Exit numbers in the United States

Exit numbers in the United States are assigned to freeway junctions, and are usually numbered as exits from freeways. Exit numbers generally are found above the destinations and route number at the exit, as well as a sign in the gore. Exit numbers typically reset at political borders such as state lines. Some major streets also use exit numbers. Freeway exits in the United States are usually numbered in two formats: distance-based and sequential.

Interstate Highways

The Federal Highway Administration generally requires exit numbers on the Interstate Highway System; the FHWA established that requirement in 1970. The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices encouraged use of mileposts and exit numbering by 1961. The MUTCD mandated exit numbering in 1971. The FHWA granted California an exception due to the cost of installing and maintaining additional signage; the state was able to obtain a waiver because it had already built most of its freeways, although some freeways in Los Angeles County received junction numbers: Interstate 10 was the only freeway in the county that had a complete set of junction numbers. I-5, US Route 101, and then State Route 11 were numbered for short distances from downtown Los Angeles. Freeway connections were unnumbered, and junction numbers were only shown on plates, not on gore signs. In 2002, the Cal-NExUS program began to completely number California's junctions. The program is not well-funded, especially because of California's budget woes, so exits are only being signed with numbers when signs need to be replaced. As the efficiency of an exit numbering system for navigational purposes depends on all exits being consistently numbered, the usefulness of the system while only some exits are numbered is limited. Originally, the initial completion date for this project was set as November 2004. The deadline was then extended to 2008. However, the 2006 edition of the California Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices removed any sort of compliance deadline for the exit numbers.
, nine states—mostly in the Northeast—and the District of Columbia used sequential numbering schemes on at least one highway, although the 2009 edition of the MUTCD requires these jurisdictions to transition to distance-based numbering. Although a ten-year compliance period was proposed for the new edition of the MUTCD, a compliance date for this change was ultimately not adopted with the 2009 edition, meaning that the transition is accomplished through a systematic upgrading of existing signing and there is no specific date by which the change must be implemented. However, the FHWA has required that all federally funded routes with sequential numbering eventually be converted to mileage-based exit numbers. To that end, the FHWA has required each state that currently uses sequential exit numbering to submit a plan to eventually transition to distance-based exit numbers. Some of the states that currently have sequential numbering either have or intend to request a waiver from the Federal Highway Administration to retain their current numbering systems, while others have planned a gradual transition to mileage-based exit numbering over time as existing signage reaches the end of its serviceable life and is replaced.
The mile-based requirement mandates multiple exits in the same mile to use a letter suffix in alphabetical order. This also applies to divided interchanges, where two exits are used for opposite directions of the road, for example on full cloverleaf interchanges. Older exit numbering schemes sometimes use cardinal directions depending on the directionality of the cross route, for example I-93 in New Hampshire uses exits 15E and 15W for the cloverleaf interchange with US 202 in Concord which is signed east and west at the interchange. Many exits in the Northeastern states which currently or formerly used sequential numbering schemes had these directional abbreviations, but most have converted to A-B schemes.
The New Jersey Turnpike mainline splits into an Eastern Spur and Western Spur between interchanges 15 and 18. Because of this, E and W suffixes are present on these spurs to differentiate the interchange and roadway. One interchange on the Eastern Spur was constructed at a later time between 15E and 16E, creating an exit 15X. The letter X was used to represent access to the Secaucus Junction rail station, and to avoid an Interchange 15EA designation.
File:Charter Oak Bridge Highway Signs.jpg|thumb|An example of sequentially-numbered exits in Connecticut on the Charter Oak Bridge, Route 15/US 5; the state has begun the federally mandated conversion to mile-based exits.
Several states still maintain systems other than the MUTCD-standard mileage based systems; among these are:

Alaska: Exits on freeway portions of Alaska's Interstate Highways are currently unnumbered.
Connecticut: I-84, I-91, and I-95 are currently sequential within the state. The state currently plans to convert all interstate highways in the state to mile-based exit numbers by 2029. Connecticut planned to convert I-91 to mileage-based exit numbering in 1974, however, ConnDOT abandoned that initiative due to objections from local businesses.
Delaware: Exit numbers are sequential on I-95 and I-495. I-295 has no exit numbers at all, however, DelDOT has made a reference on a 2016 construction notice referring to the exit to I-495 north as exit 2.
District of Columbia: Historically, the only exit numbers posted in the District consisted of sequential numbers on I-295. The other freeways within the District of Columbia did not have exit numbers, but in 2008 the District began posting sequential numbers on I-395., not all interchanges had received numbers. The close proximity of the interchanges on this short freeway, coupled with the lack of space for new interchanges, renders the sequential system more practical than the mileage-based.
