Tracking Area Code Changes

Area codes are rapidly changing throughout the country as demand for telephone numbers continues unabated. Every effort was made to assure that the area codes for the job hotlines in this directory are accurate. The only thing we can guarantee is that during the next few years, some of the area codes will change for many of the job hotlines included in this directory. There are a number of ways you can track down the new area code for a job hotline listed in this directory.

The very best single tool for finding current area codes (and zip codes too) is the ZipZapp Pro software. Visit the “Quick INFO Website” at Internet URL: http://www.zipzapp.com where you can download the latest edition of ZipZapp, a free small Windows or Macintosh application that lets you easily find the area code (and zip code) for every municipality in the U.S. This database is updated every spring and autumn. You can search by area code, zip code, or city. A more detailed program, ZipZapp Pro ($29.95) also includes profiles of each municipality (population, size, average income, growth rate), time zones, and distance calculations between cities. You also receive text files with this information that you can import into your own database or word processor. A coupon giving you free shipping (a $5 savings) on ZipZapp Pro appears in the “Discount Coupon” chapter of the National Job Hotline Directory book. ZipZapp is more current than 555–1212.com which is discussed below.

You can also visit the site of the North American Numbering Plan Administration at Internet URL: http://www.nanpa.com. There you can print out lists of area codes by location served, a list of recent and upcoming area code splits and new area codes, and detailed maps of selected geographic areas with complicated area code assignments. This site is sometimes hard to access.

Perhaps the best site for details on area code changes is located at Internet URL: http://frodo.bruderhof.com/areacode/ where you can get a list of dates on which area codes have been and will be split. If you click on an area code, you'll get more detailed information about the split than anywhere else we’ve seen.. The information presented here is extracted from that provided by the North American Number Plan Administration and Bellcore.

Aegis Publishing Company offers a Telephone Area Code Map of the U.S. that shows current area code assignments and includes a list of current and upcoming code changes in numerical order. The map is an Adobe PDF file that can be read in Windows.™ You can get free shipping on the $19.95, 3˝–inch floppy disk (which includes free updates online), by using the coupon in the “Discount Coupon” chapter that begins on page 356 of the book version of this National Job Hotline Directory. You will need the Adobe Acrobat Reader™ to view and print the file. The Adobe Acrobat Reader™ is available for free download at http://www.adobe.com. Select “Get Acrobat Reader.”

Visit 555–1212.com on the Internet at URL: http://555-1212.com and select “Area Code Look–Up.” You can type in a city’s name and be given its area code(s). Alternatively, you can type in an area code and you’ll find out to which cities it is assigned. Under “Additional Area Code (and Country Code) Information,” you can print out a list of all area codes by state and Canadian province. This site, however, is not always up–to–date.

Click here to return to the “Pre–Call Check List.”

Click here to return to the National Job Hotline Directory starting page.