Numbers & Figures
Use numbers in the following examples:
The number 10 and higher.
Use numerals, even if the number is below 10, when indicating the following: ages, figures containing decimals, statistics, percentages, sums of money, times of day, days of the month, chapters in a book, latitude and longitude, degrees of temperature, dimensions, measurements, and proportions. Do not use superscripts:
- This year is the University’s 50th anniversary.
- Children usually begin kindergarten when they are 5 years old.
- Work begins at 8:30 a.m.
Days of the month, but omit rd, th, st and nd following the numerals:
- April 6, June 1
- Classes begin on Sept. 4.
A million or more, but spell out the word “million.” Use no hyphens.
- $150 million capital campaign
- 12.5 million people
Spans of years are written as follows, using an en dash (see “Dash” above):
- 1861–65, 1898–1902, 1903–04, 1985–86, 2001–03
Spell out numbers of centuries from first through ninth and lowercase (the third century, the ninth century), but use numerals from the 10th century on (the 12th century, the 20th century).
Do not capitalize “century” in any context other than a title. Do not hyphenate a century unless it modifies a noun:
- They own a 20th-century house furnished with 19th-century antiques.
- Traditional Chinese medicine began many thousands of years before the 21st century.
Hours of the day (7 p.m. or 7:30 p.m.);
Amounts of money with the word “cents” or with a dollar sign:
$3 (not $3.00), $5.09, or 77 cents, unless tabulated in columns.
Do not begin a sentence with numerals; supply a word or spell out the figures.
Numbers below 100 should be hyphenated when they consist of two words:
- Fifty-five houses now stand on Main Street.
- He turned 55 on his last birthday.
