Pick 713 if you want the code Houston started with.
713 dates from 1947 and once covered the whole area. 281 took most of the suburbs in 1996, and the line between them was removed in 1999.
The area codes for Houston are 713, 281, 832, 346 and 621.
Area codes in Houston
Get a phone number with the right area code for Houston.
Houston has five codes that cover the same ground: 713, 281, 832, 346 and 621. The code says nothing about which side of town a number is on.
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Houston has five area codes.
- 713Since 1947HoustonPasadenaPearlandSugar Land
120 FCC complaints
Get a 713 number - 281Since 1996Greater HoustonSugar LandKatyBaytown
151 FCC complaints
Get a 281 number - 832Since 1999HoustonSugar LandBaytownKaty
165 FCC complaints
Get an 832 number - 346Since 2014HoustonSugar LandBaytownKaty
109 FCC complaints
Get a 346 number - 621Since 2025Overlay code
Pick 713 for the oldest Houston code, or any of the others, because they cover the same area.
Pick 281 if you want the suburb code that now covers the whole city.
281 was split from 713 in 1996 to take the suburbs, among them Pearland, Sugar Land and The Woodlands. It covers the greater Houston area today.
Pick 832 or 346 if you want a newer code.
832 opened in 1999 and 346 in 2014. Both cover the greater Houston area, the same ground as 713 and 281.
People filed 545 FCC complaints about unwanted calls from Houston area codes in 12 months.
From October 2025 to September 2026, 545 unwanted-call complaints filed with the FCC gave a caller ID number that started with 832, 281, 713 and 346. 832 was named most, on 165 of them (30%).
- 545unwanted-call complaints named a Houston code
- 832was named on the most of them, 165
- 30%of the Houston complaints named 832
Source: Federal Communications Commission, CGB - Consumer Complaints Data (dataset 3xyp-aqkj), issue "Unwanted Calls", read on November 4, 2026. Caller ID can be faked, so a code shows what appeared on the phone, not where the caller was.
This is how you get a Houston number.
- 1
Start your free week.
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- 2
Type the code you picked.
Open Create a number, type the three digits and give the number a name.
- 3
Hand the number out.
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People ask these questions about Houston area codes.
More in the full FAQ.
Both. 713 once meant the center of the city and 281 the suburbs, but the line between them was removed in 1999, and every Houston code covers the whole area now.
621, which went into service on January 23, 2025. It is laid over 713, 281, 832 and 346.
A local call in Houston is dialed with ten digits, whichever of its codes the number starts with. The area code is part of every number you give out.
From October 2025 to September 2026, people filed 545 FCC complaints about unwanted calls from numbers that start with a Houston code: 832 (165), 281 (151), 713 (120) and 346 (109). A complaint is one person's report. Caller ID can be faked, so a code shows what appeared on the phone, not where the caller was.
Yes. You type the area code you want when you create a number, and you do not need to live in Houston. Calls ring the phone you already have, and texts land in your ExpressNumber inbox.
No. Your numbers are receive-only: they take calls and texts, and they never make them. You answer calls on your own phone, and you cannot reply to a text from the inbox.
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Every fact on this page comes from public numbering records.
The codes, the places and the years are rows of the North American Numbering Plan Administrator's area code database, and the complaints are the FCC's own.
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