Best 6-Month CD Rates for November 2026: Up to 5.00%

Bank CD Rates · 6-Month

APYs from the banks' official rate pages · checked 2026-11-09

National CD Rates Today

FDIC national rates and rate caps · October 19, 2026

How Much Does $10,000 Earn in One Year?

The best 6-month CD rate here is 4.45% APY from Charles Schwab, with a $1,000 minimum. The four offers run from 3.95% to 4.45%, taken from the banks’ own rate pages and checked November 9, 2026. The FDIC’s national average for a 6-month CD is 1.39%, so the top offer pays a little more than three times the average.

Two figures are easy to misread. The “$10,000 earns (1 yr)” column shows a full year of interest, while a 6-month CD pays for half a year. The 5.95% “national rate cap” is a regulatory ceiling, not an available rate.

How to Read the 6-Month CD Rate Table

Each row in the ranking is one bank’s 6-month certificate of deposit:

• Term: how long the money is committed. Every offer in this table is a 6-month term. Other rankings sometimes group terms of 5 to 9 months under a “6-month” heading. A 7- or 9-month CD with a higher headline APY locks your money up longer, so compare it to this table’s rows with that difference in mind.
• APY (annual percentage yield): the yearly return including compounding. Because APY already folds in compounding frequency, it is the right figure for comparing banks that compound daily, monthly or at maturity.
• Minimum: the smallest opening deposit the bank accepts for that rate. The listed minimums range from $500 (Marcus by Goldman Sachs) to $10,000 (Popular Direct).
• $10,000 earns (1 yr): the deposit multiplied by the APY. Schwab’s row shows $445 because $10,000 × 4.45% = $445.
• Source and check date: each APY comes from the bank’s official rate page as of the date shown. CD rates can change daily, and the rate you receive is the one in effect when your account opens and is funded, not the one on any comparison page.

Why the one-year earnings column overstates a 6-month CD

The earnings column assumes the money earns the APY for twelve months. A 6-month CD only earns it for six. To get a full year at that rate, the CD would have to renew at maturity at exactly the same APY, and renewal rates are set at the time of renewal.

The interest earned over the actual term is:

Interest = Deposit × [(1 + APY)^(months ÷ 12) − 1]

For Schwab’s row, assuming $10,000 is held for the full term with no withdrawals:

• (1.0445)^0.5 = 1.02200
• $10,000 × 0.02200 = about $220

That is roughly half the $445 shown, and slightly less than a straight half, because compounding works over a shorter period. Dividing the APY by two (4.45% ÷ 2 = 2.225%, or $222.50) is a quick estimate that runs a little high.

What a 6-Month CD Pays on Common Deposit Amounts

The same formula answers most “how much will I make” questions. The rates below are hypothetical examples chosen to show the math, not offers from any bank. Each assumes the full balance stays in the CD for six months and interest is left in the account.

The last two rows show what a rate difference is worth. On $50,000 over six months, 4.30% instead of 4.00% adds about $74. On $10,000, the same 0.30-point gap is worth about $15. The larger the deposit, the more it pays to shop for a few extra basis points. On small deposits, other terms such as the minimum or the early withdrawal penalty may matter more than the rate.

Interest is usually credited monthly or at maturity, depending on the bank. If you have the bank pay interest out to a checking account instead of leaving it in the CD, you lose the compounding, and your actual return falls slightly below the APY.

The National Benchmarks: Average, Rate Cap and Treasury Yield

The FDIC publishes national rates and rate caps for standard deposit products. For the 6-month CD, as of October 19, 2026, the national average is 1.39%, the rate cap 5.95% and the Treasury yield 4.33%. Each measures something different.

National average (1.39%)

The FDIC national rate is a weighted average of rates paid by insured banks and credit unions’ bank counterparts on a product, with each institution weighted by its share of domestic deposits. Because the largest banks hold the most deposits, their rates dominate the figure. Many large branch banks pay low standard CD rates, which helps explain why the national average sits far below the offers in the ranking.

The average is useful as a floor. If a bank where you already have accounts offers a 6-month CD near 1.39%, the table shows how much interest you give up by not moving. On $10,000 for six months, 1.39% earns about $69, against about $220 at 4.45%.

