Find Out More About the New Jersey Area Code Directory

The telecommunication system of the United States has been designed such that the entire nation has been divided into several area codes. These are known as the Numbering Plan Areas (NPA) and the distinction had been made in order to ease the process of directly dialing long distance calls. Through this numbering plan, telephone calls are dispersed to specific regions of the wider NPA public switched telephone network, then again to be distributed through local networks.

The area codes are the first three digits of a ten-digit phone number. The remaining seven digits constitute the telephone number. You can identify the region in which a particular telephone number is enlisted from its area code, for all the numbers in this region will possess the same area code. If you are dialing from the same area, you do not have to dial area code.

There are nine active area codes under the New Jersey area code directory: 201, 551, 609, 732, 848, 856, 862, 908, and 973.

Area Code 201

The area code 201 covers almost all of the Hudson and Bergen counties, as well as some portions of Essex and Passaic.  It has the distinction of being the first area code to be ascribed to the North American Numbering Plan, but it did not become functional till 1951.  Till the year 1958, it was the sole area code for the entire state of New Jersey. The first split in this New Jersey area code saw 609 coming into being.

This area code has been split several times and many overlay codes have been added to ease its operational process. This was required as the number of phones, businesses, pagers, cell phones, and fax machines grew in the area.  It was also split into more area codes when 10-digit dialing became compulsory.

The area code 201 holds the distinction of serving the most prosperous county in the entire nation, which is Bergen County. People of Bergen County possess a high standard of living and signs of it are evident in the streets of its cities.

Area Code 609

The area code 609 is one of the original area codes in New Jersey. The code services two very distinct regions of the state: one that includes the Mercer County and the other that serves the Atlantic City and some parts of Jersey Shore. More specifically, the area code serves the central and southeastern parts of New Jersey and includes Trenton, the capital city, Princeton, and Atlantic City. It also encompasses some portions of Central Jersey, South Jersey, many parts of Burlington County, and Jersey Shore.  Some other notable cities and towns served by this area code includes Brigantine, Hammonton, Margate City, Northfield, Bordertown, Florence, Mount Holly, Pemberton, Ocean City, Rio Grande, Stone Harbor, Lambertville, Robbinsville, Surf City, Tuckerton, Roosevelt, and Allen Town.

609 came into existence way back in 1958 when the original area code of the state, 201, was split into two area codes. It was the first instance of a split in the original area code 201.

Area Code 551

Widespread development in the Hudson and Bergen counties and the spurt in the number of telephone users required that area code 201 be split or an overlay code be added. This would ease the burden on some of the constituent telephone exchanges and thus ease the process of communication. Thus area code 551 was created in 2001 as an overlay code to do away the costs and complexities associated with a split.

Area Code 732

The New Jersey area code 732 was created from a split in the area code 908 in the year 1997. It covers the Jersey Shore region of the state and 848 is an overlay code for this region.

Area Code 848

848 was added to the area code directory of New Jersey in the year 2001 as the bank of numbers belonging to 732 began to decrease. Presently, these are some of the important  cities and towns serviced by area code 732 and 848: Dunellen, Middlesex, East Brunswick, Edison, Metuchen, Perth Amboy, New Brunswick, Woodbridge, Green Brook, South Brunswick, North Brunswick, Clark, and Linden (all in North Jersey) and Middletown, Red Bank, Little Silver, Freehold, Tinton Falls, Long Branch, Eatontown, Manalapan, Jackson, Marlboro, Belmar, Spring Lake, Old Bridge, Monroe, South Amboy, Keyport, Union Beach, Lakewood, Brick, Asbury Park, Point Pleasant (all in South Jersey).

Area Code 856

The area code 856 was created in March 1999 as a result of the split of area code 609. It encompasses the southwestern part of New Jersey, which also includes the Camden/Cherry Hill and Vineland regions, a minuscule portion of Willingboro Township, and the western portion of Burlington County. Generally speaking, 856 services the regions that lie adjacent to Philadelphia and includes its eastern suburban regions.

For five months since its inception, permissive dialing was allowed, meaning that a call was completed even if the area code was not dialed. From November onwards, it became mandatory to dial the area code if calling from outside the area.

Area Code 973

The area code 973 was created as a result of the split in 201. It covers some areas lying in the Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Passaic, Morris, Sussex and Union counties. Newark and Patterson are the largest cities that lie in this jurisdiction. Some other important cities and towns covered by this code are: Caldwell, Livingstone, Montclair, Verona, Harrison, Chatham Borough, Chatham Township, Morris Township, Lincoln Park, Totowa, Wayne, Franklin, Sparta, Sussex, and Hillside.

Area Code 862

This area code is an overlay of the area code 973 and was formed in 2001, when 10-digit dialing became compulsory.

Area Code 908

The area code 908 serves the northern part of the state of New Jersey. It covers these important communities: Cranford, Elizabeth, Linden, Plainfield, Scotch Plains, Summit, Westfield (all in Union County), Basking Ridge, Bridgewater, Somerville, Hillsborough, Montgomery, North Plainfield, Warren Township (all in Somerset County), Clinton and Flemington (both in Hunterdon County), South Plainfield in Middlesex County, Washington Township, Chester Township, Chester Borough in Morris County, and Phillipsburg in Warren County.

The area code was created in 1991 when area code 201 was divided. 908 was split to form area code 732 in 1997.