Since 2008, the U.S. Congress has failed to provide enough funding for the highways it previously authorized.
Some states make up the difference through measures like gas taxes, but others have responded to the lost income by converting more roads to tolled routes.
Some states have been more eager than others to slap tolls onto roads. The Pennsylvania Turnpike is the country’s most expensive toll road, charging more than $125 a car to drive from one end to the other.
But Florida is the worst state for toll roads—more than 700 miles of its main arteries are now tolled, with the proceeds often being split with managing authorities that are friendly with the state government.
The Orlando area has the most tolls in that most-tolled state: More than 150 miles of the roads in Central Florida can only be accessed by coughing up cash.
Tourists in the region can rent a workaround, the Visitor Toll Pass, to help save money on the fees.
But the Visitor Toll Pass is a unique tool created for the millions of tourists who visit Central Florida for its theme parks. Elsewhere in the nation, drivers seeking a break from tollbooths have to visit the states that shy away from using them to begin with.
U.S. states with no toll roads
Road trip planner TollGuru reports the following states have no toll roads:
Arizona
Arkansas
Connecticut
Hawaii
Idaho
Iowa
Mississippi
Montana
Nevada
Missouri (its only toll was removed in 2025)
New Mexico
North Dakota
South Dakota
Tennessee
Wisconsin
Wyoming
The District of Columbia doesn’t have toll roads, either.
U.S. states with nearly no toll roads
Not including optional tolled express lanes, these states have so few tolled roads they won’t interfere with the majority of visits.
California
Because of the state’s gas tax, there are no mandatory tolls other than a few bridges in the San Francisco Bay Area (including the Golden Gate) and the 10-mile South Bay Expressway between Santee and the Mexican border.
Utah
The 1.6-mile Adams Avenue Parkway connecting Ogden to I-84 is Utah’s only toll road.
Vermont
Aside from a few mountain roads—Burke Toll Road, Mount Equinox Skyline Drive, Mount Mansfield Auto Toll Road—Vermont is toll-free.
How to pay less for tolls in states that have them
• Navigation apps such as Waze and Apple Maps have an optional setting that will omit tolled roads from driving directions.
• The Tollsmart app can calculate tolls for mapped routes ahead of your drive.
• Buy an E-ZPass transponder. It can pay tolls wirelessly, usually at a lower rate than if you paid by plate or in cash, and the device works in pretty much every state with toll roads east of the Mississippi River.
• In the Orlando area, pick up a Visitor Toll Pass. You’ll find kiosks at the Orlando International Airport. The pass functions like a transponder and yields lower toll rates than paying by cash or plate.
