Fed interest rate history · 2015
The Fed Funds Rate in 2015
In 2015, the Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate from 0.25% to 0.5%, for a yearly average of 0.27% — the 11th-highest of the 18 years on record. Here's the month-by-month path, what the Fed did and why, how the UK and Europe compared, and where it sits against the 3.75% of today.
- 2015 average 0.27% high 0.5% · low 0.25%
- Net move +0.25 pts 0.25% → 0.5%
- vs today 3.75% in 2026
- 2009–2026 average 1.55% long-run norm
2015 month by month
The rate began 2015 at 0.25% and ended it at 0.5%. Along the way the Fed stepped it up in 1 of the year's months — a net increase of 0.25 points across the year. Its high was 0.5% and its low 0.25%. The chart above traces that path; hover any month to read the exact level.
What the Fed did in 2015, and why
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the first time since the financial crisis — the first step off near-zero after seven years at the bottom.
The Fed sets this rate to serve its "dual mandate" — stable prices and maximum employment. When inflation runs hot it raises the benchmark to cool borrowing and demand; when the economy weakens it cuts to encourage activity. In 2015 the rate averaged 0.27%, which makes the year the 11th-highest of the 18 years on record. For context, the benchmark has averaged 1.55% across the whole 2009–2026 record and ran about 0.74% on average through the 2010s, so 2015 sat below its own decade.
What it meant for your money
The federal funds rate is the wholesale price of money, and it filters into almost every rate a household touches. When it sits low, as in 2015, the interest on credit cards, car loans and other variable-rate debt tends to be cheap, while the yield on savings accounts, CDs and money-market funds is thin. Fixed mortgage rates take their cue more from long-term Treasury yields than from the Fed directly, but they generally drift in the same direction. You can see that year's home-loan cost in our mortgage-rate history for 2015.
The US in global context
The Fed wasn't acting in isolation. Entering 2015, the Bank of England held its headline rate near 0.44% and the European Central Bank near -0.2%, against the Federal Reserve's 0.25%. The levels differ — and each bank measures its rate slightly differently — but the world's major central banks tend to move through the same broad cycle, tightening and easing together as the same global forces of growth and inflation play out. To see the full three-way comparison over time, view the US/UK/Europe chart on the main study.
How 2015 compares
A year earlier, in 2014, the rate averaged 0.25% and ended at 0.25%. The following year, 2016, it averaged 0.52%. Set against today's 3.75%, 2015's 0.27% average was lower.
This is one year of the story. For the full picture — every month since 2009, the zero years, the great tightening, and the UK/Europe comparison — see the Federal Reserve interest rate history, 2009–today.
The Fed rate in 2015 — FAQ
What was the federal funds rate in 2015?
In 2015 the Fed's benchmark rose from 0.25% at the start of the year to 0.5% by year-end, averaging 0.27% (a high of 0.5% and a low of 0.25%).
Did the Fed raise or cut rates in 2015?
The rate raised 0.25 points on net, stepping up in 1 month across 2015, from 0.25% to 0.5%. The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the first time since the financial crisis — the first step off near-zero after seven years at the bottom.
How does the 2015 rate compare with today?
In 2015 the rate averaged 0.27%, versus 3.75% today. Across the full 2009–2026 record the benchmark has averaged 1.55%, ranging from 0.25% to 5.5%.
What were UK and European interest rates in 2015?
At the start of 2015, the Bank of England sat near 0.44% and the European Central Bank near -0.2%, against the Federal Reserve's 0.25%. Each central bank defines its headline rate a little differently, but all three tend to move through the same broad cycle.
Why did the Fed move rates in 2015?
The Federal Reserve raised its benchmark rate for the first time since the financial crisis — the first step off near-zero after seven years at the bottom.
