 5.40%. Still, quite a few banks and credit unions are offering 5.00% or better. And a total of 27 offers among the best nationwide CDs still pay 5.25% or more.

Compare that to early 2022, before the Federal Reserve embarked on its fast-and-furious rate-hike campaign. The most you could earn from the very best CDs in each term ranged from just 0.50% to 1.70% APY.

Jumbo CDs Lead Among 3-Year Offers

Jumbo CDs require much larger deposits, but they don't always offer the best rates. Right now, the best jumbo CDs only lead among 3-year CDs. EFCU Financial pays 4.85% for a 30-month term, edging out the best standard 3-year CD (4.75%) by 10 basis points. The best jumbo offer in the 6-month term meanwhile matches the top standard CD at 5.40% APY.

Will CD Rates Fall in 2024?

As expected, the Federal Reserve kept the federal funds rate at its current level at its meeting that ended July 31, as was expected. But a rate cut is almost certainly on the horizon: According to the CME FedWatch tool, 100% of federal funds futures traders expect the Fed will cut rates by at least 0.25 percentage points at its next meeting in September, and they also overwhelmingly predict rates will move even lower in November.

Recent inflation reports have provided more evidence that the Fed's campaign to tamp down inflation has been effective, strengthening predictions of rate cuts in the near future. The latest Consumer Price Index (CPI), released last week, showed a July inflation rate of 2.9%—the first reading below 3% in over three years. This encouraging report bolsters expectations that Fed rate cuts are on the September horizon.

The central bank's mission to beat inflation led it to raise the federal funds rate 11 times between March 2022 and July 2023—bringing the benchmark interest rate to its highest level in 22 years. The rate-hike campaign has been a boon to savers with cash in the bank, as the fed funds rate directly influences the rates that banks and credit unions pay on CDs. As a result, CD rates hit a 20-year high last fall. Those with money in a high-yield savings or money market account have also benefited from these historically high rates.

But the Fed has kept rates steady since its last rate hike in July 2023. The most recent decision, on July 31, marked the eighth consecutive meeting in which the central bank left its benchmark rate unchanged.

Fed officials are generally careful not to jump the gun and will likely continue waiting for additional reports before making any decisions about changing the fed funds rate. But with confidence in a September rate cut high—and CD rates likely to move ahead of the central bank's move—if you've got the funds to spare, you may want to lock in an excellent CD rate while you can.

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), the CD's minimum initial deposit must not exceed $25,000, and any specified maximum deposit cannot be under $5,000.

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.