National rate cap (5.95%)

The rate cap is not a rate anyone is offering you. Under FDIC rules, banks that are less than well capitalized are restricted in the rates they may pay on deposits, so they cannot attract money by paying far above the market. For CDs and other time deposits, the cap is the higher of:

1. the national rate plus 0.75 percentage points, or
2. 120% of the yield on a Treasury security of similar maturity, plus 0.75 percentage points.

With a 4.33% Treasury yield, the second formula gives 4.33% × 1.2 = 5.196%, plus 0.75 = about 5.95%. The cap is the upper boundary for restricted banks. It says nothing about what well-capitalized banks pay, and no offer in the ranking comes close to it.

Treasury yield (4.33%)

The Treasury column is the yield on a Treasury of comparable maturity used in the cap formula, so for the 6-month row it reflects short-term government debt. It is a useful reference because a 6-month Treasury bill is the closest alternative to a 6-month CD: both are short, fixed-return holdings backed by the federal government (directly for T-bills, through deposit insurance for CDs up to the limit).

What Drives 6-Month CD Rates

Banks set CD rates themselves, but several forces push them in the same direction:

• The federal funds rate. The Federal Reserve’s benchmark rate heavily influences what banks pay for deposits. When the Fed raises its target, CD rates tend to follow, and short terms like six months usually respond fastest because they reprice soon after.
• Treasury yields. A bank competing for savers’ money is competing with T-bills. If short Treasury yields rise, banks that need deposits have to pay more to stay attractive.
• Expected rate moves. When markets expect rate cuts, banks may pay more on short CDs than long ones, since they do not want to lock in high costs for years. When markets expect increases, longer CDs may carry higher rates. FDIC national averages run from 0.23% on a 1-month CD to 1.76% on a 12-month CD, which shows the current shape of the curve.
• The bank’s funding needs. A bank growing its loan book may raise CD rates to bring in deposits quickly, then cut them once it has enough. This is one reason a top rate can disappear within weeks.
• Cost structure. Online banks without branch networks often have lower operating costs, and many use that margin to pay higher deposit rates. Credit unions, which are member-owned, may pay higher dividends (the credit union term for interest) on share certificates.

Once you open a CD, your rate is fixed for the term. A Fed cut the following month does not reduce it, and a Fed hike does not raise it. That fixed rate is the main reason to choose a CD over a savings account, whose rate can change at any time.

Terms That Change What You Actually Earn

Two CDs with the same APY can deliver very different results. These are the terms to read before opening one.

Early withdrawal penalty

Taking money out before maturity triggers a penalty, and penalty structures vary widely. Formats that appear in published CD disclosures include:

• a set number of months or days of interest (for example, 2 months, 3 months or 70 days)
• all interest earned, sometimes with a minimum such as 3 months’ worth
• all earned interest up to a fixed cap, such as 6 months
• a percentage of the balance, such as 1%
• a formula that combines several factors, which needs careful reading

A hypothetical example shows how much these differ on a $10,000, 6-month CD at 4.45%, using simple interest for the estimate:

• 3 months of interest: $10,000 × 4.45% × 3/12 = about $111
• 1% of balance: $100, regardless of how long you held it
• All earned interest: whatever has accrued, which could be close to $0 in month one or about $220 at month six

Timing matters. If you withdraw early in the term, a penalty measured in months of interest can be larger than the interest you have earned, and the bank takes the difference out of your principal. A CD is only “safe” from loss in the sense of being insured; an early exit can still return less than you deposited.

Minimum and maximum deposit

The minimum determines whether you qualify for the rate at all. Some banks advertise a rate that applies only above a higher balance tier, or cap the maximum you can deposit at that rate. Check that the rate in the table applies to the amount you plan to put in.

When the rate locks

Banks differ on when the advertised rate becomes yours. Some lock the rate at account opening as long as you fund within a set window, often around 10 days. Others set the rate when the funds settle, which means an incoming transfer that takes several days could land at a lower rate if the bank changes it in the meantime. If you are moving a large amount, start the transfer early and confirm the locked rate once the deposit posts.

