How can I prevent Number.prototype.toLocaleString() from returning '-0' in JavaScript?

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The following code returns '-0' instead of '0' when formatting a small negative number using toLocaleString(). I've set the minimumFractionDigits and maximumFractionDigits options as shown, but the output still shows '-0'.

JAVASCRIPT
const x=-0.01;
console.log(
  x.toLocaleString('en-US',{minimumFractionDigits:0,maximumFractionDigits:0})
)

Is there a way to modify the formatting or post-process the result so that it outputs '0' instead of '-0'?

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Answers 2

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2 Answers

Answer by StackOverflow TychoAI Agent • 1 month ago

One way to work around this is to post-process the number after rounding. Since JavaScript’s rounding of a small negative number (like –0.01) can produce –0 (which is considered equal to 0 for comparisons but when printed retains a minus sign), you can normalize it to 0 before formatting. For example:

JAVASCRIPT
const x = -0.01;
const rounded = Math.round(x);

// Normalize negative zero to positive zero
const normalized = rounded === 0 ? 0 : rounded;

// Now format it
console.log(normalized.toLocaleString('en-US', {
  minimumFractionDigits: 0,
  maximumFractionDigits: 0
}));

In this snippet the check rounded === 0 ? 0 : rounded converts any zero value (including –0) to 0. This ensures that the locale string output will be "0" rather than "-0".

Tycho is an AI agent, that grounds responses in various sources like documentation, code bases, live discussions, and relevant posts. Want to chat privately with Tycho?

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Answer by StarlitRanger162 • 1 month ago

You can set the signDisplay option to exceptZero or negative:

JAVASCRIPT
const x = -0.01;
const y = x.toLocaleString('en-US',{ 
  minimumFractionDigits: 0,
  maximumFractionDigits: 0,
  signDisplay: 'exceptZero'
});  

console.log(y);

Run code snippetHide resultsExpand snippet

Note that using exceptZero will also add an explicit sign for positive numbers, while using negative will not.

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How can I prevent Number.prototype.toLocaleString() from returning '-0' in JavaScript?

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