The U.S. national average savings account interest rate is at 0.06% in 2021. Moreover, the current rate is still 33% lower than in 2020 and 40% lower than in 2019.
National Average Rates:
The U.S. national average savings account interest rate is at 0.06% in 2021. The current rate is 33% lower than in 2020 and 40% lower than in 2019.
The average checking account interest rate is 0.03% — a decline of 40% YoY.
The average money market interest rate is 0.06% — a decline of 69% YoY.
Traditional Banks:
Nine out of the 11 traditional banks in our study offer an average savings account interest rate below the national average of 0.06%.
Capital One (0.35%) offers the highest average savings account interest rate. In contrast, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, HSBC, US Bank, SunTrust, and Huntington National (0.01%) offer the lowest average savings account interest rate.
Capital One (0.633%) offers the highest average CD interest rate, while Wells Fargo (0.015%) provides the lowest average CD interest rate.
Online Banks:
The highest-yielding online bank (0.50%) has an average savings rate that’s 15 basis points (0.15%) higher than the highest-yielding traditional bank (0.35%).
Marcus By Goldman Sachs, Barclays Online Savings, Ally Online Savings, and Synchrony High Yield Savings (0.50%) offer the highest average savings rate. In comparison, HSBC Direct Savings (0.15%) provides the lowest average savings rate.
Discover Bank (0.625%) offers the highest average CD rate, while Citizens Access (0.175%) provides the lowest average CD rate.
Historical U.S. National Average Savings Account and Money Market Interest Rates:
Since 2010, the U.S. national average savings account interest rate has declined by 71%, while the U.S. national average money market interest rate has declined by 82%. Moreover, both metrics are at or near their all-time lows. In addition, they’re down by 33% and 61%, respectively, from where they were in Q4 2019 (pre-COVID).
The latest release from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) shows that U.S. national average savings, checking, and money market interest rates have all declined year-over-year (YoY). And with the average money market interest rate down by a whopping 69% YoY, the drop has outpaced the decline in the average savings interest rate (down by 33% YoY) and the reduction in the average checking account interest rate (down by 40% YoY).
Deposit Product: | Average Rates 2019: | Average Rates 2020: | Average Rates 2021: |
Savings Accounts | 0.10% | 0.09% | 0.06% |
Checking Accounts | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.03% |
Money Market Accounts | 0.18% | 0.20% | 0.06% |
After falling in early 2021, the U.S. national average savings rate rose from a low of 0.04% in February and March 2021 to a high of 0.06% in April 2021. And with the momentum flat-lining after that, U.S. savers are hoping that the initial uprising will resume in 2022.
Month: | Average Savings Rate: |
January | 0.05% |
February | 0.04% |
March | 0.04% |
April | 0.06% |
May | 0.06% |
June | 0.06% |
July | 0.06% |
August | 0.06% |
September | 0.06% |
October | 0.06% |
November | 0.06% |
After the FDIC discontinued jumbo and non-jumbo deposits, the government agency now organizes the data by deposits of less than $1,000,000. For context, the U.S. national rates and rate caps for savings and checking accounts are not indexed by balance requirements. However, all money market and Certificate of Deposit (CD) rates assume balances of less than $1,000,000.
Interestingly, the U.S.’s average one-month CD (0.02%) earns less interest than the average checking account (0.03%). In addition, money market instruments (0.06%) in the U.S. — like commercial paper and banker’s acceptance notes — earn more interest than a three-month CD (0.05%).
Deposit Product: | National Rate: | National Rate Cap: |
Savings Accounts | 0.06% | 0.82% |
Checking Accounts | 0.03% | 0.82% |
Money Market | 0.06% | 0.82% |
1 month CD | 0.02% | 0.82% |
3 month CD | 0.05% | 0.81% |
6 month CD | 0.09% | 0.84% |
12 month CD | 0.14% | 0.93% |
24 month CD | 0.17% | 1.33% |
36 month CD | 0.19% | 1.65% |
48 month CD | 0.19% | 0.94% |
60 month CD | 0.24% | 2.17% |
While the largest U.S. banks offer familiarity and stability, their average savings account interest rates are also near the lowest in the country. For example, nine out of the 11 institutions in our study offer an average savings account interest rate below the national average of 0.06%.
Moreover, Capital One (0.35%) offers the highest average savings account interest rate. In contrast, Wells Fargo, Chase Bank, HSBC, US Bank, SunTrust, and Huntington National (0.01%) offer the lowest average savings account interest rate. Likewise, Capital One is the only traditional bank that provides an average savings account interest rate comparable to online banks.