Florida: Interstate 110 uses sequential exit numbering.
Kentucky and Indiana: While both states use the mile-log system for their Interstate highways, the ongoing renumbering of exits on Interstate 265 around Louisville, set for completion in fall 2026, will deviate from MUTCD standards in one respect. Numbering will start at the intersection of I-265 and I-65 in Kentucky and run continuously to the road's northern terminus at I-64 in Indiana, not resetting at the state line.
Maine: The first nine exits on I-295 through Portland and South Portland, as well as I-395 thru Bangor and Brewer are sequentially numbered.
Massachusetts: Mileage based. I-291 and I-391 near Springfield, along with the Lowell Connector in Lowell, and Route 213 in Methuen are sequentially numbered. However, those roadways are short and have exits that are generally spaced in one-mile increments, closely matching the existing mile markers. The Lowell Connector does not have any mile markers currently posted along the roadway.
Mississippi: Exits on I-69 are unnumbered.
New Hampshire: All sequential. New Hampshire DOT has reportedly received permission to use federal funding to convert to mileage-based, but has yet to announce a formal plan for conversion. The New Hampshire General Court has considered legislation authorizing and directing the conversion to mile-based exit numbers, but former Governor Chris Sununu repeatedly stated his opposition to eliminating New Hampshire's existing sequential exit numbering system.
New Jersey: Mileage-based with the exception of I-676, I-278, and the New Jersey Turnpike, which are sequential.
New York: Mostly sequential; exceptions include I-781, I-890 in Schenectady, I-99, and I-84. I-95 mostly uses sequential numbering, however, exit numbers in The Bronx south of the New England Thruway are mile-based. The mainline of the New York State Thruway utilizes a separate exit-numbering scheme separate from its Interstates; non-Thruway sections of I-87 and I-90 each use three independent exit-numbering schemes.
Pennsylvania: Interstates are numbered by milepost with the exception of I-579 and I-676; both are short urban freeways with no exit numbers at all.
Rhode Island: Rhode Island experimented with dual exit/mile tabs in the 1970s. The state was denied a waiver from the FHWA to retain its sequential numbering system. The state completed renumbering all exit numbers from sequential to mile-based on November 3, 2022, with I-95 being the last interstate to do so.
Texas: Exits on completed sections of I-69W, I-169, and I-369 are currently unnumbered.
Vermont: Sequential, with no plans as of late 2018 to change to mile-based. Governor Phil Scott reached an agreement with the FHWA to use a dual sequential/mile-based exit numbering system starting in 2020. Under the agreement, existing sequential numbers will be retained, and supplemental signs added to each exit sign assembly indicating the mile-based exit number.

Two highways have metric numbering, because they were constructed during the time when the US was thought to be completely converting to metric. DE 1 has used standard mileposts since 2003 when the metric-based posts were replaced, and several exit numbers do not coincide with either the milemarker nor its kilometer conversion as they are offset by miles from a kilometer-based exit. I-19 currently has all exit numbers and distances in kilometers, but speed limits in miles per hour. The road has received funding for the distances to be changed back to miles, but in response to local opposition against exit number changes, the Arizona Department of Transportation had decided to spend the money on other roads instead.

Other highways

Exit numbering on non-Interstate highways is less consistent. For example, Texas, which normally uses mile-based exit numbering, uses sequential numbering on US 75 between downtown Dallas and the Oklahoma border. Similarly, the US 54 freeway from El Paso to the New Mexico state line also uses sequential exit numbering.

Alaska: the Johansen Expressway has three interchanges with sequential exit numbers.
In Arizona, many of its non-Interstate freeways utilize exit numbers such as the freeway loops around Phoenix, US 60 and SR 51.
In Arkansas, US 67, Arkansas Highway 549, and US 70 on the Hot Springs bypass are the only non-Interstate freeways to have exit numbers. Currently, I-49 from I-40 in Alma to Bentonville in northwest Arkansas follows the old numbering system off its old designation I-540. The exit numbers and mileage are derived from their distance from where the Fort Smith section of I-540 begins at the Oklahoma state line.
California uses exit numbers on most of its non-Interstate highways statewide when they are built to freeway standards. The notable exceptions are the Ojai Freeway section of SR 33 in and near Ventura, the westernmost section of SR 37 near Novato, the Westside Parkway section of SR 58 in Bakersfield, all but one of the freeway-style interchanges on SR 152 in central California, the small freeway section of SR 330 in Highland, and the freeway-style interchanges on the southern segment of US 395 in the southeastern part of California. However, like its Interstate Highways, the state's budget concerns have caused exits on these routes to only be signed with numbers when signs need to be replaced.
