How Many Avenues Does Manhattan Have? The Numbered and Named Grid

Manhattan's famous grid includes 12 numbered avenues (1st through 12th) running north-south on the East and West Sides, plus over a dozen named avenues that continue the sequence westward and in specific neighborhoods.

The Numbered Avenues (East → West)

• East Side: 1st Ave, 2nd Ave, 3rd Ave, Lexington Ave, Park Ave, Madison Ave, 5th Ave
• Midtown Core: 5th Ave (dividing line), 6th Ave (Avenue of the Americas), 7th Ave, 8th Ave
• West Side: 9th Ave, 10th Ave, 11th Ave, 12th Ave

Named Avenues West of 12th

• Riverside Drive (along Hudson River, Upper West Side)
• West End Avenue (70th–110th St)
• Broadway (diagonal, crosses the grid — not an "avenue" but functions as one)
• Columbus Avenue (59th–110th St, continues 9th Ave)
• Amsterdam Avenue (59th–110th St, continues 10th Ave)

Clarifications

• Total named north-south thoroughfares: ~20-25 depending on definition (some sources say "208 named streets" including cross-streets).
• Broadway is the only major diagonal; it creates "squares" (Times, Herald, Union, Madison).
• East of 1st Ave: FDR Drive (highway), not an avenue.
• Other boroughs have their own avenue systems (Queens, Brooklyn, Bronx) — not part of Manhattan's grid.

Why It Matters

The avenue numbering orients you instantly: higher number = further west. Even numbers generally run uptown; odd downtown (though many are now two-way). It's the city's coordinate system.