Area code 252

About area code 252

252 is one of 10 geographic area codes serving North Carolina; NANPA records its in-service date as March 22, 1998. It is not part of an overlay, so every number in its territory starts with 252. It is in the Eastern time zone. The places with the most assigned exchanges include Greenville, Rocky Mount, Wilson, New Bern, and Kinston.

Where 252 numbers are local

252 holds 12% of the 5,574 central office codes assigned in North Carolina, the 6th most of the state's 10 codes. 68 Census places could be matched to rate centers with 252 exchanges; the most populous are Greenville (95,138), Rocky Mount (54,541), Wilson (48,579), and New Bern (34,218). Each place page lists the exact prefixes and carriers for that town.

Ten-digit and seven-digit dialing in 252

According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 252 are dialed as seven digits and toll calls as 1 plus ten digits. Seven-digit local dialing is still permitted here, but customers calling from other area codes, and every mobile contact list, use all ten digits.

Who holds 252 exchanges

49 carriers hold the 695 central office codes assigned in 252. Brightspeed of Eastern North Carolina, LLC has the most, with 207 (30%). 554 of the codes (80%) are pooled, meaning the code holder shares blocks of 1,000 numbers with other carriers instead of using all 10,000 itself. The code holder is not necessarily the carrier serving a given number today, since numbers can be ported between providers.

Local calling areas in 252

NANPA assigns each central office code to a rate center, the local calling area that decides whether a call is local or toll. 252 has codes in 92 rate centers. Rate center names in the file are abbreviations; where one matches a Census place, the table links to that city's local-number page.

How full is area code 252?

An area code has 800 possible central office codes that start with 2 through 9, a few of which are reserved (such as N11 service codes and 555). 695 are assigned in 252, 87% of 800. 107 were assigned in 2020 or later.

A local 252 number on Callata

Callata Office costs $99 per month for up to 5 people, and each additional user is $20 a month. That covers up to 3 local numbers, calling from a browser or your cell, transcribed voicemail, recorded calls with AI summaries, after-hours routing and E911 on each number.

Porting a number you already use in area code 252 is free, and business texting is available once the carrier registration (10DLC) is approved; the registration carries a one-time $49 fee. Which specific numbers are open in a given area code depends on carrier inventory at the time you sign up.

AI agents are optional: an AI receptionist or scheduler can pick up when the team is busy or closed, take a message, send a text or email, or transfer the call. They draw on prepaid AI minutes ($0.25/minute), disclose that they are AI, and outbound AI calls require prior consent and are limited to 8am–9pm.