Top CD Rates Today, April 17

See how today's top nationwide rate is trending for every CD term

By
Sabrina Karl
Full Bio
Sabrina Karl is one of the country's top experts on how to earn as much as possible on the money you hold in the bank. She also covers a spectrum of additional personal finance topics for Investopedia, and previously wrote for Bankrate.com, CreditCards.com, DepositAccounts.com, and RateSeeker.
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Updated April 17, 2023
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Home Savings Bank unveiled a new 12-month CD today that now co-leads the market with the highest nationwide rate available across all certificate terms. The rate is 5.35% APY and you can also earn that from Langley Federal Credit Union on a 22-month term.

The rest of the terms, from short-term 3-month certificates to long-haul 10-year CDs, all saw their top nationwide rate hold steady today. Seven nationally available CDs are currently available that pay at least 5.25% APY, down from 12 available early last week.

Key Takeaways

  • The most that any nationally available CD is paying, in any term, is currently 5.35% APY, and today you can earn that from two institutions instead of just one.
  • You can still earn at least 5.25% APY on seven different CDs in our rankings, though that's fewer than the 12 available a week ago.
  • Rates of 5% or better are available in every term from 3 months to 35 months.
  • The top returns in jumbo CDs have been holding steady for over a week.
CD Term  Friday's Top National Rate  Today's Top National Rate Day's Change (percentage points)
3 months 5.00% APY 5.00% APY No change
6 months  5.25% APY 5.25% APY No change
1 year  5.25% APY  5.35% APY + 0.10
18 months 5.25% APY 5.25% APY No change
2 years  5.35% APY 5.35% APY No change
3 years  5.00% APY  5.00% APY No change
4 years 4.73% APY 4.73% APY No change
5 years  4.68% APY  4.68% APY No change
10 years 4.30% APY 4.30% APY No change
To view the top 15–20 nationwide rates in any term, click on the desired term length in the left column above.

Several of the top CD rates still beat the 5% March inflation rate released last week. This is a relatively rare occurrence, at least in recent years. No one knows what the April inflation figure will be, but this may be a good time to lock in an inflation-busting CD rate.

 CD Term Today's Top National Bank Rate Today's Top National Credit Union Rate Today's Top National Jumbo Rate
3 months  5.00% APY 4.50% APY  3.91% APY 
6 months  5.25% APY 5.01% APY  5.25% APY 
1 year  5.35% APY  5.15% APY 5.15% APY 
18 months  5.20% APY  5.25% APY  5.25% APY 
2 years  5.28% APY  5.35% APY  5.04% APY 
3 years  4.60% APY  5.00% APY  4.99% APY 
4 years  4.55% APY  4.73% APY  4.89% APY 
5 years  4.50% APY  4.68% APY  4.84% APY 
10 years 4.10% APY 4.30% APY None
To view our lists of the top-paying CDs across terms for bank, credit union, and jumbo certificates, click on the column headers above.

The top rate for a jumbo certificate is holding steady at 5.25%, offered in two terms. It's always smart to keep your search open to standard CDs even when you have a jumbo-size deposit, because you can typically find better rates among regular certificates. But right now the best jumbo 4-year and 5-year APYs are equal with other market leaders in those terms.

Below you can see how the top CD rates have trended over the last several weeks. The points on the graph indicate a Monday-to-Monday look at the highest nationally available CD rate in each term.

Will CD Rates Rise or Fall?

CD rates skyrocketed as a result of the Federal Reserve aggressively hiking the federal funds rate to combat inflation. Although the Fed has raised the fed funds rate twice this year, both times by 0.25%, that's far lower than the cumulative 4.25% in increases it implemented last year. As a result, rates on deposit accounts surged in 2022, and then have creeped slightly higher this year.

Economic data released last week on inflation, retail sales, and manufacturing all show increasing evidence of a slowing economy, suggesting the Fed's rate campaign is beginning to take meaningful hold. This in turn fuels market predictions that the Federal Reserve will wrap up its rate hikes soon. In fact, the leading forecast at the moment is for "one and done," meaning just one more hike when the Fed meets in a few weeks, followed by a rate plateau and ultimately a decline.

The Fed's rate-setting committee will conclude its next meeting on May 3. Though it looks likely it will make another increase that day, current movement in the top CD rates suggests that some institutions aren't waiting to start dialing back their aggressive rates. That means now is likely a good time to lock in a rate you'll be happy to have for months or years to come.

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 five, 10, or even 15 times higher.

Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure

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 our editorial policy.

  1. Federal Reserve. "Open Market Operations."

  2. CME Group. CME FedWatch Tool.