5 Best 1-Year CD Rates Of July 2024 (up to 5.66% APY) (2024)

Editor's Note: APYs listed in this article are up-to-date as of the time of publication. They may fluctuate (up or down) as the Fed rate changes. CNBC Select will update as changes are made public.

A one-year CD is a smart savings tool: stash cash and let it grow untouched until this time next year. Plus, savings rates are still high, making it the perfect time to open one.

To determine which one-year CDsare best, CNBC Selectcompared dozens of accounts. The winners all offer APYs well above the national one-year CD average and all are FDIC- or NCUA-insured. (Seeour methodologyfor more information on how we chose the best one-year CD accounts.)

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CIBC Bank USA is an ideal place to store your funds for a year as it's currently offering a 5.66% APY on its one-year CD, one of the highest overall CD APYs we found. It has a reasonable minimum deposit of $1,000.

CD terms offered

9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 30 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

CIBC Bank USA may charge a 30-day penalty if you withdraw your CD funds before maturity

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If leaving your savings untouched for 12 months scares you, perhaps doing so with a big-name bank reassures any doubt. Marcus by Goldman Sachs®'s one-year CD offers a nice 5.50% APY with a relatively low $500 minimum deposit.

CD terms offered

6 months, 9 months, 12 months, 18 months, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years, 6 years

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

If you withdraw the balance of entire principal amount from your CD account prior to maturity, you'll be charged anearly withdrawal penaltybased on the term of your CD and the principal (except in the case of a No-Penalty CD). Here's how early withdrawal penalties are calculated:

• Less than 1 year: 90 days interest on the original principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD
• 1 year to 5 years: 180 days interest on the original principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD
• More than 5 years: 270 days interest on the original principal balance at the interest rate in effect for the CD

Early Withdrawal Penalty = Interest Rate ÷ 365 (or 366) × Penalty Days × Original Principal Balance

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BMO Alto offers a high 5.50% APY on its one-year CD with no minimum deposit required. The zero minimum requirement lets just about any saver take advantage of this strong APY, no matter their balance.

CD terms offered

6 months, 12 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

An early withdrawal of principal before maturity will cost an early withdrawal penalty. The penalty is calculated using the interest rate applicable to the CD at the time of early withdrawal. If the amount of the penalty exceeds the amount of your accrued and unpaid interest, then a reduction of principal would be required in order to pay the penalty:

• 11 months or less: You'll be charged 90 days interest
• 12 months or more: You'll be charged 180 days interest

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Popular Direct offers a solid 5.45% APY on its one-year CD with a $10,000 minimum deposit requirement. If you have a large savings that you want to hold onto and keep secure for 12 months, Popular Direct's one-year CD is a good place to park it. A 5.45% APY on a $10,000 balance would net you $545 in interest earnings alone over just 12 months.

CD terms offered

3 months, 6 months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months, 36 months, 48 months, 60 months

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

• For terms less than 91 days: The fee is 89 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 91 days but less than 12 months: The fee is 120 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 12 months but less than 36 months: The fee is 270 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 36 months but less than 60 months: The fee is 365 days simple interest
• For terms equal to or greater than 60 months: The fee is 730 days simple interest

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Lafayette Federal Credit Union (LFCU)'s CD is a good option if you prefer the community feel that credit unions offer. It's currently offering a 5.56% APY over 12 months with just a $500 minimum deposit requirement.

CD terms offered

7 months, 1 year, 2 years, 3 years, 4 years, 5 years

Monthly fee

None

Early withdrawal penalty fee

Early withdrawal penalties may apply

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When you put your money in a CD, you earn a fixed interest rate for a specific amount of time on the money you deposit when you open an account. Term lengths typically range from three months to five years.

While a CD is similar to a savings account, the traditional CD model differs in a couple of important ways:

1. You can only deposit money into the CD once at the beginning of the term. You can't make additional contributions over the CD's term. Sometimes, there's a minimum deposit requirement (usually $500 and up).
2. You can't access your money before your term ends or you'll get hit with an early withdrawal penalty. The penalty fees can vary depending on your bank and your CD's term length, but it's usually the interest earned or the interest you would have earned, over a certain number of days or months. Generally, the longer the CD term length, the costlier the withdrawal penalty.

Once the CD matures (when the term is over), savers can get their money back, in addition to the interest earned over time, or move the money into a new CD. CD terms usually auto-renew at the rate offered at maturity if you don't do anything.

One of the reasons you might want to consider a CD over ahigh-yield savings accountis because savings accounts havevariable APYs, and with a CD you lock in the rate the day you open the account. This can be good if you open an account when interest rates are high. It's not so great if you open an account after the Federal Reserve slashes interest rates.

CDs typically don't come with monthly fees and are federally insured so your money is protected, which makes them one of the safest savings vehicles.

Some of the pros and cons of CDs are quite the same, and whether you see something as good or bad depends on other factors. We list what we think below.

Pros of CDs

• Fixed interest rates (a good thing when rates are high)
• Can't touch CD funds until the term is up (a good thing so you're not tempted to spend)
• DifferentCD typesallow you to have options, such asbump-up CDs(for raising your rate), no-penalty CDs (for easy withdrawals), add-on CDs (for making additional contributions), jumbo CDs (for large deposits) and IRA CDs (for retirement)

Cons of CDs

• Fixed interest rates (a bad thing when rates are low or if rates go up while you're in the middle of a CD term)
• Can't touch CD funds until the term is up (a bad thing if you need that money)
• Early withdrawal penalty fees
• Can generally only deposit money into a CD once at the beginning of the term and can't make additional contributions
• At times there's a minimum deposit requirement, usually $500 and up

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To determine the best one-year CDs, CNBC Select analyzed dozens of options offered by online and brick-and-mortar banks, including credit unions. We found that the APY offered by online banks and credit unions far outpaced those offered by most national brick-and-mortar banks.

When ranking the top one-year CDs, we prioritized the ones offering the highest APYs. We then compared one-year CDs by looking at their minimum deposit requirements, penalties for early withdrawals, ease of use and industry rankings. We ranked our top picks by best for high APY, best for no minimum deposit, best for a large deposit, best from a big bank and best from a credit union.

All of the CDs included on this list are NCUA- or FDIC-insured up to $250,000 per person. The rates and fee structures banks advertise for their CD accounts are not guaranteed forever. They are subject to change without notice and they often fluctuate in accordance with the Fed rate. If you open a CD account, however, you're often locked into that APY offered at account opening for the entire term length.

Your earnings depend on the CD term length, the amount you deposit, the APY offered when you opened the account and any associated fees. Generally, a larger deposit and a higher interest rate will earn you the most money. Any early withdrawals may result in penalty fees that lower your principal balance/earnings.

To open a CD account for the first time at a bank, most banks and institutions require a deposit of new money, meaning you can't transfer money you already had in an account at that bank.

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