Top Savings Account Rates Today, May 12

The top nationwide rate for a high-yield savings account edged up to 5.07% APY today, setting a new record since the Federal Reserve began hiking interest rates nearly 14 months ago. Today's industry-leading rate comes after more than six weeks of holding at 5.02% APY.

The Federal Reserve modestly raised the federal funds rate on May 3, and banks offering high-yield savings accounts have taken notice. Our daily ranking of the best high-yield savings accounts currently offers more than a dozen options that earn 4.80% APY or better.

Top National Savings Rates by Ongoing Balance Requirement

Shopping around for a top rate on a savings account enables you to earn 10 to 12 times the national average savings account rate, which is currently 0.39% APY. And if you do your primary banking is one of the nation's largest banks, their savings account rate could be significantly lower than that. So it's worth shopping around for a separate high-yield account.

If you've never held savings at a different bank than where you have your checking account, you might worry it'll be inconvenient to hold funds at two different banks. While transfers between banks usually take one to three days, if you don't think you'll need to move money quickly, online banking makes the process incredibly easy.

You may notice that many of the best-paying institutions for high-yield savings accounts are either internet-only banks or online divisions of brick-and-mortar banks. Online banks carry the same federal deposit insurance that physical banks do. Just look for the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. (FDIC) logo or the words "FDIC Member" on the website of any bank where you're considering opening an account (or NCUA membership if it's a credit union). That means that up to $250,000 of your deposits—per person and per institution—are federally insured should the institution fail.

Where Are Savings Account Rates Headed?

Since March 2022, the Federal Reserve has aggressively raised the federal funds rate in an effort to combat inflation that had reached a 40-year high. In 2022, it implemented seven hikes totaling 4.25%, while this year it has added an additional three increases of 0.25% each.

Today's 5.07% APY leading rate is the highest level we've seen since the Fed's rate hikes began, and though our tracking of the nation's top rate goes back to 2020, savings account rates in general are at their highest level since at least 2009, when the FDIC began publishing national rate averages. In fact, it's expected savings rates are at their highest level since 2006, which was the the last time the Fed raised the federal funds rate as high as it's been in 2023.

But the peak for savings account rates is likely here or coming soon. That's because the Federal Reserve signaled last week that it may end its interest-rate-hike campaign at its next meeting. In addition, a Fed rate decrease is even reasonable to expect sometime later this year.

If the Fed does cease its rate hikes at its next meeting, scheduled for June 13-14, returns on savings accounts will plateau. And when the Fed ultimately lowers the federal funds rate, savings account rates will follow suit.

That makes now an excellent time to consider moving a portion of your savings into one of the top-paying nationwide certificates of deposit (CDs) if you can manage without the money for a period of time. Buying a CD would allow you to lock a guaranteed rate, at today's record levels, for months or years into the future. But because there are penalties for withdrawing money early from a CD, you should only invest money you're not going to need during the CD term.

Top Savings and CD Rates vs. National Average Rates

Rate Collection Methodology Disclosure

Every business day, Investopedia tracks the rates of more almost 100 banks and credit unions that offer savings accounts to customers nationwide, using that data to determine daily rankings of the top-paying accounts. To qualify for our lists, the institution must be federally insured (FDIC for banks, NCUA for credit unions), and the savings account'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 high-yield savings accounts, read our full methodology.