Best Jumbo CD Rates November 2023

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If you’ve got at least six figures for your jumbo CD, you can take advantage of the competitive jumbo CD rates on one of its five terms (six months, 12 months, 18 months, 24 months and 36 months). The highest yield is an impressive 5.77% APY on the 12 month option.

There are no maintenance fees that could possibly drag down your earnings, which are compounded daily. However, if you’re looking for a monthly interest check, you’ll need to look elsewhere. Interest is only credited upon CD maturity.

Early withdrawal penalties will also eat into your return. The bank charges three months’ interest for CD terms of one year and shorter; six months’ interest for CD terms of 18 to 24 months; and nine months’ interest for long-term CDs.

If you want more flexibility, My eBanc offers an 11-month, jumbo Flex Time Deposit, which allows you to make two partial withdrawals without penalty. However, the yield is much lower, only 3.30% APY.

When the CD matures, you have ten calendar days to choose what you’ll do with the yield and what you’ll do with the CD. You could reinvest your principal and earnings into another CD, take the yield and renew the CD, or cut and run.

Pros and cons

Pros

Competitive rates.
Wide range of CD terms.
Compounding daily interest.

Cons

Yield available only upon maturity.
Flex option offers mediocre yield.

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The State Bank of Texas (not to be confused with Texas Bank) has just one jumbo CD option… and it’s a good one: put down $100,000 for 12 months and you’ll earn a 5.85% yield.

Of course if you want another term option, you’re out of luck. Although the private bank sometimes offers 18-month and 24-month CDs, it currently has no other term options and no non-jumbo CDs.

And while the interest rate on its jumbo CD is highly competitive, it isn’t compounding. You can’t put the earned interest back into the deposit, but, instead, must take the interest payment(s) each month or at the CD’s maturity.

If you need to access your funds before the term matures, beware that the early withdrawal penalty is expensive: 60 days’ interest, which is double the typical penalty for one-year CDs. Partial withdrawals aren’t allowed.

To open an account, you must either go in person to a Texas branch or fill out an application and email it.

Pros and cons

Pros

Top CD yield.
A+ grade from the Better Business Bureau.
5.0-star rating on the Apple App Store.

Cons

No Android app rating on Google Play.
Only one term option.

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For this jumbo certificate you only need $50,000, which is on the lower end of minimum deposit requirements. This could help you to spread your deposit funds across more terms without sacrificing the higher rates you typically find with jumbo deposits.

You’ll pay an early withdrawal fee if you want to cash out before the maturity date. And the penalties are on the high side amongst our winners: You’ll owe 180 days’ interest (about six months) if the term is between six and 60 months; 1,095 days’ interest (two and a half years) for terms greater than 60 months.

The good news is that if you haven’t earned that much interest yet, you simply pay all of the interest that you have earned; the difference doesn’t come out of your principal.

Credit union membership isn’t strict, either. To join, you can pay $20 to one of two nonprofits: The Northern Virginia Athletic Directors and Coaches Association (NVADCA) or the Friends of the W&OD Trail. The first gives college scholarships and the second maintains a historical woodland path.

Pros and cons

Pros

Relatively low minimum deposit requirement.
Early withdrawal penalty won’t touch your principal.
Highly-rated mobile app (4.8 on the App Store and the Play Store).

Cons

You can find higher rates elsewhere.
High early withdrawal penalties.

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The highest yielding rate from the State Department FCU is its 12-month offering (5.30%), though you can still earn good yields on its 36 and 60-month jumbo options, which produce a high rate (4.47%) compared to what you can find elsewhere.

If you’re interested in a jumbo bump-up certificate (where you can request a rate increase once during your certificate term), you can find the same rate on a 17-month term. This is an unusually good deal bump-up certificates typically have lower starting rates.

Whichever type of jumbo CD you choose, the early withdrawal penalties are relatively low. Moreover, if you haven’t earned enough interest to cover the full charge, only your yield is vulnerable; the fee won’t touch your CD principal.

For CD terms less than 12 months, you’ll forfeit 30 days’ interest; 12- to 48-month CDs, 180 days’ interest; at least 60-month CDs, 360 days’ interest.

