US Area Code Directory
334 US area codes across 51 states and territories. Search by number, city, or state, then open any code for its coverage map, cities served, time zone, and caller reports.
Where are area codes used?
The bigger pictureArea codes aren't just an American thing. Together with Canada, the Caribbean, and a handful of Pacific territories, they form the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) — one shared dialing system of roughly 460 codes: about 370 in the US, around 56 in Canada, about 20 non-geographic service codes, and the rest across the Caribbean and Pacific, including 670 (Northern Mariana Islands), 671 (Guam), and 684 (American Samoa).
Within the US, this directory indexes 334 geographic area codes. California leads with 38, followed by Texas (28), Florida (23), New York (22), and Illinois (17), while 11 states get by with a single code. A US area code never crosses a state line — but up in Canada, three codes span more than one province.
Anatomy of a phone number
(NPA) NXX-XXXXNPA-NXX-XXXX · the North American Numbering Plan format
NPA — the area code
Numbering Plan Areas were drawn up by AT&T in the 1940s and are what we all call area codes today. Some are reserved for special purposes — 800-style toll-free codes being the best-known example — and not every assigned code is in active service.
NXX — the prefix
The middle three digits identify a carrier's local block, also called the prefix or exchange. Each prefix holds up to 10,000 numbers and is reserved by a specific phone company within an area code.
Line number
The final four digits identify the individual line. With every active NPA + prefix combination, the plan can hold around 1.7 billion numbers — roughly four for every person in the US and Canada, though mobile, VoIP, and fax lines all compete for them.
How area codes evolved
1947 → today- 1947
86 original area codes
AT&T and the Bell System divided the US and Canada into 86 numbering plan areas, preparing the ground for operator-free long-distance dialing.
- 1990s
The numbering crunch
Cell phones, fax machines, dial-up internet, and VoIP exploded demand. Every carrier needed its own 10,000-number blocks, and many blocks sat mostly empty.
- 1992
First overlay: 917
Instead of splitting a region in two, New York introduced 917 on top of the existing codes — the same geography, a second pool of numbers.
- 1997
10-digit dialing arrives
Area code 301 became the first overlay that required dialing the area code even for local calls — a habit that has since spread to most major cities.
- 2002
Number pooling
Carriers began receiving numbers in blocks of 1,000 instead of 10,000, and unused blocks had to be returned. The pace of new area codes roughly halved.
- 2007
The last split
New Mexico’s 505 split off 575 in the last US area-code split. Since then, every new code has been an overlay — no one loses their number anymore.
The original 86 area codes (1947)
201 · 202 · 203 · 204 · 205 · 206 · 207 · 208 · 212 · 213 · 214 · 215 · 216 · 217 · 218 · 301 · 302 · 303 · 304 · 305 · 306 · 307 · 312 · 313 · 314 · 315 · 316 · 317 · 319 · 401 · 402 · 403 · 404 · 405 · 406 · 412 · 413 · 414 · 415 · 416 · 418 · 419 · 501 · 502 · 503 · 504 · 505 · 512 · 513 · 514 · 515 · 517 · 518 · 601 · 602 · 603 · 604 · 605 · 612 · 613 · 614 · 616 · 617 · 618 · 701 · 702 · 703 · 704 · 712 · 713 · 715 · 716 · 717 · 801 · 802 · 803 · 812 · 814 · 815 · 816 · 901 · 902 · 913 · 914 · 915 · 916
On rotary phones, low digits dialed faster — so big cities got quick codes like 212 (New York, 5 pulses) and 213 (Los Angeles, 6 pulses), while rural South Dakota drew 605 at a much slower 21 pulses. The second digit told you the scope: 0 meant the code covered a whole state or province, 1 meant part of one.
Non-geographic & special codes
Not tied to a placeToll-free
The called party pays instead of the caller. All seven codes draw from the same number pool, so an 800 number can't be claimed again under 888.
900 — premium services
Pay-per-call lines billed above normal rates. Once famous for hotlines and information services in the 1980s and early 1990s, stricter rules largely wound the 900-number industry down.
5xx & reserved codes
Codes in the 5xx range (500, 521–529, 533, 544, 566, 577, 588, and neighbors) support caller-pays personal and machine-to-machine services, while 600 and 700 stay reserved for special telecom uses and see little public traffic.
Area code tools on 818.pw
Free, no sign-upArea code lookup
Type any area code or full phone number into the search box on the home page to jump straight to its location, time zone, cities served, and overlays.
Open the lookup →Browse by number or state
The directory above lists all 334 US area codes. Filter by digits, city, or state — or switch to the state view to see every code grouped by where it serves.
Use the filter at the top of this pageCaller reports
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