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Area codes 713, 281, 832, and 346

Area codes 713, 281, 832, and 346 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) forming an overlay complex for Houston, Texas and its environs. 713 is one of the original four area codes established for Texas in 1947.

Area code 806Area code 940Area codes 682 and 817Area codes 682 and 817Area codes 214, 469, 972, and 945Area codes 214, 469, 945, and 972Area codes 430 and 903Area code 575Area code 915Area code 432Area codes 281, 346, 713, and 832Area codes 281, 713, and 832Area code 979Area code 936Area code 409Area code 361Area code 956Area codes 210 and 726Area codes 210 and 726Area code 830Area code 512Area code 254Area code 325Area code 318Area code 337Area code 870Area code 580
Numbering plan areas and area codes of Texas with numbering plan area 281/346/713/832 highlighted.

History

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When the North American Numbering Plan was established in 1947, Texas was divided into four numbering plan areas (NPAs), roughly outlining four quadrants in the state. Area code 713 was assigned to the southeastern part, from the Sabine River to the Brazos Valley.

On March 19, 1983, the numbering plan area was divided: the immediate Houston area retained 713, while the northern, eastern and western portions became area code 409.

On November 2, 1996, area code 713 was split, with most of Houston's suburbs switching to 281. The dividing line roughly followed Beltway 8. Generally, most of Houston itself and most of the suburbs inside the beltway kept 713, while 281 served everything outside the beltway. But 713 was retained by all cellphone customers in the Houston area.

This was intended as a long-term solution, but rapid growth in demand for telephone services from the proliferation of pagers and cellphones required additional numbering resources within two years in both numbering plan areas. On January 16, 1999, the 713/281 boundary was removed, creating an overlay for the combined area, while simultaneously adding a third area code to the entire region, 832. As a result, ten-digit dialing became required for all calls in the Houston area.

On May 9, 2013, the Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC) announced the addition of yet another code, 346, to the Houston overlay as of July 1, 2014.[1] This had the effect of allocating over 31 million telephone numbers to a service territory of eight million people. Exhaust projections of 2022 forecast that the Houston area will need a fifth area code by late 2025.[2] 621 has been reserved as additional overlay code; the PUC approved its implementation in 2023 to begin in January 2025.[3]

Service area

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Counties served by these area codes:

Towns and cities served by these area codes:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Hlavaty, Craig (May 9, 2013). "Houston gets new area code to keep from running out of phone numbers". Houston Chronicle. Retrieved May 9, 2013.
  2. ^ "2022-1 NRUF and NPA Exhaust Analysis" (PDF). North American Numbering Plan Administrator. April 21, 2021. Retrieved April 24, 2021.
  3. ^ "NPA 621 and 281/346/713/832 All-Services Distributed Overlay (Texas)" (PDF). North American Numbering Plan Administrator. December 6, 2023.

Further reading

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Texas area codes: 210/726, 214/469/972/945, 254, 325, 361, 409, 432, 512/737, 713/281/832/346, 806, 817/682, 830, 903/430, 915, 936, 940, 956, 979
North: 936
West: 979 Area codes 281/346/713/832 East: 409
South: Gulf of Mexico
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