* On the expressway section of SR 86 near Thermal, the exit for Airport Boulevard is numbered as exit 16, measured from the start of the old SR 86S at 81st Avenue near Oasis. SR 86S was decommissioned in 2012 as SR 86 was rerouted onto the expressway alignment of former SR 86S. It is the only numbered exit on SR 86, despite the distance conflict.
* On a very small section of freeway of SR 126 near Santa Clarita, the exit for Commerce Center Drive is sequentially numbered as exit 13, as exit 12 is away in Santa Paula near the eastern end of the Santa Paula Freeway section of SR 126. It is the only known instance of a sequential numbered exit in California.
Colorado does not use exit numbers on non-Interstate highways. The exception is E-470 and the Northwest Parkway, which are separate toll highways.
Connecticut had used sequential exit numbers on longer non-Interstate freeways, such as Route 2, Route 8, Route 11, Route 25, and US 7. Previously, shorter freeway sections, such as the US 6 Windham Bypass, Route 20, and freeway sections of Route 17 lacked exit numbers. As of August 2025, all non-Interstate freeways in Connecticut have mileage-based exit numbers, except for US 7, which still has sequentially numbered exits, and Route 20 has no exit numbers. Before its conversion to mileage-based numbering in August 2025, Route 15's exit numbers were originally a continuation of exit numbers from the Hutchinson River Parkway in New York.
In Delaware, US 301 uses mileage-based exit numbers and DE 141 uses sequential exit numbers. DE 1 uses kilometer-based exit numbers despite using milemarkers since 2003.
In Florida, the Turnpike and other expressways owned and operated by the Florida's Turnpike Enterprise use distance-number exits. Toll roads under the Central Florida Expressway Authority also use distance-number exits. The Lee Roy Selmon Expressway in Tampa uses a sequential-based exit numbering system. Expressways under the authority of the Miami-Dade Expressway Authority have no exit numbers.
Georgia does not carry exit numbers on non-Interstate expressways except for SR 400 and Stone Mountain Freeway, which run on a sequential system, and SR 10 Loop, running on a distance-number system.
The state of Illinois uses exit numbers on three freeways, on Illinois Route 6 between in Peoria, IL 390 in the northwestern suburbs of Chicago, and IL 255 in the suburbs of St. Louis.
The state of Indiana uses exit numbers on two highways with freeway segments, on US 31 between Indianapolis and South Bend and SR 912 in northwest Indiana.
The state of Iowa uses exit numbers on non-Interstate expressways, such as Iowa 163 or the non-Interstate portions of the Avenue of the Saints.
Kentucky does not limit exit numbers to Interstate Highways.
* Exits on the controlled-access portion of New Circle Road, which surrounds the urban core of Lexington, are numbered on the standard distance-based system. Numbering increases in clockwise order, starting and finishing at the interchange with Nicholasville Road near New Circle's southernmost point.
* All roads within the state's parkway system of former toll roads use the same distance-based numbering system used on interstates.
** One exception is the Plano Road exit of the William Natcher Parkway outside of Bowling Green. Originally the William Natcher Parkway connected I-65 at exit 20 to US 60 in Owensboro. In 2011, the Natcher Parkway was extended to terminate at Scottsville Road. This caused a renumbering of the Natcher Parkway and adding the Plano Road exit as exit 1. However, in 2019 the Natcher Parkway was upgraded to Interstate standards and redesignated as I-165. According to Interstate regulations, Interstates and Interstate spurs should not terminate at a traffic signal. This redefined the highway to once again begin at the I-65 interchange. The remaining of the highway remained as KY 9007. This left the question on how to number the Plano Road exit located approximately halfway along the remaining highway. To prevent confusion in directionality and numbering conventions, the Plano Road exit was renumbered with the rare exit 0 designation.
* In addition to these instances, several smaller cities, mainly in the southeastern and south-central portions of the Commonwealth, mark traffic lights on a main commercial road with sequential numbers, usually beginning at an intersection with a primary highway:
** Berea — KY 21, starting at the I-75 interchange until KY 21 meets US 25. Numbering continues on US 25 until the road leaves the city limits. Throughout this stretch, numbering increases as one travels north.
** Corbin — US 25E, starting at the I-75 interchange at North Corbin and continuing for approximately until its intersection with KY 830 east of Corbin. Numbering increases as one travels east.
