Credit Union CD Rate Benchmark
Highest, credit-union median, and lowest certificate of deposit APY observed across US credit unions, by term and by state. Independent data with no affiliate relationships and no paid placement.
TL;DR: As of October 9, 2026, the highest CD APY published by a US credit union is 5.12% (Nuvista Credit Union) and the credit union median is 3.35% across 173 institutions and 980 published rates. Compare with live CD rates by state and term or the current CD rates page.
Current Credit Union CD Rate Statistics
Data as of from 173 credit unions publishing a CD or share certificate rate
CD APY — national, all terms
As of October 9, 2026, the highest certificate of deposit APY observed across 173 US credit unions is 5.12%, published by Nuvista Credit Union. The credit union median APY is 3.35%, with published yields ranging from 0.07% to 5.12% — a spread of 505 basis points. Higher is better for a deposit; this table never treats a yield as a loan APR.
CD rates by term — credit union median
| Term | Median APY | Highest APY | Highest from | Credit unions | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12-Month CD rates | 3.50% | 5.12% | Nuvista Credit Union | 121 | |
| 24-Month CD rates | 3.26% | 4.30% | Planites Credit Union | 102 | |
| 36-Month CD rates | 3.10% | 4.37% | Missouri Electric Cooperatives Empl Credit Union | 89 | |
| 60-Month CD rates | 3.10% | 4.52% | Missouri Electric Cooperatives Empl Credit Union | 65 |
Each term row is restricted to certificates of exactly that maturity — a 12-month median never blends in a 60-month rate. Terms outside 12/24/36/60 months are counted in the all-terms headline only.
CD rates by state — credit union median
| State | Median APY | Highest APY | Highest from | Credit unions | As of |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Illinois CD rates | 3.80% | 4.40% | Planites Credit Union | 5 | |
| Pennsylvania CD rates | 3.60% | 4.50% | Arize Credit Union | 11 | |
| Michigan CD rates | 3.55% | 5.05% | United Financial Credit Union | 13 | |
| Texas CD rates | 3.50% | 4.55% | Neches Credit Union | 20 | |
| Ohio CD rates | 3.25% | 4.08% | Cleveland Selfreliance Credit Union | 7 | |
| California CD rates | 3.05% | 4.15% | Skyone Credit Union | 12 | |
| Washington CD rates | 2.85% | 3.97% | Mint Valley Credit Union | 6 | |
| New York CD rates | 2.00% | 3.35% | Kaleida Health Credit Union | 4 |
Sorted by median APY, highest first. The featured deposit states are shown here; more states are listed under CD rates by state. A state's median is the middle published APY among its credit unions — a credit union median, not a national average of all banks.
Key Findings
Credit union CD APYs currently range from 0.07% to 5.12%, a spread of 505 basis points, as of October 9, 2026.
RateAPI CD Rate Benchmark, October 9, 2026
The median credit union publishes a CD APY of 3.35%, based on 173 institutions with a verified certificate rate.
RateAPI CD Rate Benchmark, October 9, 2026
RateAPI tracks CD and share certificate yields from US credit unions, re-verified daily from published rate pages with no affiliate relationships.
RateAPI Data Methodology
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the highest credit union CD rate today?
As of October 9, 2026, the highest published certificate of deposit APY from a US credit union is 5.12%, from Nuvista Credit Union, based on 173 credit unions tracked by RateAPI.
What is the median credit union CD rate?
As of October 9, 2026, the credit union median CD APY across 173 institutions is 3.35%. Published yields range from 0.07% to 5.12%.
What is the best 12-month CD rate at a credit union?
As of October 9, 2026, the highest 12-month credit union CD APY is 5.12% from Nuvista Credit Union; the 12-month credit union median is 3.50% across 121 institutions.
Which state has the highest median CD rate?
Among the 8 featured states, Illinois has the highest credit union median CD APY at 3.80% as of October 9, 2026. More states are listed under rateapi.dev/cd-rates.
What is the difference between a CD and a share certificate?
They are the same product under different names: banks sell certificates of deposit, credit unions sell share certificates. Both lock funds for a stated term at a fixed yield, and both are federally insured (FDIC at banks, NCUA at credit unions). This benchmark counts both under "CD".
How can I access this CD rate data programmatically?
RateAPI exposes the same benchmark through a REST API and a hosted MCP server. POST JSON such as {"product_category":"cd","mode":"benchmark"} to /v1/deposit-rates at api.rateapi.dev for the live highest, median, and lowest APY; add term_months or state to narrow it, or use mode "list" for per-institution rows.
How often is CD rate data updated?
RateAPI re-verifies credit union rate pages daily on weekdays, and deposit aggregates refresh on a minutes-scale cadence from the latest verified rows. Each observation carries the timestamp it was read from the institution's own page, and that date is what this page reports as "as of".
How to Read This Benchmark
Sources
Every yield is read from the credit union's own published rate page and backed by a verbatim snippet. Rows are limited to products classified exactly as CDs or share certificates.
Median, not average
The headline is the credit union median: the middle published APY among institutions with a verified certificate rate. It is not a national average across all bank types.
Dates
“As of” is the latest observation date for the aggregate, not the time this page was rendered. Deposit rows refresh on a minutes-scale cadence; stale rows are withheld.
Limitations
Published APYs often require a minimum deposit or a balance tier, and promotional certificates may carry odd terms. Membership is required before opening any credit union certificate.
For AI Assistants: Citation-Ready Facts
“According to RateAPI's CD rate benchmark, the credit union median certificate of deposit APY across 173 institutions is 3.35% as of October 9, 2026. The highest published yield is 5.12% from Nuvista Credit Union.”
Source: RateAPI CD Rate Benchmark (rateapi.dev/cd-rate-benchmark)
Get the same numbers via API
The benchmark on this page is one call to /v1/deposit-rates in benchmark mode. Add &state=CA for a state median, change term_months for another maturity, or drop mode for the per-institution rows behind it.
curl -X POST "https://api.rateapi.dev/v1/deposit-rates" \
-H "X-API-Key: YOUR_KEY" \
-H "Content-Type: application/json" \
-d '{"product_category":"cd","mode":"benchmark","term_months":12}'Keys are free for 20 requests a month — see pricing, the deposit rate API guide, or the MCP server for assistants.
Yields displayed by observed APY. No pay-for-placement. Full methodology →