An area code is a three-digit prefix that designates a specific geographic calling area within the North American Numbering Plan. This code is the first part of a ten-digit telephone number. The increasing demand for new phone numbers, driven by mobile devices, has led to the creation of multiple area codes within the same geographic boundaries, a practice known as an overlay.
Area Codes for Ohio’s Major Metropolitan Regions
Ohio’s largest population centers are served by a combination of original area codes and newer overlay codes. Cleveland is primarily served by the original 216 code, covering the downtown area and inner suburbs. The surrounding outer suburbs and the Lake Erie shore are covered by the 440 code, which recently received the 436 overlay.
The Akron and Canton metropolitan areas share the 330 area code, overlaid by the 234 code. The capital city of Columbus uses the 614 code, supplemented by the 380 overlay code. Both codes cover the city and its immediate surrounding suburbs, including Dublin and Westerville.
In Northwest Ohio, the Toledo area is covered by the 419 code, which extends across most of the region, including cities like Mansfield and Findlay. The 567 code serves as an overlay for the entire 419 region. The Cincinnati metropolitan area in Southwest Ohio uses the 513 code, which was overlaid by the 283 code.
Regional and Southeastern Ohio Area Codes
Beyond the major metropolitan areas, the rest of Ohio is covered by a few distinct regional area codes, many of which also have overlays. Southwestern Ohio, including the cities of Dayton and Springfield, is served by the 937 area code. This region recently received the 326 code as an overlay to ensure a continued supply of new telephone numbers.
The 740 area code covers a large geographic expanse of Central and Southeastern Ohio, including communities such as Athens, Zanesville, and Marietta. Due to the high demand for numbers across this wide area, the 220 code was introduced as an overlay for the entire 740 region in 2015.
Ohio currently utilizes a total of 15 area codes across the state, with the majority of regions now having an overlay code. The prevalence of these overlay codes means that all callers in Ohio must use 10-digit dialing—the area code plus the seven-digit number—for all local calls. This dialing procedure is necessary to distinguish between numbers that share the same seven-digit sequence but belong to different area codes within the same geographic area.