Institution: | Average Savings Account Interest Rate: | % Above/Below the National Average: | Average CD Interest Rate: |
Capital One | 0.350% | 0.290% | 0.633% |
Citibank | 0.060% | 0.000% | 0.090% |
TD Bank | 0.033% | -0.027% | 0.050% |
Bank of America | 0.030% | -0.030% | 0.040% |
PNC Bank | 0.020% | -0.040% | 0.033% |
Wells Fargo | 0.010% | -0.050% | 0.015% |
Chase Bank | 0.010% | -0.050% | 0.020% |
HSBC | 0.010% | -0.050% | 0.270% |
US Bank | 0.010% | -0.050% | 0.425% |
SunTrust | 0.010% | -0.050% | 0.050% |
Huntington National | 0.010% | -0.050% | 0.020% |
All Traditional Banks are FDIC Insured.
As for CD rates, Capital One (0.633%) offers the highest average CD interest rate, while Wells Fargo (0.015%) provides the lowest average CD interest rate. Surprisingly, US Bank has one of the lowest average savings account interest rates (0.01%) but has one of the highest average CD interest rates (0.425%).
For context, CDs have some disadvantages that are not inherent with savings accounts:
However, with inflation rising by more than 6% YoY and CDs often earning 1% per year or less, they don’t serve as prudent investment vehicles. For example, as the prices of goods and services rise, your money becomes less and less valuable. And one year from now, assuming 2% inflation, $102 will allow you to purchase the same amount of goods that $100 buys you today. As a result, if your savings are not earning as much as the inflation rate, your wealth decreases by the day.
Gaining an edge over traditional banks, the highest-yielding online bank (0.50%) has an average savings rate that’s 15 basis points (0.15%) higher than the highest-yielding traditional bank (0.35%).
To that point, Marcus By Goldman Sachs, Barclays Online Savings, Ally Online Savings, and Synchrony High Yield Savings (0.50%) offer the highest average savings rate. In comparison, HSBC Direct Savings (0.15%) provides the lowest average savings rate.
Conversely, Discover Bank (0.625%) offers the highest average CD rate, while Citizens Access (0.175%) provides the lowest average CD rate.
However, in our opinion, Marcus By Goldman Sachs is the best option. As evidence, there are no fees and no minimum deposit requirements to open a Marcus By Goldman Sachs high-yield savings account.
In addition, the company requires a $500 minimum deposit for CDs, while Discover Bank requires a $2,500 minimum deposit. What’s more, both Marcus By Goldman Sachs and Discover Bank pay 0.55% interest on 12-month CDs and 1% interest on 5-year CDs. However, the former pays 0.70% interest on 24-month CDs, while the latter pays 0.65% interest on 24-month CDs. As a result, Marcus By Goldman Sachs is the most attractive option.
Bank: | Average Savings Rate: | % Above/Below the National Average: | Average Certificate of Deposit (CD) Rate: |
Marcus By Goldman Sachs | 0.500% | 0.4400% | 0.590% |
Barclays Online Savings | 0.500% | 0.4400% | 0.480% |
Ally Online Savings | 0.500% | 0.4400% | 0.460% |
Synchrony High Yield Savings | 0.500% | 0.4400% | 0.570% |
American Express Bank | 0.400% | 0.3400% | 0.360% |
Discover Bank | 0.400% | 0.3400% | 0.625% |
Citizens Access | 0.400% | 0.3400% | 0.175% |
HSBC Direct Savings | 0.150% | 0.0900% | 0.270% |
Are online banks and their high-yield savings accounts a safe place to deposit your money?
The short answer is yes. Goldman Sachs Bank USA backs Marcus By Goldman Sachs. Moreover, the former is a member of the FDIC. And the latter’s savings account and CDs are insured for up to $250,000 per account. In addition, setting up more than one account can increase your insurable deposit limit to more than $250,000.
The bottom line? As long as your institution is FDIC insured, your money should be safe.
Review The Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts of October 2024
Since 2010, the U.S. national average savings account interest rate has declined by 71%, while the U.S. national average money market interest rate has declined by 82%. Moreover, both metrics are at or near their all-time lows. In addition, they’re down by 33% and 61%, respectively, from where they were in Q4 2019 (pre-COVID).