The credit union membership requirement is a relatively wide and low hoop to jump through: To join, you can pay $8 to the American Consumer Council (ACC).

Pros and cons

Pros

Competitive rates on longer terms.
Low early withdrawal penalties.
Nominal membership cost.

Cons

Membership required.

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Our other winners offer just a few certificate options, but Michigan State University FCU has 10, ranging from three months to seven years. The rates are competitive, but not top of market.

The 12-month term also has an add-on feature, which allows you to increase the certificate’s principal by up to $10,000 over the term.

Whatever term you choose, you’ll face industry-standard early withdrawal penalties: 90 days’ interest on certificates of one year or less; 180 days’ interest on certificates of 13 months to five years; and 365 days’ interest on certificate terms greater than five years. If at all possible, don’t make an early withdrawal before you’ve gained the amount of penalty interest required. If you don’t have enough interest, the difference comes out of your CD principal; a big downside.

If you’re sure you can tuck away your funds for most of the CD term, joining the credit union is easy. You only need to donate $10 to the Desk Drawer Fund, which is a community nonprofit based in East Lansing, Mich.

You can open CDs on your phone app, on the website or, if you’re in Michigan, at a local branch.

Pros and cons

Pros

Big range of jumbo CD terms.
Solid yields.
Easy to join.

Cons

Early withdrawal penalty could reduce principal.
Poor app ratings (2.8 on the App Store; 2.6 on the Play Store).

Compare the best jumbo CD rates

Institution	Star rating	APY	Min. deposit
My eBanc	5.00	4.18% to 5.77%	$50,000
State Bank of Texas	4.86	5.85%	$50,000
Apple Federal Credit Union	4.61	4.05% to 4.55%	$50,000
State Department Federal Credit Union	4.66	4.40% to 5.30%	$100,000
Michigan State University Federal Credit Union	4.60	3.50% to 4.80%	$100,000

Methodology

We did a bunch of calculations to determine the best jumbo CD. Here’s the factors we considered and how we weighed them.

60%: APY. Whatever term you choose, the point of putting a lot of cash into a CD is to have it earn money safely. We weighed CD yields as the most important factor in our considerations.

20%: Customer service and digital experience. When you deposit a large amount of money with an organization, being able to trust that you’ll be treated well by the people and the technology is important.

10%: Availability. If you live on the west coast, it won’t help you to know that a bank that only serves Floridians currently has one of the highest yields. We rewarded institutions that served the whole country.

5%: Compound interest schedule. The more often a CD compounds, the more you’ll earn. We favored CDs with a daily compounding interest rate.

5%: Available terms. Depositors have different goals and life plans. Financial institutions that had different jumbo CD terms for you to choose from earned a higher score.

Why some banks weren’t chosen

Not all banks made our list. In fact, you’ll notice that some of the largest financial institutions in the nation didn’t.

The most well-known names in banking tend to offer low deposit yields because they don’t have the need to be competitive and attract customers; they already have plenty of deposits and customers.

Smaller banks and credit unions tend to offer great interest rates to make a splash and gain depositors.

What is a Jumbo CD

Just as jumbo shrimp are really big shrimp, a jumbo CD is just as a traditional CD that requires a higher minimum deposit.

You’re also entitled to the same Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) insurance, though you may push up against the $250,000 limit per depositor, per institution, per ownership type.

However, just because it’s named jumbo doesn’t mean you’ll reap higher yields. In fact, many of our best CDs give you a better rate and require substantially smaller opening deposits.

Jumbo CDs vs. traditional CDs

The primary difference between traditional CDs and jumbo CDs is the sizable minimum deposit requirement for a jumbo CD, which usually lands at about $100,000.

This size difference matters; depending on the bank, you may be able to earn a higher yield with a jumbo CD compared to a traditional one.

Jumbo or not, however, CDs are considered one of the safest ways to earn interest.

“A primary reason to put money into a CD is to avoid the market deviations in the stock and bond markets,” said Tim Mazanec, a wealth management advisor at The Harvest Group, in Cambridge, Mass.

With deposit insurance up to $250,000 from the FDIC or the NCUA (National Credit Union Administration), your CD principal isn’t at risk from market forces. (Unless you go super jumbo.) Just be careful that the total amount of deposits you make at one insured financial institution doesn’t exceed that limit.

