How much will a $10,000 CD account earn by 2027?

If you were looking for some signs of economic stability in recent weeks, you had a few notable items to highlight. Inflation dropped in a report released last week and is once again closing in on the Federal Reserve’s target 2% goal. Unemployment also declined in January, according to the most recent data. And the Federal Reserve, after issuing three interest rate reductions in the final four months of 2025, held rates steady at its January meeting. There was also no February meeting, and currently, expectations surrounding another rate cut at the central bank’s March meeting remain low. In other words, the financial climate is stable right now, even if it remains far from where many borrowers would prefer it to be.

But this can be good news for savers, particularly those considering their certificate of deposit (CD) account options. CD rates in recent years reached as high as 6% or 7% and have since fallen into the low 4% range. These rates, however, are fixed, meaning that what savers lock in now will remain the same for the full CD term. And they’re not likely to change substantially in the short term, considering all of the aforementioned economic developments. 

In other words, now could be an ideal time to lock in a long-term CD rate while they’re still competitive. And, with a $10,000 initial deposit, the returns savers stand to earn can be significant. So, how much interest will a $10,000 CD account earn by 2027, approximately? Below, we’ll break down the numbers savers should know before opening an account.

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How much will a $10,000 CD account earn by 2027?

While 2027 may feel like the distant future, the reality is that interest takes time to build up. And waiting for the interest rate climate to cool further won’t benefit savers, especially if they can avoid that scenario by locking in a competitive CD rate right now. 

Here, then, is how much interest a $10,000 CD account can earn by 2027, calculated against two different terms and rates and the assumption that no early withdrawal penalties are issued against the account:

• $10,000 1-year CD at 4.10%: $410.00 upon maturity
• $10,000 18-month CD at 4.00%: $605.96 upon maturity

And while technically a 9-month CD would mature by the end of November 2026, it helps to know what sort of interest that short-term alternative could also generate:

• $10,000 9-month CD at 4.00%: $298.52 upon maturity

Savers, then, can earn hundreds of dollars worth of interest with a CD account of this size now with virtually no risk. Their principal won’t change, and their interest rate won’t change either. And while that can, theoretically, mean losing out on additional interest-earning opportunities if rates rise before the account matures, that appears increasingly unlikely in today’s cooling interest rate environment. Closely consider your CD account options now, then, as the rates (and profits) you can lock in at this point in 2026 are unlikely to be the same by the summer, let alone at this point in 2027.

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How much will a $10,000 high-yield savings account earn by 2027?

Don’t want to lock your money away but still want to earn a competitive rate? A high-yield savings account could prove to be a fruitful alternative as rates here are similar to the top CDs. That noted, high-yield savings account rates are variable and not well-positioned to weather additional rate reductions ahead. For reference, here’s how much a $10,000 high-yield savings account could earn by 2027, calculated using today’s top rate, the same two time periods as above and the assumption that the rate will remain constant:

• $10,000 high-yield savings account at 4.09% after one year: $409.00
• $10,000 high-yield savings account at 4.09% after 18 months: $619.73
• $10,000 high-yield savings account at 4.09% after nine months: $305.21

So, the $10,000 high-yield savings account can potentially be more lucrative than the CDs outlined above … or, it may not be, depending on what happens to the rate climate during these time periods. At the same time, savers can also offset some rate reductions by continuing to make deposits into these accounts in a way that they can’t with a locked CD. It’s worth evaluating both carefully, then, before making a five-figure deposit into either.

The bottom line

A $10,000 CD account can earn between $410 and $606, approximately, by 2027. But savers can also earn a similar return with high-yield savings account alternatives, too, and they won’t have to forego access to their money to do so – assuming rates remain steady. So there’s a lot to consider right now. No matter what you ultimately decide to do, however, whether it be to open a CD, a high-yield savings account or split the funds between both, do your best to avoid keeping any sizable amount of money in a traditional savings account now. With an average rate of 0.39% currently, savers are essentially losing money by continuing to use those accounts.