Area code 302 is a 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 ...
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) for the
U.S. state of
Delaware
Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacen ...
. It is Delaware's only area code, and was assigned in 1947 as one of the
original North American area codes
The original North American area codes were established by the American Telephone & Telegraph Company (AT&T) in 1947, following the demonstration of regional Operator Toll Dialing during the World War II period. The program had the goal of speedi ...
.
Despite the rapid growth in telecommunication services in the northern part of the state, area code 302 is not projected to exhaust its numbering pool until 2033.
Prior to October 2021, area code 302 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.
Delaware shares a
LATA with
Philadelphia
Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
and the
Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; (Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, Ma ...
side of the
Delaware Valley.
Central office prefixes
Unless otherwise stated, most of the prefixes were introduced on or before February 4, 1994. Prefixes located in the
Ocean View area also serve
Bethany Beach,
Millville and
Fenwick Island. 976 is assigned to Wilmington, and requires dialling "1+302" first.
References
External links
{{Area code list
302
302
Telecommunications-related introductions in 1947