How much interest will a $15,000 CD earn now?
Certificate of deposit (CD) accounts have been a secure and smart way to grow your money in recent years. And that's unlikely to change anytime soon. Even though inflation has significantly dropped from a 40-year high in June 2022, there has been little progress in dropping it further in 2024. That's left the federal funds rate — already paused at a 23-year high between 5.25% and 5.50% — frozen. While that's a negative for savers, it's a boost for savers thanks to the elevated returns they can earn with vehicles like CDs.
However, CDs don't operate like other savings accounts, so you'll need to leave your funds in the account untouched to earn the full interest rate. So savers may want to deposit a moderate amount of money to keep their other funds accessible. And, a $15,000 deposit may suffice.
Before getting started, though, it's critical to crunch the numbers to ensure that freezing your funds in a CD will be worth the final return you obtain once the CD has matured. To that end, below we'll break down what you can earn with this deposit amount based on various terms and available rates.
See how much more you could be earning with a top CD here now.
How much interest will a $15,000 CD earn now?
The amount of money you can earn with a CD is determined by the deposit amount, the interest rate the lender offers and the term (or length) of the account. Here's what you can expect to earn this June, assuming you don't pay any fees or early withdrawal penalties before your account has matured:
- 3-month CD at 5.30%: $194.92 for a total amount of $15,194.92 after three months.
- 6-month CD at 5.30%: $392.37 for a total amount of $15,392.37 after six months.
- 1-year CD at 5.26%: $789.00 for a total amount of $15,789.00 after one year.
- 18-month CD at 5.00%: $1,138.95 for a total amount of $16,138.95 after 18 months.
- 2-year CD at 4.76%: $1,461.99 for a total amount of $16,461.99 after two years.
- 3-year CD at 4.61%: $2,171.60 for a total amount of $17,171.60 after three years.
- 5-year CD at 4.80%: $3,962.59 for a total amount of $18,962.50 after five years.
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Why you should open a CD now
As the above figures demonstrate, you stand to earn hundreds and potentially thousands of dollars by opening a CD with a $15,000 deposit right now. But timing here is key.
Interest rates fluctuate, as anyone who looked into opening a CD in 2020 or 2021 at rates under 1% can attest to. And with inflation cooling (it dropped in April from March), interest rate cuts could be in play if the inflation rate continues its overall downward trend.
If that happens, you'll regret not having opened a CD earlier. So don't wait for that scenario to materialize. Get started with a top CD today in any of the above terms, or consider a smaller $10,000 or $5,000 deposit to take advantage of CD rates while they're still elevated.
The bottom line
By depositing $15,000 into a CD now, you could earn as little as $194.92 or as much as $3,962.59 — or somewhere in between, depending on the lender and rate found (online banks tend to offer higher rates than banks with physical locations). Whichever term or amount you ultimately decide on, however, the timing here is important to get right. Today's CD rates won't stay this high forever, so it makes sense to lock one in right now.
