business phone · 6 min read
How Many Area Codes Are There
There are 383 geographic area codes in the US and Canada (348 US, 35 Canada). The full count by starting digit, plus the oldest, newest, and largest area codes.
There are 383 geographic area codes with an assigned city across the United States and Canada — 348 in the US and 35 in Canada. This page answers the most-asked counting and record questions about them, computed directly from the live North American Numbering Plan dataset behind our area code directory.
Key facts (as of June 2026): There are 383 geographic area codes in the US and Canada (348 US, 35 Canada). 92 of them are 1947 originals — the first codes ever assigned. The lowest-numbered is 201 (Jersey City, NJ); the highest is 989 (Saginaw, MI). California has the most area codes of any state (40), followed by Texas (29) and Florida (23). The most recently added is 471 (Tupelo, MS), assigned in 2026.
How many area codes are there in the US?
The United States has 348 geographic area codes — three-digit codes tied to a specific region with at least one city. Canada adds 35 more, for 383 across both countries under the shared North American Numbering Plan (NANP). Counting non-geographic codes (toll-free 800/888/877/866/855/844/833, plus premium and special-service codes) and the Caribbean NANP members pushes the total higher, but the geographic, city-assigned codes — the ones people actually search for — number 383.
This count rises over time. NANPA assigns a new code whenever a region exhausts its supply of available numbers, so the total grows by a few codes most years.
How many area codes start with each digit?
Every NANP area code begins with a digit from 2 to 9 — never 0 or 1, which are reserved for operator and long-distance routing. Here is the live breakdown of the 383 geographic codes by first digit:
| First digit | Area codes |
|---|---|
| 2 | 47 |
| 3 | 47 |
| 4 | 46 |
| 5 | 43 |
| 6 | 49 |
| 7 | 52 |
| 8 | 47 |
| 9 | 52 |
So if you searched “area codes that start with 4,” there are 46 of them; codes starting with 7 and 9 are the most common, with 52 each. No geographic code starts with 0 or 1 — see our guide to area codes that don’t exist for why.
What is the largest and smallest area code?
“Largest” and “smallest” can mean two things, so here are both, honestly:
By number: the lowest-numbered assigned area code is 201 (Jersey City, New Jersey — one of the original 1947 codes), and the highest is 989 (Saginaw, Michigan). Every assigned code falls between 201 and 989.
By population and density: the 917 code, covering New York City, sits over one of the most densely numbered regions in North America — it shares territory with five overlay codes (212, 718, 646, 347, 929). At the other end, rural codes like 660 (Sedalia, Missouri) serve far fewer people across a wider area. There is no single official “largest area code by land,” because codes are defined by number assignment, not surveyed boundaries.
What is the oldest area code?
The oldest area codes date to 1947, when the original North American Numbering Plan assigned 92 codes to the most populous regions. Famous originals include 212 (New York City), 213 (Los Angeles), 312 (Chicago), and 415 (San Francisco) — which is why those codes still carry prestige. Every code added since is, by definition, newer.
What is the newest area code?
The most recently assigned geographic code in our directory is 471 (Tupelo, Mississippi), activated in 2026. New codes arrive as overlays — a second code layered over the same region when the original runs out of numbers — which is why a single metro can carry several codes and require 10-digit dialing. Dallas’s 945, Idaho’s 986, and many others followed this path.
Which state has the most area codes?
California leads with 40 geographic area codes, reflecting both its population and the number-hungry density of metros like Los Angeles and the Bay Area. Texas is second with 29, and Florida third with 23. Smaller and less populous states often get by with a single code; California needs dozens.
Common questions
How many area codes are there in total?
There are 383 geographic area codes with an assigned city across the US (348) and Canada (35). Including non-geographic codes — toll-free, premium, and special-service — and the wider Caribbean NANP membership, the total is higher, but 383 covers every code tied to a specific city, which is what most “how many area codes” searches mean. The number grows by a few codes most years as regions run out of numbers.
Are area codes running out?
Individual regions run out, not the system as a whole. When a region’s numbers are nearly exhausted, NANPA assigns an overlay code covering the same geography, which is why dialing the full 10 digits is now standard almost everywhere. There is still a large reserve of unassigned three-digit combinations, so the NANP is not close to running out nationally.
Why does California have so many area codes?
California has 40 area codes because of population density plus the sheer volume of phone numbers consumed by mobile lines, businesses, and services in metros like Los Angeles, the Bay Area, and San Diego. Each time a region exhausts its supply, an overlay is added, and California’s dense metros have triggered this repeatedly.
How do I find which area code covers a specific city?
Use the area code directory — it lists all 383 geographic codes with their cities, states, time zones, and overlay history, and includes an instant lookup by code, city, or state. Each code also has its own page with local detail and how to get a number there.
Get a local number in any area code
DialPhone provides business phone numbers in any of the 383 US and Canada area codes, with an AI receptionist, business SMS, and free porting from $24/user/month.
Browse area codes → · Get a local number by state → · Pricing →
Related guides
- Area codes that don’t exist — 111, 123, 420, 777 and why
- US area code directory — all 383 codes with instant lookup
- Local numbers by state — get a business number anywhere
- Toll-free vs geographic area codes — when each fits
About the author
Growth Operations Lead at DialPhone
Darshan leads Growth Operations at DialPhone, where he owns three interconnected programs: the comparison content operation, the open VoIP Pricing Dataset, and the test-call methodology used to verify every pricing claim published on the site.
His research process starts with hands-on product trials and live vendor quotes — not marketing pages. Pricing figures are cross-checked against actual invoices and re-verified on a rolling quarterly cycle, with the underlying dataset kept public for independent re-verification. That dataset now covers 40+ VoIP and virtual-number providers across the US and Canada market.
Darshan also leads DialPhone's AI receptionist evaluation program, running structured test-call scenarios across English, Spanish, and French to assess transcription accuracy, intent routing, and escalation behavior. Methodology notes and raw scoring are archived in the research section.
For factual corrections or dataset discrepancies, Darshan can be reached at the DialPhone editorial address. Verified corrections are published as errata with a changelog date — no silent edits.