** London has two sets of numbered lights. The Hal Rogers Parkway, starting at KY 192 and ending at US 25, uses increasing westbound numbering. KY 192, starting at the I-75 interchange, uses increasing eastbound numbering until the Hal Rogers Parkway.
** Manchester — US 421, starting at the Hal Rogers Parkway and increasing as one travels north through the city.
** Middlesboro — KY 74 through the downtown area, with numbering increasing as one travels west.
** Monticello — KY 90, starting at the northern end of the city and increasing until exiting the city.
** Radcliff — US 31W, also known as Dixie Highway, starting at an intersection at the city's border with Elizabethtown and increasing as one travels north until reaching the main entrance to Fort Knox.
** Richmond also has two sets of numbered lights. US 25 Business uses exit numbers through downtown numbers lights 1–6 from KY 52 at Lancaster Avenue and the next five consecutive lights south; however, the lights south of the railroad tracks and north of the KY 52 concurrency are not numbered. The bypass route wrapping east around Richmond uses exit numbers from KY 876 east of I-75 exit 87, and continues onto Dr. Robert R. Martin Highway US 25/US 421 to I-75 exit 90; however, the traffic lights at the Interstate are not numbered.
** Somerset — US 27, starting at the northern limits of the city and increasing as one travels south. The numbering continues even after the road leaves the city limits, with the final numbered intersection occurring shortly before US 27 enters the city of Burnside.
Maine has exit numbers only on Interstates; its other limited-access highways with limited exceptions lack mile markers.
In Maryland, there are three state highways that use exit numbers. Maryland Route 200 continues the distance-based exits from its parent I-370. MD 32 has a peculiar distance-based exit set up in that the exits are numbered from east to west from I-97 to MD 108 so that the eastern terminus of MD 32 starts at mile 0. MD 100 uses distance-based exits until Edwin Raynor Boulevard.
Minnesota distance-numbers its exits on Interstates, but left other freeways or expressways with unnumbered exits. The first exception was US 52's freeway portion through Rochester, which received mileage-based exit numbers in 2004 as part of a major widening project. In 2016, MnDOT started adding exit numbers to previously unnumbered exits during sign replacement projects or new freeway construction, starting with US 169 in Shakopee., portions of MN 62, MN 610, MN 77, US 10, US 12, US 212, US 61, portions of US 52 between Rochester and downtown St. Paul, and most left exits at major junctions, have gained numbers.
In Mississippi, exits on non-Interstate freeways are not currently numbered.
In Missouri, non-Interstate Highways do not have exit numbers, the exceptions being Route 364 and Route 370 in St. Charles and St. Louis counties, which use mile-based exit numbers.
In New England, except for Maine, exit numbers are posted on express highways of any significant length, regardless of designation. Some at-grade intersections have posted numbers; such as on Route 9 in Middletown, Connecticut.
New Hampshire does not assign numbers to exits to junctions with Interstates. For example, I-293's southern exit from I-93 is between exits 5 and 6, but is not numbered, NH-101 eastbound, however, despite being an interstate grade freeway, is assigned Exit 7. NH 101's own exit to I-95 in Hampton is between exits 12 and 13, but is also not numbered.
In New Jersey, the New Jersey Turnpike and Palisades Interstate Parkway are numbered sequentially. All other highways are mile-based, except for the Brigantine Connector in Atlantic City, which uses letters for exits. Many New Jersey freeways lack exit numbers.
New Mexico initially did not assign exit numbers on non-Interstate highways. In the mid-2000s, the state's Department of Transportation began posting mile-based exit numbers whenever an at-grade intersection is upgraded to an interchange.
* US 84/US 285 between Pojoaque and Santa Fe became the first non-Interstate highway in the state to use exit numbers when that stretch was upgraded to freeway standards in 2005; there is also a numbered interchange on the expressway segment of the same highway between Pojoaque and Española. The NM 502 interchange in Pojoaque isn't numbered; and the interchange with NM 599 near Santa Fe is only numbered going southbound as they were both built in the late 1990s and early 2000s, respectively.
* NM 599 has two numbered interchanges, at Jaguar Drive and at County Road 62. However, the interchanges at Camino La Tierra and Ridgetop Road are not numbered at all.
* The US 70/US 285 Relief Route around Roswell has an interchange with two exits marked exit A and exit B.
* Other freeways have no exit numbers due to their relatively short lengths. Previously, New Mexico did not assign exit numbers on non-Interstate highways.
