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Brian McKay

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Brian is the Co-Founder of MonitorBankRates.com. For over 18 years, he has utilized his background in enterprise infrastructure to engineer proprietary systems that track rates from over 8,000 financial institutions.

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| September 21, 2026 | 5 min read

High-Yield Savings Rates Rise to 1.978% After the Fed's Quarter-Point Increase

High-yield savings rates rose 0.077 points to 1.978% in the first savings report since the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point on September 16. Jumbo and business savings rates also rose; standard and credit union savings rates eased.

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00% on September 16, and this is our first savings rate report collected after that decision. Rates on high-yield savings accounts rose 0.077 points to an average 1.978%, jumbo savings rates rose 0.087 points to 1.346%, and business savings rates rose to 0.530%. Standard savings rates eased to 0.801% and credit union savings rates to 0.252%.

High-yield and jumbo savings rates rose this week

Savings rates by account category, national average APY since late March

Average APYs from MonitorBankRates.com's nightly collection, the same series this report's figures come from, updated daily.

The average high-yield savings rate rose 0.077 points to 1.978% this week, recovering most of the 0.095-point decline in our September 14 report and moving within 0.022 points of 2.00%, a level it last topped in mid-August. Jumbo savings rates rose 0.087 points to 1.346%. Both figures come from the smallest pools we track, 225 banks reporting high-yield rates and 94 reporting jumbo rates this week, so repricing by a handful of institutions can move either average this much in one report. High-yield accounts pay more than twice the standard savings average.

Standard and credit union savings rates eased

Standard savings rates, the rate on a basic branch savings account, eased 0.010 points to 0.801%, and credit union savings rates fell 0.019 points to 0.252%. Business savings rates rose 0.013 points to 0.530%. Savings rates are variable and each institution sets its own timing, so category averages can move in different directions in the same week; three of the five categories were higher in this report and two were lower.

Weekly change by savings category (percentage points)

This report's averages, September 14 to September 21. Green bars rose; red bars fell.

Savings rates this week: September 14 vs. September 21

The Fed's benchmark rate is now 3.75% to 4.00%

The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate a quarter point to 3.75% to 4.00% on Wednesday, September 16, its first increase since 2023. The vote was 12 to 0, and the statement said inflation remains elevated. Savings rates are variable, so a bank can raise the rate on accounts its customers already hold, with nothing to sign; how fast and how fully is each bank's choice, and the figures in this report were collected five days after the announcement.

What a $10,000 balance earns at these averages

At the 1.978% high-yield average, a $10,000 balance earns about $198 over a year; at the 0.801% standard savings average it earns about $80. Our savings calculator runs on the same live data behind this report, defaulting to today's national average APY, computed from rates published by more than 8,000 banks and credit unions and updated every day, and it can load your state's averages instead. The budget calculator works from the same live rate data for its savings figures. Savers checking local offers can line up New York savings rates against these national averages, and category history is on our savings rate history page.

The bottom line on savings rates

High-yield savings rates averaged 1.978% in the first savings report since the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate, with jumbo savings at 1.346%, standard savings at 0.801%, business savings at 0.530%, and credit union savings at 0.252%. Savings rates are variable, and each bank sets the timing and size of any change that follows the increase. On a $10,000 balance, an average high-yield account earns about $118 a year more than an average standard account, and our guide on how to find the best savings rates online covers where to look first.