Methodology
How RateZip gets its numbers.
RateZip has tracked published bank and lender rates since 2007. This page explains the sources behind our main rate figures, how we keep them current, and how we make money - so you (or anyone citing us) can judge the data on its provenance.
Rate sources
30-year and 15-year fixed mortgage
National averages from Freddie Mac's Primary Mortgage Market Survey (PMMS), published weekly. The Rate Index history uses the last weekly observation in each month. These are survey benchmarks, not lender offers; your rate depends on your credit profile, location and loan.
Daily mortgage rates by loan type (mortgage-rates page)
Daily national averages by product - 30-year fixed conforming, 15-year fixed, jumbo, FHA, VA and USDA - are the Optimal Blue Mortgage Market Indices (OBMMI), retrieved from FRED (Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis). OBMMI averages the note rate on mortgages actually locked through Optimal Blue's platform, covering roughly a third of US locks, and is published the next business day. Each product has its own observation date. This source differs from PMMS, so the two benchmarks can legitimately show different rates. Partner lender rates come from each lender's public rate page; a retained rate keeps its recorded date and is not a new quote.
CD and savings APYs
CD and savings APYs come from tracked bank and credit-union rate tables. The homepage and Rate Index use the same latest offers. Each top APY is the highest among those tracked offers. Rates more than two days old are labeled as older; missing rates are shown as unavailable.
Personal loan benchmark
The 24-month personal loan rate at commercial banks comes from the Federal Reserve's G.19 Consumer Credit release. This is a periodic survey benchmark, not a daily lender quote. We retain the source release date with the data; retrieving that release again does not make the rate new.
Auto insurance state averages
State average premiums from Insure.com's rate analysis (data by Quadrant Information Services), refreshed annually; the methodology note on the calculator page identifies the dataset year.
Refresh cadence
Rate sources publish on different schedules. We retain each source's date with its data; fetching it again or rebuilding the site does not advance that date. Older or unavailable rates are labeled when needed.
The Rate Index's reconstructed deposit history carries forward prior bank observations between recorded changes. Its coverage differs from the latest dated offer tables, so we do not pair those tables' top APYs with weekly or yearly changes from the historical series. Older editorial articles and historical comparisons retain their own dates.
Rates in AI assistants (the RateZip Rates Service)
RateZip also serves rates to AI assistants (such as ChatGPT, Claude, Gemini and Perplexity) through the RateZip Rates Service at mcp.ratezip.com, using the open Model Context Protocol. That service is sourced slightly differently from this website, and deliberately so:
- Deposit national averages come from the FDIC's national deposit-rate series via FRED (public data).
- Institution ratesare observed on each bank's or lender's own published rate page by an identified agent that honors robots.txt. Institutions that block that agent or publish rates only client-side are left out rather than estimated.
- No copyrighted benchmark is redistributed through the assistant service - unlike the daily mortgage-rates page above, the assistant feed does not carry the Freddie Mac PMMS or OBMMI indices, so its mortgage view is the set of directly-observed lender rates.
- Every figure carries an observation timestamp, its source, and a freshness status; data past its serve window is withheld, never shown as current.
- Personalization is transparent: a balance resolves the account's own published tier and a loan amount is flagged conforming or jumbo - the service does not generate a credit-adjusted or lender-specific rate quote.
Use of the assistant service is governed by our Rates Service terms.
Reviews and editorial
Lender and insurance reviews reflect our editors' independent assessment. Some products we review are offered by companies that also advertise with us; advertising never determines a rating. When we get something wrong, tell us via the contact page and we will correct the page and note the correction.
How we make money
RateZip is free and advertising supported. Peklava LLC, DBA RateZip (NMLS ID 1592292) is a licensed mortgage broker and marketing lead generator. We do not originate, make or fund loans; when you request quotes we connect you with licensed providers in our network, and we may be paid for that referral. See licenses and disclosures for the state-by-state detail.
Citing RateZip
When citing RateZip figures, include the source date from the dataset, name its source, and distinguish a national survey benchmark from a dated advertised offer. Keep each product's date separate; individual rates and availability depend on the product's terms, location and, for loans, the borrower's credit profile.