The days when savings account rates soared past 2% now seem like just a dream, and finding any savings account that offers more than .05% APY often feels like a pointless initiative. On the other hand, living within a struggling economy with no clear solution in sight makes saving money more important than ever.
The good news is that according to our latest study of savings account interest rates in the U.S., there are plenty high-interest options for desperate savers — the most plentiful of which, it turns out, are in Alabama.
Best and Worst Savings Account Rates by State
Go Banking Rates recently surveyed the current data in our interest rate database, and calculated the average savings account rates in each state. Alabama took the top spot with an average .40% APY savings rate, followed closely by North Carolina, Vermont and Oklahoma, all with an average savings account interest rate of .35% APY.
At the other end of the spectrum, the state of Arizona took last place at a paltry average savings account rate of just .13% APY. New Hampshire wasn’t far behind at only .14% APY, while Maine and Wyoming tied for third-worst at .15% APY.
See Average Savings Account Interest Rate by State
You can check out this interactive heat map to see how states stack up against each other, or view the state-by-state ranking below.
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| State | APY | State | APY | |
| Alabama | 0.40% APY | Virginia | 0.24% APY | |
| North Carolina | 0.35% APY | Florida | 0.24% APY | |
| Vermont | 0.35% APY | Nebraska | 0.24% APY | |
| Oklahoma | 0.35% APY | Kansas | 0.23% APY | |
| Mississippi | 0.33% APY | South Carolina | 0.22% APY | |
| Rhode Island | 0.32% APY | Illinois | 0.22% APY | |
| New Jersey | 0.31% APY | Wisconsin | 0.22% APY | |
| New York | 0.31% APY | Alaska | 0.21% APY | |
| West Virginia | 0.30% APY | Washington | 0.21% APY | |
| North Dakota | 0.30% APY | Nevada | 0.21% APY | |
| Missouri | 0.30% APY | Ohio | 0.18% APY | |
| Louisiana | 0.29% APY | South Dakota | 0.18% APY | |
| Utah | 0.28% APY | Indiana | 0.18% APY | |
| Delaware | 0.27% APY | Michigan | 0.17% APY | |
| Arkansas | 0.27% APY | Idaho | 0.17% APY | |
| Maryland | 0.27% APY | Colorado | 0.17% APY | |
| Hawaii | 0.27% APY | Minnesota | 0.17% APY | |
| Georgia | 0.26% APY | California | 0.16% APY | |
| Texas | 0.26% APY | Connecticut | 0.16% APY | |
| Pennsylvania | 0.25% APY | Oregon | 0.16% APY | |
| Iowa | 0.25% APY | Montana | 0.16% APY | |
| Kentucky | 0.25% APY | Maine | 0.15% APY | |
| Massachusetts | 0.25% APY | Wyoming | 0.15% APY | |
| New Mexico | 0.25% APY | New Hampshire | 0.14% APY | |
| Washington DC | 0.24% APY | Arizona | 0.13% APY | |
| Tennessee | 0.24% APY | Source: Go Banking Rates |
Why Do Savings Account Rates Matter?
While it’s discouraging to see such low savings account rates across the board, it still makes more sense to deposit at a higher interest rate when possible. Establishing yourself as the customer of a bank or credit union with competitive interest rates now will take some of the work out of finding a quality bank in the future, when interest rates begin to rise again. All the while, you’ll earn a little interest and have the added protection of FDIC insurance.
How Are Average Savings Account Interest Rates Calculated?
Go Banking Rates is refreshingly unique, with the ability to provide the most comprehensive and authentic savings rate information. While many interest rate aggregators simply survey local branches belonging to national banks and credit unions, we manually collect interest rate information from individual community banks and local credit unions in every U.S. state, in addition to national and online banks.
State savings account interest rate averages are calculated based on the information in our rates database, which populates our Rates Table. Currently, there are more than 4,000 financial institutions in our Rates Table. Rates are based on a $10,000 deposit and are as of July 15, 2012.
