Best 1-Year CD Rates 2026

The 1-year CD is the workhorse of the fixed-income retail market. Always has been. But in the current environment it's particularly compelling because of something specific: the spread between 1-year and 5-year rates is almost nothing. You can get 4.00% locking for one year or 3.90% locking for five. The math strongly favors the shorter term — more flexibility, comparable or better rate, one-fifth the commitment.

That wasn't always true. In a normal yield curve, you'd get paid more for locking longer — maybe 75-100 basis points extra to go from 1-year to 5-year. Right now that premium has collapsed. The curve has partially un-inverted from where it was in 2024, but it's still compressed enough that most of the value is concentrated in the 1-year bucket.

Another factor: the Fed. Three cuts in late 2025 pushed rates down from their peak. But the pace of cuts has slowed dramatically and the Fed has signaled patience. If rates stay flat-to-slightly-down in 2026, a 1-year CD at 4.00-4.10% captures the window nicely before any future cut compresses rates further. It's not a guarantee — nothing ever is — but the risk/reward for locking 1 year is better than I've seen it in a while.

And yeah, the national average for 1-year CDs is still sitting around 1.8-2.0% because the big banks just don't compete on rate. The gap between average and best is extraordinary. The only barrier to getting the top rate is knowing where to look, which is what this is for.

Here's the ranked list, rates as of mid-March 2026. Membership note: credit unions require membership to open an account — usually easy to qualify, sometimes requires a small fee or donation.

1. Apple Federal Credit Union — 5.00% APY, $500 minimum. The clear leader by a wide margin. Apple Federal is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia. Membership is open to people who live, work, worship, or attend school in certain Virginia counties, and a few other qualifying categories. If you can qualify, this is just a much better deal than anything the online banks offer right now.

2. Lafayette Federal Credit Union — 4.28% APY, $500 minimum. Consistently near the top. Lafayette is headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, but membership is open nationwide via a $10 donation to a qualifying homeownership organization. That's genuinely accessible to almost anyone.

3. Mountain America Credit Union — 4.20% APY. Mountain America operates primarily in the West (Utah, Idaho, Arizona, Nevada, New Mexico, Montana) with some eligibility pathways for people outside those states.

4. E*TRADE (Morgan Stanley Private Bank) — 4.10% APY, $0 minimum. No minimum deposit is genuinely rare at this rate. This is a brokered CD — technically you're buying it through E*TRADE's brokerage platform, not directly from a bank. That's mostly fine but means early withdrawal works differently (you'd sell on secondary market, not pull from the bank).

5. Popular Direct — 4.05% APY, $10,000 minimum. Popular Direct is the online division of Popular Bank. The rate is excellent but the $10,000 minimum disqualifies a lot of people. If you've got the balance, it's a clean option.

6. Newtek Bank — 4.00% APY, $500 minimum. Newtek doesn't get as much press as Marcus but it consistently shows up near the top of rate comparisons. FDIC insured. Solid.

7. Marcus by Goldman Sachs — 4.00% APY, $500 minimum. The most recognizable name at this rate tier. If brand familiarity and a polished mobile experience matter to you, Marcus earns its spot at 4.00%.

8. Bread Savings — 3.95-4.00% APY, $1,500 minimum. Bread Savings (formerly Comenity Direct) has been competitive for a couple years running. The $1,500 minimum is their one friction point.

9. Bask Bank — 3.85% APY, no stated minimum. Bask is the deposit brand of Texas Capital Bank. They've been strong on 3-month and 9-month terms but the 1-year rate has slipped a bit from where it was six months ago.

10. TAB Bank — 3.90% APY, $1,000 minimum. TAB (Transportation Alliance Bank) is based in Utah and serves the trucking industry primarily, but consumer CDs are open to anyone. The rate is solid and they've been consistent.

The rate case for credit unions is obvious. Apple Federal at 5.00% is 100 basis points above Marcus at 4.00%. On $25,000 over a year, that's $250 you're leaving on the table by going with Marcus over Apple Federal. That's not nothing.

But credit unions have real friction. Membership eligibility isn't universal. Websites and apps are often behind online bank technology. Some have limited deposit options, slower ACH, fewer features. If you're going to park $5,000 and forget about it for a year, these are irrelevant. If you're actively managing multiple accounts and want a seamless experience, the premium over Marcus may not be worth the hassle.

