A good comparison of CD rates can be found at http://bankrate.com/brm/rate/brm_depsearch.asp. This site lets you search, either by state or nationwide, for banks and thrifts offering high yields. The results include about 100 large banks and thrifts surveyed weekly by Bankrate.com, as well as smaller banks that pay to be listed.

Some smaller banks, thrifts and credit unions that don’t pay for a listing sometimes offer even higher rates. You can often find them by looking in your local newspaper.