Average Checking Account Interest Rates 2021
Contents
- 1 Average Checking Account Interest Rates 2021: Statistics and Key Findings:
- 2 Average Checking Account Interest Rates 2021: Charts, Graph, Analysis
- 3 Historical US National Average Statistics
- 4 Historical US National Average Statistics
- 5 Average Checking Account Interest Rates of Traditional Banks 2021
- 6 Average Checking Account Interest Rates: Traditional Banks
- 7 Average Checking Account Interest Rates of Online Banks 2021
- 8 Average Checking Account Interest Rates: Online Banks
- 9 How We Conducted The Study
- 10 Conclusion
Checking accounts, as a type of historically low products remains again one of the lowest profitable types of accounts after the COVID. There is only one good news that we can mention about then – they haven’t been significantly affected by the COVID.
And why?
Because and now, and before they were and again remain relatively low. In traditional banks, you will see numbers like 0.01%, rarely up to 0.03%. This shouldn’t interest most of us.
ElitePersonalFinance conducted a comprehensive study on all big banks’ checking accounts in 2021.
Here is what we found:
| Deposit Product: | Average Rates 2019: | Average Rates 2020: | Average Rates 2021: |
| Checking Accounts | 0.06% | 0.05% | 0.04% |
Many banks’ savings and CDs saw a significant drop of about 3 times because of the COVID. We see a drop in almost all checking accounts values, but it is not so big. As you can see the average checking account rate in 2021 is 0.04%, which means only a 0.01% drop compared to the previous year. Like we said above, checking account rates are relatively low products and that is why they haven’t been seriously affected.
Both Non-Jumbo and Jumbo accounts, with less and over $100,000, have the same rates.
Average Checking Account Interest Rates 2021: Statistics and Key Findings:
National average rates:
The average checking account rate in 2021 is 0.04%.
The average checking account rate decreased from 0.05% to 0.04% for the last year. This makes a drop of 0.01% or 20%.
The current interest rate cap for checking accounts is 79.
Traditional banks:
All traditional banks’ checking accounts rates are below the national average. Most of their rates are 0.01%.
Citibank has the highest average checking accounts rate of 0.03%.
Many big banks don’t offer any interest on their checking accounts or are close to 0.
Online banks:
Online banks offer higher interest rates than traditional banks.
Many online banks don’t offer any checking interest rates or are close to 0.
The leader is Axos Bank, with 1,25%, but there are requirements mentioned below.
COVID update:
Almost all checking accounts were affected by the COVID but not significantly.
Average Checking Account Interest Rates 2021: Charts, Graph, Analysis
Historical US National Average Statistics
After displaying a continuous decline from the end of 2009 until the end of 2017, national average checking account interest rates began to show life signs in late 2018. Then and in 2019, we have the highest values ever. From 2020, there was a drop of 0.01%. The decrease continued in 2021 when because of the COVID, the average rate drops again by 0.01%.
Here is what our study found:
| Year: | Average Checking Account Interest Rate: |
| 2009 | 0.13% |
| 2010 | 0.10% |
| 2011 | 0.07% |
| 2012 | 0.05% |
| 2013 | 0.04% |
| 2014 | 0.04% |
| 2015 | 0.04% |
| 2016 | 0.04% |
| 2017 | 0.04% |
| 2018 | 0.06% |
| 2019 | 0.06% |
| 2020 | 0.05% |
| 2021 | 0.04% |
Historical US National Average Statistics
ElitePersonalFinance analysis of FDIC data
Average Checking Account Interest Rates of Traditional Banks 2021
When analyzing some of America’s largest traditional banks, we found that almost all of the institutions have average checking account interest rates that fall below the national average. In fact, only Citibank has an average checking interest rate of 0.03%, which is the highest value that we found. All other banks that we reviewed average at 0.01%, which is very low.
Although big banks remain a very safe place for your money, their checking accounts are probably not the best option.
Here is what our study found:
| Institution: | Average Rate: |
| Bank of America | 0.01% |
| Wells Fargo | 0.01% |
| Citibank | 0.03% |
| Chase Bank | 0.01% |
| HSBC | 0.01% |
| US Bank | 0.01% |
| SunTrust | 0.01% |
| PNC Bank | 0.01% |
| Huntington National | 0.01% |
| TD Bank | 0.01% |
| Capital One | 0.01% |
* Checking Accounts that don’t pay interest were not included in the table.
Average Checking Account Interest Rates: Traditional Banks
ElitePersonalFinance analysis of traditional banks official websites
Average Checking Account Interest Rates of Online Banks 2021
When assessing online-only offers, you see a slight uptick in average checking account interest rates. With rates ranging from 0.01% to 1.25%, the numbers look better than the traditional banks.
Here is what our study found:
| Institution: | Average Rate: |
| Ally Bank | 0.18% |
| Charles Schwab Bank | 0.03% |
| HSBC Direct Checking | 0.01% |
| TIAA Bank | 0.40% |
| Radius Bank | 0.13% |
| Axos Bank | 1.25% |
| Alliant High-Rate Checking | 0.25% |
* Checking Accounts that don’t pay interest were not included in the table.
Average Checking Account Interest Rates: Online Banks
ElitePersonalFinance analysis of online banks official websites
The leader is Axos Bank.
Offering 1.25% within its Rewards Checking Account, they position them well-above their competitors. However, to qualify for the full 1.25%, you need to meet three requirements. Each of them is 0.4166%.
- Receive monthly direct deposits totaling $1,000 or more.
- Use your Axos Visa® Debit Card for a total of 10 transactions per month (min $3 per transaction).
- Use your Axos Visa® Debit Card 5 more times, a total of 15 transactions per month (min $3 per transaction).
Banks with a significantly higher value than the average national are: TIAA and Alliant.
How We Conducted The Study
ElitePersonalFinance provides 100% correct and always up to date studies.
Using the latest data from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and interest rate data from traditional and online banks’ official websites, we extracted the numbers to present the most accurate depiction of average checking account interest rates within the United States.
Conclusion
While checking accounts are not used for investment or growth purposes, many options in our study provide a small amount of interest relief regardless of your account balance.
Most notably is Axos Bank.
Most importantly, a respectable interest rate helps you keep pace with inflation. As the cost of goods and services rises, your purchasing power declines in the process. While none of the products above come close to the 2% target, they can still keep you from falling too far behind.
Read also:
Average Bank Interest Rates 2021
Average Savings Account Interest Rates 2021
Best High-Yield Online Savings Accounts of February 2021
Sources:
Current US National Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Historical US National Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Traditional Banks:
Bank of America Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Wells Fargo Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Citibank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Chase Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
HSBC Average Checking Account Interest Rates
US Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
SunTrust Average Checking Account Interest Rates
PNC Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Huntington National Average Checking Account Interest Rates
TD Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Capital One Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Online Banks:
Ally Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Charles Schwab Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
HSBC Direct Checking Average Checking Account Interest Rates
TIAA Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
Radius Bank Average Checking Account Interest Rates
