Top CD Rates Today, May 2

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 May 02, 2023
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We'll know tomorrow afternoon whether the Fed is going to hike interest rates again, as is widely expected. But until then, the top nationwide CD rates held today at their record-high levels. You can still earn the industry-wide highest rate of 5.50% APY on two 9-month certificates, and jumbo investors have a new opportunity to earn 5.35% APY on a 24-month term. In addition, the longest term on which you can earn over 5% improved, with a new offer of 24 months at 5.15% APY.

Key Takeaways

  • The top nationally available rate across all terms is 5.50% APY, available on two 9-month CDs.
  • Seven certificates in our CD rankings currently pay 5.25% APY or better.
  • The longest duration for which you can lock a rate of 5% or more is 24 months, at 5.15% APY.
  • A top rate of at least 5.00% APY is available in terms from 6 months to 2 years.
  • The Federal Reserve is widely expected to nudge interest rates a quarter point higher Wednesday.
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  5.50% APY 5.50% APY No change
1 year 5.25% APY  5.25% APY No change
18 months 5.30% APY 5.30% APY No change
2 years  5.15% APY 5.15% APY No change
3 years  4.90% APY  4.90% 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 4.20% APY 4.20% 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.
 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  4.35% APY 
6 months  5.50% APY 5.50% APY  5.15% APY 
1 year  5.25% APY  5.25% APY 5.25% APY 
18 months  5.17% APY  5.30% APY  5.27% APY 
2 years  5.05% APY  5.15% APY  5.35% 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.

Often, the top nationwide rates on jumbo certificates, which typically require a deposit of $100,000 or more, are not competitive against standard CD rates, where you can usually find a higher rate. But currently, jumbo certificates have the edge, matching or beating out standard rates in five out of the eight terms above.

Will CD Rates Rise or Fall?

CD rates follow the federal funds rate and it's possible they could nudge slightly higher this year, but probably not much. Last year, they skyrocketed as a result of the Federal Reserve aggressively hiking the fed 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 crept only slightly higher this year.

The Federal Reserve's next rate-setting meeting will wrap up Wednesday with an announcement at 2 p.m. Eastern Time. Current market predictions are running at over 85% probability that the Fed will hike rates a quarter percentage point. After that, a majority of federal funds futures traders expect we'll see rates level off, though a sizable minority are forecasting one more quarter-point increase in the summer.

Though it's possible rates will inch higher, they are already at their highest levels since 2007, and may only creep up slightly after another hike. In addition, the Fed could start to reduce rates later this year. That makes the next few weeks a good time to consider locking in a guaranteed CD rate that will pay attractive dividends for months or years into the future.

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."