North American
telephone
A telephone is a telecommunications device that permits two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most efficiently the human voice, into el ...
area code 262 covers much of Southeastern
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
, and was created on September 25, 1999, when it was split from
area code 414. It covers most of the suburbs of
Milwaukee
Milwaukee ( ), officially the City of Milwaukee, is both the most populous and most densely populated city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Milwaukee County, Wisconsin, Milwaukee County. With a population of 577,222 at th ...
, but not
Milwaukee County
Milwaukee County is located in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. At the 2020 census, the population was 939,489, down from 947,735 in 2010. It is both the most populous and most densely populated county in Wisconsin, and the 45th most populous cou ...
itself.
The eastern portion of Wisconsin had been served by 414 for half a century until
Green Bay and the
Fox River Valley split off as
area code 920
Area code 920 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for a large area of eastern Wisconsin. It was created on July 26, 1997, in a split from area code 414, which formerly served the entire eastern third of the stat ...
in 1997. Although this was intended as a long-term solution, within a year 414 was back to the brink of exhaustion due to the continued proliferation of cell phones and pagers. When it became apparent that 414 was running out of numbers, original plans called for 262 to be an
overlay for all of southeastern Wisconsin. However, overlays were a new concept at the time, and met with some resistance to the mixing of area codes in the same area and the ensuing requirement for
ten-digit dialing. As a result, 262 was made a separate area code for nearly all of the old 414 territory outside Milwaukee County. A few slivers of
Waukesha and
Washington counties stayed in 414.
Despite the Milwaukee area's continued growth, 262 is nowhere near exhaustion. Projections in early 2019 suggested the Milwaukee suburbs would not need another area code until 2044 at the earliest, but later in 2019 no exhaust date was listed, meaning the date is 30 years or more in the future.
Counties served by this area code:
:
Kenosha,
Ozaukee,
Racine,
Walworth
Walworth () is a district of south London, England, within the London Borough of Southwark. It adjoins Camberwell to the south and Elephant and Castle to the north, and is south-east of Charing Cross.
Major streets in Walworth include the ...
,
Washington (shared with 414), and
Waukesha (shared with 414)
Towns, cities and villages served by this area code:
Ten-digit dialing
Prior to October 2021, area code 262 had telephone numbers assigned for the
central office code 988. In 2020, ''988'' was designated nationwide as a dialing code for the
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, which created a conflict for exchanges that permit
seven-digit dialing. This area code was therefore scheduled to transition to
ten-digit dialing by October 24, 2021.
See also
*
List of NANP area codes
*
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 ...
References
External links
Map at Wisconline.comadopted from NANPA information
{{DEFAULTSORT:Area Code 262
262
262
Telecommunications-related introductions in 1999