While it might seem simple from an outsider's perspective, matching an area code in the United States to a specific location can be rather complicated. Area codes are almost constantly updated as the world continues to change and expand, which means that the area codes you thought you knew may have been discontinued, split, or updated.
If you need to track down some codes yourself for the purpose of upgrading your information, the following article will inform you on how to find US area code listings as simply and quickly as possible.
The Background On US Area Code Listings:
Before learning how to track down US area code listings, it may be worth understanding how this information came about in the first place. Area codes are a pre-fix of three digits that come before a phone number. Usually, you will only make use of these numbers when you need to call someone from a distance, or if you're making a call from your cell phone.
The numbers in area codes have been assigned by the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), which governs telephone numbers across the United States, in islands through the Caribbean, and Canada. Area codes only need to be used alongside the local number if you are outside of the region in which the area is covered, or if you are dialing from a cellphone that doesn't use a local tower.
You might also need to use an area code if you're placing a call from a region that has a number of overlapping area codes. This is particularly common in large metropolitan areas and cities. Often, area codes can be overlaid with others to make things simpler from a government perspective. However, this obviously means understanding and searching for area codes is a lot more complicated if you're not used to the system.
Finding US Area Code Listings:
Now that you have a basic understanding of what area codes across the United States are, you will be able to understand more about how to track them down. One way to do this is to go directly to the source of the information you need, which is the NANPA website. This is the website of the North American Numbering Plan Administration, and this was the group that began assigning area codes in the first place. Specifically, you'll need to use the user-friendly map database in this system, which is used to display area codes by region and or state.
Because some of these websites are more useful, and indeed more accurate in terms of the information that they provide than others, it may be worth bookmarking a site that you have learned that you can trust over the years. Just make sure that you avoid entering any sensitive information into any website that you're not entirely sure of.
Now that you've read this article, the next time you want to track down information about a number that you don't recognize, you should have a good idea of how to go about it.