Central Time Zone Area Codes: The American Heartland
The Central Time Zone stretches from the Canadian prairies to the Gulf of Mexico. Here's a guide to the area codes of this vast mid-continental zone.
From Manitoba to Mexico
The Central Time Zone (UTC-6 in winter, UTC-5 in summer) spans an enormous north-south swath of North America, from the Canadian provinces of Manitoba and Saskatchewan down through the American Great Plains, the Midwest, and the Deep South to the Gulf of Mexico. It includes some of America's most storied cities and vast agricultural landscapes.
The Great Plains States
The sparsely populated Great Plains states each tend to have just one or two area codes: North Dakota uses 701, South Dakota uses 605, Nebraska uses 402 (east) and 308 (west), Kansas uses 316 (Wichita) and 785 (rest of state), and Oklahoma uses 405 (OKC area) and 918 (Tulsa area).
Texas: The Most Area Codes of Any State
Texas dominates the central zone with more area codes than any other state. The sheer size of Texas, combined with its population growth and the concentration of business activity in Dallas, Houston, San Antonio, and Austin, has required extensive code proliferation. See our dedicated guide on why Texas has so many area codes.
The Midwest: Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota
The Midwest's Central zone includes Chicago (multiple codes), Minneapolis–St. Paul (612/651/763/952), Milwaukee (414), and hundreds of smaller communities spread across Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Iowa, and Missouri.
The Deep South
Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Arkansas sit in the Central zone. These states have relatively modest area code counts given their lower overall telephone number demand. Louisiana's codes include 504 (New Orleans) and 225 (Baton Rouge), while Alabama uses 205 and 256.
See all Central Time codes at Central Time Zone area codes.
More Area Code Guides
How Area Codes Were Originally Assigned in 1947
The original area code assignments were a masterpiece of engineering logic. AT&T's system tied dial speed to population density in a way that optimized rotary phones across the continent.
Non-Geographic Area Codes: 800, 888, 900, and Beyond
Not all area codes correspond to a geographic region. Toll-free numbers, premium-rate numbers, and special service codes each have their own dedicated ranges.
Area Code 604: Vancouver and British Columbia's Phone History
Area code 604 has served Vancouver and British Columbia since 1947. As Metro Vancouver became one of Canada's largest cities, it required several new codes to keep up.