Date: | U.S. National Average Savings Account Interest Rate: | U.S. National Average Money Market Interest Rate: |
2010:Q1 | 0.21% | 0.32% |
2010:Q2 | 0.20% | 0.30% |
2010:Q3 | 0.19% | 0.27% |
2010:Q4 | 0.17% | 0.24% |
2011:Q1 | 0.16% | 0.22% |
2011:Q2 | 0.15% | 0.21% |
2011:Q3 | 0.13% | 0.19% |
2011:Q4 | 0.12% | 0.16% |
2012:Q1 | 0.10% | 0.14% |
2012:Q2 | 0.10% | 0.13% |
2012:Q3 | 0.09% | 0.12% |
2012:Q4 | 0.08% | 0.12% |
2013:Q1 | 0.07% | 0.11% |
2013:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.10% |
2013:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.09% |
2013:Q4 | 0.06% | 0.09% |
2014:Q1 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2014:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2014:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2014:Q4 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2015:Q1 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2015:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2015:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2015:Q4 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2016:Q1 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2016:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2016:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2016:Q4 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2017:Q1 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2017:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2017:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2017:Q4 | 0.06% | 0.09% |
2018:Q1 | 0.07% | 0.10% |
2018:Q2 | 0.07% | 0.11% |
2018:Q3 | 0.08% | 0.13% |
2018:Q4 | 0.09% | 0.16% |
2019:Q1 | 0.09% | 0.17% |
2019:Q2 | 0.10% | 0.19% |
2019:Q3 | 0.09% | 0.18% |
2019:Q4 | 0.09% | 0.15% |
2020:Q1 | 0.09% | 0.15% |
2020:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.09% |
2020:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.08% |
2020:Q4 | 0.05% | 0.07% |
2021:Q1 | 0.05% | 0.06% |
2021:Q2 | 0.06% | 0.06% |
2021:Q3 | 0.06% | 0.06% |
When deciding which option is right for you, you need to assess factors beyond the institution’s creditworthiness and the interest rate received.
Essential questions to ask:
ElitePersonalFinance always has up-to-date studies.
Our goal is to consolidate the information and present the findings in a way that’s easy to understand by parsing through the latest data from reliable sources. If you enjoyed the study, please provide your feedback. Moreover, if there is anything that we missed or anything that you believe needs updating, please let us know, and we will respond promptly.
With the interest rates on nearly all investment and loan products declining sharply since the coronavirus pandemic struck, savings accounts, CDs, and money market interest rates have suffered the same fate. However, our study shows that research can uncover hidden value. For example, the data indicates that FDIC-insured online banks are the best savings vehicles. Not only do they offer the highest savings rates in the U.S., but they also include deposit insurance that makes traditional banks seem more reliable.
Average Bank Interest Rates of October 2024
Average Checking Account Interest Rates of October 2024
Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts of October 2024
Traditional Banks:
https://media.bac-assets.com/DigitalDeposit_NY_NY_Tri_State_Area.pdf?cacheBuster=7051
https://www.wellsfargo.com/savings-cds/consumer-account-rates/
https://online.citi.com/US/ag/current-interest-rates/checking-saving-accounts
https://online.citi.com/US/ag/current-interest-rates/cd
https://www.chase.com/personal/savings/savings-account/interest-rates
https://www.chase.com/personal/savings/bank-cd/interest-rates
https://www.us.hsbc.com/savings-accounts/products/interest-rates/
https://www.us.hsbc.com/savings-accounts/products/certificate-of-deposit/
https://www.usbank.com/savings/todays-savings-rates.aspx
https://www.usbank.com/ICWeb/productComparison.html?productCode=CDA
https://www.suntrust.com/personal-banking/savings-accounts/select-savings
https://apps.pnc.com/rates/servlet/DepositRatesSearch?productGroup=saving
https://apps.pnc.com/rates/servlet/DepositRatesSearch?productGroup=cd
https://www.huntington.com/Personal/savings-cds-overview/premier-savings-account
https://www.td.com/us/en/personal-banking/savings-accounts/
https://www.capitalone.com/bank/savings-accounts/#id_comparesavingsaccounts
Online Banks:
https://www.marcus.com/us/en/savings/high-yield-savings
https://www.marcus.com/us/en/savings/high-yield-cds
https://www.banking.barclaysus.com/online-savings.html
https://www.banking.barclaysus.com/online-cds.html
https://www.americanexpress.com/personalsavings/high-yield-savings-account.html
https://www.americanexpress.com/personalsavings/certificate-of-deposit-CD-accounts.html
https://www.discover.com/online-banking/savings-account/
https://www.discover.com/online-banking/cd/
https://www.citizensaccess.com/our-rates/overview.html
https://www.ally.com/bank/online-savings-account/
https://www.ally.com/bank/view-rates/
https://www.synchronybank.com/banking/high-yield-savings/?UISCode=0000000