The Federal Reserve can raise interest rates at any of its eight scheduled Federal Open Market Committee meetings each year, but how often it actually does so depends entirely on the economy. In some stretches the Fed hikes at nearly every meeting; in others it holds rates flat for years. Between March 2022 and July 2023, the FOMC raised rates at 11 consecutive meetings, lifting the target range from near zero to 5.25–5.50%. It then held for over a year before beginning to cut. As of January 28, 2026, the target range sits at 3.50–3.75%.
When the FOMC Meets in 2026
The committee holds eight regularly scheduled meetings a year, each typically running two days.1Federal Reserve. Federal Open Market Committee The 2026 dates are:2Federal Reserve. Federal Open Market Committee – Calendars
- January 27–28
- March 17–18
- April 28–29
- June 16–17
- July 28–29
- September 15–16
- October 27–28
- December 8–9
Roughly six weeks separate one decision from the next, giving the committee time to see how the economy is responding to its previous action. Any of these meetings can produce a hike, a cut, or a hold. The FOMC sets a target range for the federal funds rate, which is the rate banks charge each other for overnight loans, and then uses tools like the interest paid on reserves to keep the actual trading rate inside that range.3Federal Reserve Bank of New York. How the Fed Adjusts the Fed Funds Rate Within Its Target Range
What Actually Determines Whether Rates Go Up
Congress gave the Fed a statutory mandate to promote maximum employment, stable prices, and moderate long-term interest rates.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 12 USC 225a – Maintenance of Long Run Growth of Monetary and Credit Aggregates In practice, that boils down to whether the economy is running too hot, too cold, or roughly in balance.
The Fed’s preferred inflation gauge is the Personal Consumption Expenditures Price Index, with a longer-run target of 2%.5Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Why Does the Federal Reserve Aim for Inflation of 2 Percent Over the Longer Run? It also tracks the Consumer Price Index. When prices climb persistently above 2%, the committee leans toward raising rates. When inflation runs below target, it leans toward cutting or holding.
Labor market strength matters too. Low unemployment and fast wage growth can signal an overheating economy, and the committee watches the monthly jobs report, the unemployment rate, and average hourly earnings. Gross domestic product growth rounds out the picture. The December 2025 projections put median expected GDP growth for 2026 at 2.3%.6Federal Reserve. Summary of Economic Projections, December 2025 Growth consistently above trend can push the committee toward tighter policy.
Because these inputs shift constantly, the committee describes itself as data-dependent. That is why there is no default number of hikes per year. The pace is whatever the incoming data justifies.
How Often the Fed Has Actually Raised Rates
The historical record shows just how much the pace can swing.
The 2022–2023 tightening cycle is the most aggressive in recent memory. The FOMC raised rates at 11 straight meetings, adding 525 basis points in about sixteen months. The moves ranged from standard 25-basis-point steps to four 75-basis-point jumps in mid-2022, the largest single-meeting increases in decades.7Federal Reserve Board. Open Market Operations The target range moved from 0–0.25% to 5.25–5.50%.
Then the committee stopped hiking entirely. After the July 2023 increase, rates sat unchanged for more than a year. Cuts began in September 2024 and totaled 100 basis points by year-end, bringing the range to 4.25–4.50%. Additional cuts through 2025 pushed the range to 3.50–3.75% at the December meeting.8Federal Reserve. Federal Reserve Issues FOMC Statement – December 10, 2025 The January 2026 meeting held steady.
Go back further and the range widens. From December 2008 through December 2015, the Fed held rates at essentially zero for seven straight years after the financial crisis. It raised rates only once in all of 2015 and once again in 2016 before picking up the pace in 2017 and 2018.7Federal Reserve Board. Open Market Operations Any prediction about how many hikes to expect in a given year should be held loosely.
Can the Fed Raise Rates Between Meetings?
Yes, but it almost never does. The committee has authority to call unscheduled meetings when conditions demand it, and history contains a handful of examples. In March 2020, the FOMC met twice outside its regular calendar and cut rates by a combined 150 basis points within twelve days as the pandemic shut down the economy. In October 2008, it held an emergency meeting during the financial crisis and cut by 50 basis points. Unscheduled cuts also followed the September 11 attacks in 2001.7Federal Reserve Board. Open Market Operations Every one of those emergency moves was a cut, not a hike. In practice, if you are watching for a rate increase, watch the eight scheduled meetings.
What a Hike Means for Your Wallet
When the FOMC moves the federal funds rate, the effect reaches consumers at very different speeds.
Credit card rates respond fastest. Most cards charge a variable APR built by adding a margin on top of the prime rate, which tracks the federal funds rate almost exactly. A 25-basis-point hike usually shows up on your statement within one to two billing cycles. Cuts move on the same timeline.
Fixed-rate mortgages are a different story. The 30-year fixed rate tracks the 10-year Treasury yield, not the federal funds rate directly. The spread normally runs about 1.5 to 2 percentage points but widened to roughly 3 percentage points during 2023 and 2024. That is why the 175 basis points of Fed cuts across late 2024 and 2025 did not translate into dramatically cheaper mortgages. At the start of 2026, 30-year rates were still around 6.18%.
High-yield savings accounts carry variable rates that generally move in the same direction as the federal funds rate, though banks control the timing and size of the adjustment. When the Fed raises rates, banks tend to increase savings yields to attract deposits. When it cuts, those yields drift back down. The adjustment is not instant or uniform, so shopping around matters, especially during transition periods.
Reading the Signals Before a Meeting
The Fed works hard not to surprise markets. After each meeting, the committee releases a written policy statement and the Chair holds a press conference explaining the decision.9Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System. Questions and Answers – The Information Content of the Post-FOMC Meeting Press Conference Four times a year, at the March, June, September, and December meetings, the committee also publishes the Summary of Economic Projections, including the dot plot showing where each participant expects the federal funds rate to sit at the end of the current year and the next few years.6Federal Reserve. Summary of Economic Projections, December 2025 The dots are anonymous, but the overall cluster tells you the direction the committee expects to move.
About two weeks before each meeting, the Fed publishes the Beige Book, a collection of on-the-ground observations from business contacts, bank directors, and market experts across all twelve Federal Reserve districts.10Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco. What Is the Beige Book, and What Role Does It Play in Setting Interest Rates for Monetary Policy? Between these projections, the statement language, and the Chair’s remarks, the committee usually telegraphs its likely next move well before the meeting arrives. Forward guidance is not a promise, though, and the committee has changed course abruptly when the economy surprised it.