In New York, most highways in the New York City metro region of this type use sequential numbering. Expressways and freeways without Interstate designations upstate have unnumbered interchanges. In addition:
* All parkways on Long Island, except the Southern State Parkway, Heckscher State Parkway, and Northern State Parkway preface exit numbers with a one- or two-letter prefix indicating the parkway's name. For example, exits on the Meadowbrook Parkway are numbered M1 through M10, and exits on the Sunken Meadow Parkway are numbered SM1 through SM5. Some of these exits have a letter suffix as well.
* Some at-grade intersections have posted numbers; former examples are the Taconic State Parkway, NY 17, and within New York City, NY 27 along only the section of Linden Boulevard east of Kings Highway. Current examples are the Bronx River Parkway, Saw Mill River Parkway, and, within New York City, NY 27 along Conduit Avenue only.
* The Taconic State Parkway formerly numbered exits and at-grade intersections sequentially by county, with a one-letter prefix indicating the county. Interchanges in Westchester County were prefixed with W, Putnam with P, Dutchess with D, and Columbia with C. The Taconic Parkway received mile-based exit numbers in the summer of 2017 as part of an ongoing sign replacement project.
* Exits on the Berkshire Spur of the New York Thruway are B1, B2, and B3, as the spur is part of the mainline ticket system..
North Carolina uses mileage-based exit numbers on all freeways. Additionally, exit numbers are often assigned to major grade-separated interchanges, even if the road is not a freeway, such as the interchange between the boulevard-grade US 70 and I-540 in Wake County.
Oklahoma posts exit numbers on its turnpike system.
Oregon originally did not post exit numbers on any of its non-Interstates. In the 1990s, the Oregon Department of Transportation began numbering most sections of its freeways with mile-based exits, starting with US 26 and OR 217 west of Portland., almost all Oregon freeway interchanges are numbered; new interchanges are also numbered.
Pennsylvania's non-Interstate highways that have numbered exits are still numbered sequentially with the exception of the toll roads that are part of the Pennsylvania Turnpike system. PA 60 was one of these roads, but the numbers were converted to the mileage-based system in November 2009 when I-376 replaced PA 60 to Mercer County. The Lehigh Valley Thruway through Bethlehem and US 30 between York and Lancaster have no exit numbering, but do have mileposts that reflect the appropriate distance from the West Virginia border. Additionally, freeway sections can have independent milepost systems that apply exclusively to the freeway: an example of this being the Robert Casey Highway-US 6 extending northeast of Scranton, which has mileposts reflecting the length of the freeway section.
Rhode Island has mile-based exit numbers on Route 99 as of 2017, on Route 4, Route 78, Route 403, and the Airport Connector as of 2018, on Route 146 as of summer 2019, and on Route 10, Route 24, and Route 37 as of 2020.
Tennessee generally does not post exit numbers on its non-Interstate freeways, with the exceptions of Nashville's partial beltway SR 155 and the controlled-access segment of SR 386.
Texas currently has four non-interstates that use exit numbers. US 75 uses a sequential scheme. Due to a major reconstruction project in the 1990s, which combined many exits, these jump from 8B to 20B. A stretch of US 82 from Whitesboro to Honey Grove in North Texas has exits 622 through 686. US 54 in El Paso uses sequential exits, starting at exit 20. SH 130 uses mile-based exits starting at 497 and decreases to 411 at its northern terminus. Exits on other freeways are based on a statewide reference system where the exit number is determined by the distance from either the northernmost or westernmost geographic reference point in Texas.
Utah's higher-density freeways have exit numbers, including SR 154,SR 201, and SR 67. Ten miles of US 89 in Davis County and US 40/US 189 between I-80 and SR 32 are signed with exit numbers. Also, US 6/US 191 in Price is signed with exit numbers using US 6 mileage.
Vermont does not use the mileage-based system on non-Interstates, although supplemental "Milepoint Exit" placards indicating the mile-based exit number are being added to existing signage, with two exceptions: VT 127 and VT 289 in the Burlington area. The numbers would have been continuous if the Chittenden County Circumferential Highway were completed. The numbers start at Manhattan Drive just north of Burlington and end at Interstate 89 near Williston. Freeway sections of US 4 and US 7 in the western part of the state use sequential numbering.
Washington state does not number most of its non-Interstate freeway exits. Two exceptions are SR 14 from Vancouver to Camas and SR 16 from Tacoma to near Gig Harbor, both milepost-based. It is unclear if other freeways will receive numbers in the future.
West Virginia has only one non-Interstate with exit numbers, the US 22 freeway in Weirton.
Wisconsin has exit numbers on the freeway and expressway portions of US 10, US 12, Wisconsin Highway 16, WIS 26, WIS 29, WIS 30, WIS 64, US 41, US 45, US 51, US 53, WIS 145, and US 151.