Top CD Rates Today, April 28

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 28, 2023
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Despite expectations that the Federal Reserve will nudge interest rates up again next week, the top nationwide CD rates moved down more than up today. But there was one bright spot, with a new certificate taking up the mantle of industry-wide rate leader. You can now earn 5.50% APY from Northern Bank Direct on a 9-month certificate. In contrast, the top rates on 2-year and 3-year CDs stumbled.

Key Takeaways

  • The top nationally available CD rate in any term has moved up to 5.50% APY, available for a 9-month term, while the previous leading certificate, paying 5.35% on 22 months, is no longer offered.
  • The leading rate for 2-year and 3-year CDs took a hit today, with the top 2-year rate dropping from 5.35% to 5.15% APY, and the best-paying 3-year CD falling from 5.00% to 4.90% APY.
  • You can now earn 5.25% APY or better on just five options in our CD rankings, down from eight yesterday.
  • A top rate of at least 5.00% APY is now only available in terms from 6 months to 2 years.
  • The Federal Reserve is generally expected to raise interest rates Wednesday, but many banks and credit unions have likely already priced that expectation into their rates.
CD Term  Yesterday's Top National Rate  Today's Top National Rate Day's Change (percentage points)
3 months 4.90% APY 4.90% APY No change
6 months  5.05% APY 5.50% APY + 0.45
1 year 5.25% APY  5.25% APY No change
18 months 5.25% APY 5.25% APY No change
2 years  5.35% APY 5.15% APY - 0.20
3 years  5.00% APY  4.90% APY - 0.10
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 4.20% APY - 0.10
To view the top 15–20 nationwide rates in any term, click on the desired term length in the left column above.

Our rankings of the top nationwide CD rates include more than 40 certificates that beat the 5% March inflation rate, released this month. 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  4.90% APY 4.75% APY  3.91% APY 
6 months  5.50% APY 5.10% APY  5.15% APY 
1 year  5.25% APY  5.25% APY 5.25% APY 
18 months  5.10% APY  5.25% APY  5.27% APY 
2 years  5.05% APY  5.15% APY  5.04% APY 
3 years  4.60% APY  4.90% 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 
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 nationwide rate on jumbo certificates, which typically require a deposit of $100,000 or more, is holding at 5.27% APY. But in four out of the eight CD terms with jumbo certificates on offer, you can earn more by opening a standard CD and then simply making a jumbo-sized deposit.

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 last year. 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 crept only slightly higher this year.

The Federal Reserve's next rate-setting meeting will wrap up Wednesday. Current market predictions are running at an 80% probability that the Fed will hike rates a minimal quarter point. But after that, federal funds futures traders generally expect we'll see rates plateau and eventually decrease.

So though it's possible rates will inch higher, they are already at their highest levels since 2007 with no further hikes guaranteed, making now a good time to consider locking in a rate that will pay attractive dividends 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. Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. "Open Market Operations."

  2. CME Group. "CME FedWatch Tool."

  3. Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. National Rates and Rate Caps.