Rate guides & FAQs
Full index of rate explainers and interest-rate questions from the rates dashboard.
All rate guides
- 30-year mortgage rate
- 15-year mortgage rate
- HELOC rate (prime + 1)
- Bank prime rate
- Average credit card APR
- 24-month personal loan rate
- 60-month new auto loan rate
- National savings rate
- National money market rate
- 12-month CD rate
- 60-month CD rate
- 3-month Treasury yield
- 2-year Treasury yield
- 10-year Treasury yield
- 30-year Treasury yield
- CPI inflation
- Unemployment rate
- Federal funds rate
Understanding Interest Rates
Plain-language context for the numbers above. Educational only—not a forecast or recommendation to borrow, invest, or change policy.
What’s the difference between the Fed rate and mortgage rates?
The effective federal funds rate is an overnight bank lending benchmark set by monetary policy. Mortgage rates are long-term loan prices influenced by bond markets, investor demand, and lender margins. They often move in the same general direction over time, but they are different numbers with different drivers.
How mortgage payments are calculatedWhy don’t mortgage rates immediately follow Fed decisions?
Fixed mortgage rates are priced off longer-term markets, especially mortgage-backed securities and Treasuries. A single Fed announcement can shift expectations, but lenders and markets may have already priced in the news. Pass-through is uneven and never one-for-one.
Why can credit card APRs remain high?
Card APRs include the bank’s margin, risk pricing, and fees. Even when short-term benchmarks fall, issuers may adjust slowly or keep margins wide for risk or profitability reasons. Promotional rates and penalty APRs add more layers beyond a prime-based index.
How do higher interest rates affect savings?
When banks raise deposit APYs, cash in savings and CDs can earn more nominal interest. In calculators on this site, you enter APYs yourself—they are not downloaded except for the economic indicators on this page. Real returns still depend on inflation.
High-yield savings calculatorWhat is the difference between APR and interest rate?
The interest rate is the cost of borrowing the principal. APR attempts to include certain fees and costs spread over the loan term, so it can be higher than the note rate. Lenders disclose both; this site’s loan calculators use the rate and APR you type.
Mortgage payment guideWhy is a lender’s quote different from a national average?
National averages blend many borrowers and loan types. Your quote reflects credit score, loan size, occupancy, points, location, and the lender’s pricing model. Averages are useful context, not an offer you can expect to receive.
How does inflation affect purchasing power?
When prices rise faster than your income or savings, each dollar buys less. Year-over-year CPI summarizes that change for a broad basket. Personal inflation depends on what you actually spend on.
Inflation CalculatorWhat do Treasury yields tell us?
Treasury yields show what investors demand to lend to the U.S. government for a given maturity. They are a reference for other rates and for thinking about opportunity cost—not a direct mortgage or savings APY.
How often do these rates update?
Mortgage PMMS averages update weekly. Treasury yields and bank prime usually update on business days. FDIC national deposit rates and many bank loan averages update monthly. CPI and unemployment publish monthly with a short lag. Dates on each card are FRED observation dates.