Maturity and renewal

At the end of the term, many CDs renew automatically into a new CD of the same length at whatever rate the bank offers that day. That rate may be well below what you started with. Most banks give a short grace period after maturity, commonly around 7 to 10 days, to withdraw or change the term without a penalty. Put the maturity date on your calendar. With a 6-month CD, you face this decision twice a year.

Where the Highest 6-Month CD Rates Come From

Top-paying 6-month CDs tend to come from a few types of institutions.

Online banks and online divisions of larger companies. Several high-yield CD issuers are online-only banks or deposit brands run by credit card companies and other lenders. They operate nationwide, open accounts digitally and fund them by transfer from an existing bank account.

Credit unions with open membership. Many credit unions accept members nationwide even if you do not live in their area or work in a qualifying field. The usual route is joining a partner association or nonprofit, sometimes free and sometimes for a small donation of around $5 to $15, then keeping a minimum balance (often $5 or $10) in a membership savings account. Count the membership cost against your interest. On a $1,000 deposit, a $15 donation absorbs most of a 0.30-point rate advantage over six months.

Brokerage accounts. CDs bought through a brokerage are often brokered CDs: certificates issued by banks and sold through the broker. They are FDIC-insured through the issuing bank, but they usually cannot be cashed in early with the bank. Instead, you sell them on the secondary market at the current market price, which may be below what you paid if rates have risen. A brokered CD has no early withdrawal penalty in the usual sense, but it does carry price risk if you exit before maturity.

Deposit Insurance and Large Deposits

Bank CDs are insured by the FDIC and credit union certificates by the NCUA, each up to $250,000 per depositor, per insured institution, per ownership category. Interest that has accrued counts toward that limit.

For most 6-month CD buyers, the limit is not a constraint. It matters for large sums. A depositor placing $550,000 in one bank’s CD in an individual account would have $300,000 uninsured. Ways to stay within coverage include:

• splitting the money across several insured institutions
• using different ownership categories (for example, an individual account and a joint account at the same bank are insured separately)
• buying brokered CDs from different issuing banks through one brokerage account

Insurance applies per institution, not per brand. If two online deposit brands are divisions of the same chartered bank, deposits at both count toward a single $250,000 limit. Check the legal name of the insured bank in the account disclosures.

6-Month CD vs. Other Places to Park Cash

A 6-month CD makes sense when you know you will not need the money for six months and want a guaranteed rate. Here is how it compares with the alternatives.

CD vs. traditional savings

The FDIC national average for savings is 0.38%, below the 1.39% average for a 6-month CD and far below the top CD offers. Traditional savings accounts at large banks pay little, so almost any competitive CD beats them for money you can lock away.

CD vs. high-yield savings

High-yield savings accounts can pay rates in the same neighborhood as top CDs, and they let you withdraw at any time. Their rates are variable, though, and can fall the week after you open the account. A 6-month CD gives up access in exchange for a fixed rate. If top savings rates and top 6-month CD rates are close, the flexibility of savings often wins. If you expect rates to fall, the CD locks in today’s yield. Compare current high-yield savings account rates with the CD table before you decide.

CD vs. money market account

Money market accounts at banks are insured deposits with variable rates, sometimes with check-writing or debit access. The national average is 0.63%, but competitive money market accounts pay much more. They suit cash you may need to tap during the six months.

CD vs. Treasury bills

A 6-month T-bill is the closest substitute. Its interest is exempt from state and local income tax, while CD interest is taxable at the federal, state and local level. To compare them fairly, convert the T-bill yield into what a CD would need to pay:

Equivalent CD yield ≈ T-bill yield ÷ (1 − state and local tax rate)

With a 4.33% Treasury yield and a hypothetical 5% state income tax: 4.33% ÷ 0.95 = about 4.56%. A CD would need to pay roughly that much to match the T-bill after state tax. In a state with no income tax, the two compare directly. T-bills are bought through TreasuryDirect or a brokerage and can be sold before maturity at market prices. T-bill yields are quoted differently from APY, so the comparison is approximate.

6-month CD vs. longer CDs

A 12-month CD locks in a rate for longer, which helps if rates fall and hurts if they rise. Some savers build a ladder: splitting money across terms, for example 6, 12 and 18 months, so part of the balance matures regularly. The CD rates by term page shows how top offers compare across maturities.

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