Top CD rates today: June 18, 2025 | Best APY is 4.51% ahead of today's Fed meeting

Today, Federal Reserve officials will conclude their June rate-setting meeting, and they’re widely expected to hold the federal funds rate steady. An unchanged rate could mean continued overall stability for yields on competitive certificates of deposit (CDs). For more insight, you can follow along as Bankrate experts react live to today’s Fed interest rate decision.

After rising slightly in recent days, the leading annual percentage yield (APY) across CD terms remains 4.51 percent today, and it’s offered on a six-month term. Longer terms of one to five years are earning top APYs from 4.15-4.45 percent. The table below shows top CD rates for the most common terms, as well as national averages and the amount you can earn in interest with a $10,000 deposit.

Today's best CD rates by term

Term	Institution	Highest APY	National average APY	Minimum deposit	Estimated earnings on $10,000
3-month	Popular Direct	4.40%	1.48%	$10,000	$108
6-month	Rising Bank	4.51%	1.96%	$1,000	$223
9-month	CIBC Bank USA	4.26%	N/A	$1,000	$318
1-year	Rising Bank	4.45%	2.02%	$1,000	$445
18-month	Rising Bank	4.20%	2.25%	$5,000	$637
2-year	Popular Direct	4.15%	1.79%	$10,000	$847
3-year	Popular Direct	4.15%	1.71%	$10,000	$1,297
4-year	Popular Direct	4.15%	1.83%	$10,000	$1,766
5-year	Popular Direct	4.20%	1.73%	$10,000	$2,284

Note: Annual percentage yields (APYs) shown are as of June 18, 2025. APYs for some products may vary by region.

N/A: Not available; Bankrate doesn’t track national averages for the 9-month CD term due to limited available data. Estimated earnings are based on the highest APYs and assume interest is compounded annually.

How to take advantage of current CD rates

Mostly, yields on competitive CDs have been decreasing this year, while there have been some slight increases here and there. In all, many shorter-term CDs are offering yields comparable to high-yield savings accounts. In a falling-rate environment, a fixed-rate CD’s advantage over a variable-rate savings account is that the CD guarantees you’ll earn the same APY until it matures.

Many shorter-term CDs are currently earning higher APYs than longer ones, yet one way to get the best of both worlds is through a CD ladder. This involves opening multiple CDs of varying term lengths. This way, some of your money will earn the top short-term rates, while the remainder will benefit from a guaranteed rate for a longer timeframe.

"Employing [the CD ladder] approach allows you to strike a balance between liquidity (i.e. access to funds) and yields at different terms to help mitigate the risk associated with timing the rate environment," says Derik Farrar, head of personal deposits at U.S. Bank.

What is the impact of inflation on monetary policy?

After holding the federal funds rate steady since July 2023 to combat high inflation, officials cut the rate by a combined total of one percentage point, or 100 basis points, in three rate-setting meetings in late 2024. The rate cuts came at a time when the consumer price index (CPI), a measure of inflation, had been decreasing significantly from its decades-high annual rate of 9.1 percent in June 2022. In late 2024 and early 2025, inflation started to tick back up, although in recent months it’s been decreasing and currently stands at 2.4 percent. Policymakers have held the federal funds rate steady so far in 2025.

"Despite heightened uncertainty, the economy is still in a solid position," Fed Chair Jerome Powell said in remarks following the Federal Open Market Committee meeting on May 7. "The unemployment rate remains low, and the labor market is at or near maximum employment. Inflation has come down a great deal but has been running somewhat above our 2 percent longer-run objective."

The current rate of inflation is a significant factor that affects what the Fed decides to do with rates. A decrease in the federal funds rate, say close to or below the current inflation rate of 2.4 percent, can be bad for savers. Namely, it can translate to lower APYs on many CDs and savings accounts. Meanwhile, a fed rate cut can be good for borrowers as interest rates tend to decrease on loans.

CD glossary

Here are some terms you’ll likely come across when choosing a CD.

• Add-on CD: An add-on CD enables you to make additional deposits after your initial investment. This feature affords more flexibility than traditional CDs, which only allow one deposit at the beginning of the term.
• Annual percentage yield (APY): A percentage that indicates how much interest a CD earns in one year, which takes into account the effect of compounding.
• Brokered CD: A type of CD issued by a bank but sold through a brokerage firm or other financial institution.
• Bump-up CD: Also known as a “raise-your-rate CD,” a bump-up CD provides savers with the option to increase the CD’s APY without having to change its term. Generally, only one rate increase is allowed during its term.
• CD ladder: An investment strategy that involves purchasing multiple CDs with varying maturity dates to provide liquidity and take advantage of higher rates.
• Early withdrawal penalty: A fee charged if funds are withdrawn from a CD before the maturity date. Penalties often range anywhere from 90 days to 365 days’ worth of interest.
• Grace period: A specific time after the maturity date during which an account holder can make changes to the CD without penalties. A grace period typically ranges from five to 14 days.
• IRA CD: A CD that’s held within an individual retirement account.
• Jumbo CD: A CD that has a high minimum balance requirement, typically $100,000, sometimes as low as $95,000. This type of CD tends to offer a higher interest rate than regular CDs with the same term.
• Minimum opening deposit: The lowest amount of money required to open a CD account, which can vary by institution. Some institutions don’t have a minimum deposit requirement.
• No-penalty CD: A type of CD that allows you to withdraw your money without facing a penalty while providing a fixed APY.
• Promotional CD: Also known as a bonus or special CD, it’s a CD with an above average APY. These may be offered by banks and credit unions as a way to obtain new customers.
• Share certificate: At credit unions, CDs are often referred to as "share certificates".

• Research methodology

  Bankrate calculates and reports the national average APYs for various CD terms. Factored into national average rates are the competitive APYs commonly offered by online banks, along with the very low rates often found at large brick-and-mortar banks.

  In June 2023, Bankrate updated its methodology that determines the national average CD rates. For the process, more than 500 banks and credit unions are now surveyed each week to generate the national averages. Among these institutions are those that are broadly available and offer high yields, as well as some of the nation’s largest banks.