Consider spreading out your jumbo CDs across a few different banks so all of your deposits are covered.

Finding the best jumbo CD rates

In general, CD rates are currently at their highest levels since the Great Recession of 2008. With the Federal Reserve continuing to raise interest rates to stem high inflation, those jumbo CD rates levels should be around for a while; but, certainly not forever.

Learn more: our CD rate forecast.

“Investors should keep in mind, however, that if a recession in the U.S. were to materialize, then historically the [Federal Reserve] reacts by easing monetary policy, which may result in lower CD rates in the future,” Mazanec said.

That’s why locking in a long-term CD makes sense, even if you can get higher yields from shorter fare.

Pros and cons of jumbo CDs

Pros

Higher rates. You may be able to earn higher interest rates with jumbo CDs compared to other deposit vehicles, including savings accounts and traditional CDs.
Low risk. As long as you don’t exceed the limit of $250,000 per depositor, per institution, per ownership type, your entire deposit is insured.
Term options. Like traditional CDs, jumbo CDs are available in a wide range of terms.
Guaranteed yield. A CD locks in the APY; you won’t be wondering how much you’ve earned or worrying about rate fluctuations during the CD’s term.

Cons

High minimum deposit requirement. Most Americans may find themselves barred from jumbo CD deals due to minimum deposits of around $100,000.
Early withdrawal penalties. If you need cash for an emergency before the term expires, you’ll likely face early withdrawal fees. High-yield savings accounts are more liquid.
Potentially lower returns than other investment options. While low risk, CD yields fall short of the average stock market return rate and some don’t earn enough to keep up with inflation.

Tips on getting the best jumbo CD deal

Examine your financial needs first

If you’re looking for an extremely safe way to earn interest and don’t mind locking away the cash for the whole term, a jumbo CD can be the right choice. “Our clients should really shop for what best suits their needs,” said Arijit Roy, head of consumer segment and product at U.S. Bank.

Determine what timeline suits your financial plans. Be sure that you can commit the whole fund for the entire term. If you’re waffling and can’t decide on a CD maturity date, it can be smart to either simply go with the shorter term or, if you have enough funds, to deposit half in a short-term one and half in a long-term one.

Research

Understand what purpose your CD savings will serve in your large financial picture. Is this cash that you need now, or years in the future? Understand that you may be sacrificing higher returns from the stock market in order to get rate certainty.

You should also research the best rates available, as well as look for CDs with few fees. The latter will undercut the former.

Understand the terms

Take any marketing talk with a grain of salt however. Be aware of early withdrawal penalties and their impact on returns.

“CDs give you a reasonable return because they lock-up your capital and withdrawing early can cause penalties that can significantly impact your returns,” said Jack Prenter, chief executive officer at Dollar Wise, a personal financial advisory platform based in Ontario, Canada.

Consider CD laddering

CD laddering is a deposit strategy in which you have multiple CDs with staggered maturity dates.

“Laddering will balance the benefits of higher interest rates on longer-term CDs with the liquidity and flexibility of shorter-term CDs,” Prenter said.

Frequently asked questions (FAQs)

Like traditional CDs, jumbo CDs are considered low risk investments given that you can have deposit insurance up to $250,000 per institution, per ownership type. If your total deposits at one bank or credit union exceed that limit, consider opening an account at another institution to limit your risk.

Many jumbo CDs do not have a maximum deposit limit. Some that do have a deposit cap set it at $250,000 to $1 million.

Jumbo CDs terms typically range from three months to five years, although some can be as short as a few days or as long as 10 ten years, especially if you’re looking at brokered CDs.

The same forces that guide the path of traditional CD rates also influence jumbo CD yields. Therefore, the future rates of jumbo CDs depend largely on inflation, how the Fed reacts and how well the economy performs in the near future.

If inflation continues to moderate, though, it is unlikely the Fed will hike rates and therefore CD rates, in general, should stay around current levels. Of course, individual banks may increase rates in order to attract customer business.

In theory, you can discuss higher yields with your particular bank, especially if you have a longstanding relationship and, well, a good chunk of change to play with. However, you’re unlikely to garner a rate substantially higher than the one that is widely offered.