Area codes 713, 281, 832, and 346 are telephone

area code A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunication to assign telephone numbers to subscriber telephones or other telephony endpoints. Telephone numbers are the addresses of participants in a telephone network, re ...

s in the

North American Numbering Plan The North American Numbering Plan (NANP) is a telephone numbering plan for twenty-five regions in twenty countries, primarily in North America and the Caribbean. This group is historically known as World Zone 1 and has the international calling ...

(NANP) forming an overlay complex for Houston, Texas and its environs. Area code 713 is one of the original four area codes established for Texas in 1947.

History

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 Brazos Valley ( ) is a region of the U.S. state of Texas comprising the following 7 counties in Central Texas: Brazos, Burleson, and Robertson (which collectively comprise the Bryan–College Station metropolitan area), and the neighboring cou ...

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

area code 409 Area code 409 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of Texas. The numbering plan area comprises the Beaumont and Galveston areas. It was created on March 19, 1983, in an area code split of are ...

. On November 2, 1996, area code 713 was split again, with most of Houston's suburbs switching to area code 281. The dividing line roughly followed

Beltway 8 Beltway 8 (BW8), the Sam Houston Parkway, along with the Sam Houston Tollway, is an beltway around the city of Houston, Texas, United States, lying entirely within Harris County. Beltway 8, a state highway maintained by the Texas ...

. Generally, the majority of Houston itself and most of the suburbs inside the beltway kept area code 713, while 281 served everything outside the beltway. However, area code 713 was retained by all cellphone customers in the Houston area. Although this was intended as a long-term solution, the rapid growth in demand for telephone services from the proliferation of pagers and cell phones 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, area code 832. As a result,

ten-digit dialing Ten-digit dialing is a telephone dialing procedure in the countries and territories that are members of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP). It is the practice of including the area code of a telephone number when dialing to initiate a telep ...

became required for all calls in the Houston area. On May 9, 2013, the

Texas Public Utility Commission The Public Utility Commission of Texas (PUC or PUCT) is a state agency that regulates the state’s electric, water and telecommunication utilities, implements respective legislation, and offers customer assistance in resolving consumer complaints ...

announced the addition of yet another code, area code 346, to the Houston overlay as of July 1, 2014. 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 not need a fifth area code until about 2026.

Service area

Counties served by these area codes: *

Harris Harris may refer to: Places Canada * Harris, Ontario * Northland Pyrite Mine (also known as Harris Mine) * Harris, Saskatchewan * Rural Municipality of Harris No. 316, Saskatchewan Scotland * Harris, Outer Hebrides (sometimes called the Isle o ...

(shared with 936) * Brazoria (shared with 979) * Chambers (shared with 409) * Fort Bend (shared with 979) *

Galveston Galveston ( ) is a coastal resort city and port off the Southeast Texas coast on Galveston Island and Pelican Island in the U.S. state of Texas. The community of , with a population of 47,743 in 2010, is the county seat of surrounding Gal ...

(shared with 409) *

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

(shared with 936) * Montgomery (shared with 979 and 936) * Waller (shared with 979 and 936) Towns and cities served by these area codes: * Addicks *

Alvin Alvin may refer to: Places Canada *Alvin, British Columbia United States *Alvin, Colorado * Alvin, Georgia * Alvin, Illinois * Alvin, Michigan *Alvin, Texas *Alvin, Wisconsin, a town *Alvin (community), Wisconsin, an unincorporated community Othe ...

Arcola Arcola may refer to: Places ; Australia * Arcola, Grafton, a heritage-listed house in New South Wales ;Canada * Arcola, Saskatchewan, a town in the Province of Saskatchewan * Arcola Airport, an airport in the Province of Saskatchewan ;England * Ar ...

* Bacliff * Baytown * Bellaire * Brookshire * Brookside Village * Bunker Hill Village * Channelview *

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U ...

* Clodine * Conroe * Crosby *

Cypress Cypress is a common name for various coniferous trees or shrubs of northern temperate regions that belong to the family Cupressaceae. The word ''cypress'' is derived from Old French ''cipres'', which was imported from Latin ''cypressus'', the la ...

* Deer Park *

El Lago El Lago is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 3,090 at the 2020 census. El Lago has particular historical significance as it sits on the site of one of the main hide-outs for the French pirate and privateer Je ...

* Dickinson *

Fresno Fresno () is a major city in the San Joaquin Valley of California, United States. It is the county seat of Fresno County and the largest city in the greater Central Valley region. It covers about and had a population of 542,107 in 2020, maki ...