For Lafayette Federal specifically, the membership path is easy enough that I'd call it basically equivalent friction to any online bank. A $10 donation, fill out the membership form online, done. For Apple Federal, it's more geographically limited — you need to qualify based on employment or residence criteria. If you do, great. If not, move on.

Online banks win on: technology/app quality, customer service hours, ease of account management, product breadth (most offer HYSAs, checking, etc.), and no membership requirement. Credit unions win on: rate (usually), personal service at branches if you're near one, and sometimes lower fees across products.

If rate maximization is your primary goal and you're flexible on everything else, try Lafayette Federal first (open membership, competitive rate). If you want the cleanest experience and don't want to deal with credit union setup, Marcus or Newtek.

I've seen this question paralyze people into keeping money in big bank accounts at 0.5% for 18 months waiting for "the right time." There is no right time. There's just the rate available today vs. the rate available later, which you don't know.

Here's the framework I'd use right now.

Lock if: You have cash sitting in a checking or savings account earning under 3.50%. Almost any 1-year CD on this list beats that and you're not giving up meaningful liquidity since you weren't going to spend the money in the next year anyway.

Lock if: You think the Fed cuts again in 2026. One more 25-basis-point cut typically drops 1-year CD rates by a similar amount within 4-6 weeks. Locking at 4.00% before that cut looks smarter than waiting for 3.75%.

Don't lock if: You actually might need the money in the next 12 months. Early withdrawal penalties on a 1-year CD are typically 90-180 days of interest — that can wipe out most of your gains if you break the CD at month 4.

Don't lock if: You're within 2-3 months of a major expense (home purchase down payment, business investment, tax bill). The illiquidity risk isn't worth the marginal yield over a HYSA.

Don't lock if: The best HYSA rate is more than 50 basis points above the CD rate and you're genuinely disciplined about not spending from your savings. Currently the gap is close enough (some HYSAs at 4.3-4.5% vs. CDs at 4.0-4.1%) that HYSA wins for flexible-liquidity-preference people. But for most people who have undisciplined savings behavior, a CD forces the discipline the HYSA doesn't.

It's worth framing 1-year CDs against the full range of what you can do with cash right now.

High-Yield Savings Account (best current rate ~4.5%): Fully liquid, rate floats. If rates drop, your HYSA drops too. No lock-up. Better for emergency funds or money you might need.

1-Year CD (best current rate ~4.10-5.00%): Rate locked for 12 months, modest early withdrawal penalty if you need to exit. Better for money you're confident you won't need for a year.

1-Year Treasury (current yield ~4.0-4.2%): Similar rate to top CDs. Interest is exempt from state and local taxes, which is a real advantage in high-tax states. No early exit flexibility at face value (though Treasuries trade on secondary market).

I-Bonds (current rate ~2.9%): Inflation-linked, fully government-backed, $10K/year purchase limit. Rate is much lower than CDs right now. Good for inflation hedge but not competitive on current yield.

Money Market Fund (best current yield ~4.5-5.0%): Slightly higher yield than most CDs, but rate isn't locked and these aren't FDIC insured. Government MMFs often hold Treasuries (some state tax benefit).

For pure cash yield on money you're parking for 12 months, a credit union 1-year CD at 4.20-5.00% is hard to beat on a guaranteed basis. The top money market funds are nominally higher but the rate can change tomorrow.

This should take 15 minutes max at any online bank. The process:

Pick your institution based on rate, minimum, and membership eligibility. Have your Social Security number, a government ID, and a linked bank account for the initial deposit.

For credit unions: complete the membership application first. Lafayette Federal's process is online and fast — maybe 10 minutes including the $10 donation. Apple Federal takes a bit longer and requires the employment/residence verification.

Fund the CD. Your initial deposit comes in via ACH from your existing bank. Depending on your current bank's ACH speed, funds are usually settled in 1-3 business days. The CD starts earning interest from the day it's funded.

Set your maturity instructions. You'll usually be asked at opening what to do when the CD matures: auto-renew at whatever rate is then current, transfer to a linked savings account, or hold as a non-interest-bearing account temporarily. I'd recommend not auto-renewing — set a calendar reminder for 1-2 weeks before maturity so you can actively evaluate the rate environment at that point and decide where to put the money next. Auto-renewing blindly is how people end up locked in at rates that no longer make sense.