Area codes 214, 469, and 972

This map is clickable; click on an area code to go to the corresponding article. Map of Texas (in blue) and border codes, with area codes 214/469/972 in red.

214, 469, and 972 are the North American telephone area codes for Dallas, Texas and most of the eastern portion of the Metroplex.

The main area code, 214, was one of the original area codes established in October 1947. It originally covered the entire northeastern quadrant of Texas, from Fort Worth to the border with Arkansas and Louisiana. The rotary dialing technology of the time generated 10 dial pulses per second, requiring a full second to dial a zero. Given this, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator wanted to keep dialing time to a minimum for densely populated areas. This saved time not only for a maximum number of telephone subscribers, but reduced congestion in the electromechanical telephone switching systems of the time. For this reason, Dallas-Fort Worth, which was well into a dramatic period of growth that continues to this day, was given an area code that required only seven dial pulses: 2 + 1 + 4.

In 1954, most of Tarrant County was combined with much of the eastern portion of area code 915 to form area code 817. In 1990, the entire eastern portion of the 214 area code was split off as area code 903.

The 1990 split was intended as a long-term solution, but within five years 214 was close to exhaustion due to the rapid growth of the Metroplex as well as the popularity of cell phones, fax machines and pagers. Additionally, the entire Metroplex is a single LATA, so several numbers in 817 weren't available for use. To solve this problem, in 1995 all of the old 214 territory outside of the Dallas Central Business District was split off as area code 972. Within only two years, however, both 214 and 972 were on the verge of exhaustion. To solve the problem, area code 469 was introduced on July 1, 1999 as an overlay for most of the eastern portion of the Metroplex. At the same time, the 214-972 boundary was "erased," and 972 was converted into an additional overlay for the entire region. The result was three area codes overlaying the same area, with ten-digit dialing required for all calls.

Counties served by these area codes:

Collin, Dallas, Denton, Ellis, Johnson, Kaufman, Navarro, Rockwall and generally eastern parts of Tarrant

Towns and cities served by these area codes:

Addison, Allen, Anna, Arlington, Avalon, Bardwell, Bedford, Blue Ridge, Carrollton, Cedar Hill, Celina, Cockrell Hill, Colleyville, Combine, Copeville, Coppell, Crandall, Dallas, DeSoto, Duncanville, Elmo, Ennis, Euless, Farmers Branch, Farmersville, Fate, Ferris, Flower Mound, Forney, Forreston, Frisco, Garland, Glenn Heights, Grand Prairie, Grapevine, Highland Park, Highland Village, Hurst, Hutchins, Irving, Italy, Josephine, Kaufman, Lancaster, Lavon, Lewisville, Little Elm, Lucas, Maypearl, McKinney, Melissa, Mesquite, Midlothian, Milford, Murphy, Nevada, Oak Leaf, Palmer, Pecan Hill, Plano, Princeton, Prosper, Red Oak, Rice, Richardson, Rockwall, Rosser, Rowlett, Royse City, Sachse, Scurry, Seagoville, Sunnyvale, Talty, Terrell, The Colony, University Park, Venus, Waxahachie, Westminster, Weston, Wilmer and Wylie. In addition, Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport is served by area code 972.

See also

• List of Texas area codes

• NANPA Area Code Map of Texas
• List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 936 Area Code

External links

• NANPA Area Code Map of Texas
• List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 214 Area Code
• List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 469 Area Code
• List of exchanges from AreaCodeDownload.com, 972 Area Code