* Friendswood * Fulshear *

Galena Park Galena Park is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, within the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area. The population was 10,740 at the 2020 census. History Issac Batterson and his family settled in the area in 1833; it was a ...

* Hedwig Village *

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia * So ...

Hilshire Village Hilshire Village is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States. The population was 816 at the 2020 census. The city is the smallest of the Memorial Villages in terms of area. As of 2000, Hilshire Village was the 10th wealthiest location in Te ...

* Hitchcock *

Hockley Hockley is a large village and civil parish in Essex in the East of England located between Chelmsford and Southend-on-Sea, or, more specifically, between Rayleigh and Rochford. It came to prominence during the coming of the railway in the 1890 ...

Houston Houston (; ) is the List of cities in Texas by population, most populous city in Texas, the Southern United States#Major cities, most populous city in the Southern United States, the List of United States cities by population, fourth-most pop ...

* Huffman * Humble * Hunters Creek Village * Iowa Colony *

Jacinto City Jacinto City is a city in Harris County, Texas, United States, east of the intersection of Interstate 10 and the East Loop of Interstate 610. Jacinto City is part of the Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown metropolitan area and is bordered by the c ...

* Jersey Village * Katy * Kemah * Kingwood * Klein * La Marque * La Porte * League City *

Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...

Magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendro ...

* Manvel * Meadows Place * Missouri City * Mont Belvieu * Montgomery * Nassau Bay *

New Caney New Caney is an Unincorporated community in Montgomery County, Texas, United States within the metropolitan area. As of 2010, the population of the New Caney area is 19,987. History New Caney was established in 1862 under the name Presswood, n ...

Pasadena Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. Its ...

* Pattison * Pearland * Pinehurst * Piney Point Village * Plum Grove * Porter *

Richmond Richmond most often refers to: * Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States * Richmond, London, a part of London * Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England * Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada * Richmond, California, a ...

* Romayor * Rosenberg * Rosharon *

Rye Rye (''Secale cereale'') is a grass grown extensively as a grain, a cover crop and a forage crop. It is a member of the wheat tribe ( Triticeae) and is closely related to both wheat (''Triticum'') and barley (genus ''Hordeum''). Rye grain is ...

* Santa Fe * Seabrook * Simonton *

South Houston South Houston is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan area and Harris County, Texas, Harris County. The population was 16,153 at the 2020 census. It is bordered by the ci ...

Splendora Splendora was an American all-female alternative rock band from New York City. Formed in 1993 by Janet Wygal (lead vocals, guitar), Tricia Wygal (lead vocals, bass), Delissa Santos (drums), Cindy Brolsma (cello), and Jennifer Richardson (viol ...

Spring Spring(s) may refer to: Common uses * Spring (season), a season of the year * Spring (device), a mechanical device that stores energy * Spring (hydrology), a natural source of water * Spring (mathematics), a geometric surface in the shape of a h ...

* Spring Valley Village *

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, in the West Midlands region of England. It lies about north of Wolverhampton, south of Stoke-on-Trent and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 70,145 in ...

Sugar Land Sugar Land is the largest city in Fort Bend County, Texas, United States, located in the southwestern part of the metropolitan area. Located about southwest of downtown Houston, Sugar Land is a populous suburban municipality centered around th ...

* Taylor Lake Village *

Texas City Texas City is a city in Galveston County in the U.S. state of Texas. Located on the southwest shoreline of Galveston Bay, Texas City is a busy deepwater port on Texas's Gulf Coast, as well as a petroleum-refining and petrochemical-manufacturing ...

* The Woodlands * Thompsons *

Tomball Tomball ( ) is a city in Harris County in the U.S. state of Texas, a part of the Houston metropolitan area. The population was 12,341 at the 2020 U.S. census. In 1907, the community of Peck was renamed Tomball for local congressman Thomas Henry Ba ...

* Webster *

West University Place West University Place, often called West University or West U for short, is a city located in the U.S. state of Texas within the metropolitan area and southwestern Harris County, Texas, Harris County. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 U.S. ...

References

External links

{{coord missing, Texas Telecommunications-related introductions in 1947 Telecommunications-related introductions in 1996 Telecommunications-related introductions in 1999 Telecommunications-related introductions in 2014

281 __NOTOC__ Year 281 ( CCLXXXI) was a common year starting on Saturday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Tiberianus (or, less frequently, year 1034 ...

Houston

History

Service area

See also

References

Further reading

External links