Area code 253

About area code 253

Area code 253 is a geographic area code in Washington, in service since April 27, 1997, according to the North American Numbering Plan Administrator (NANPA). It is not part of an overlay, so every number in its territory starts with 253. It is in the Pacific time zone. The places with the most assigned exchanges include Tacoma, Auburn, Kent, Puyallup, and Des Moines. By population, its largest named places are Tacoma, Kent, Auburn, Puyallup, and Des Moines.

Cities and towns in area code 253

253 holds 14% of the 3,531 central office codes assigned in Washington, the 5th most of the state's 6 codes. 8 Census places could be matched to rate centers with 253 exchanges; the most populous are Tacoma (228,000), Kent (137,000), Auburn (85,513), and Puyallup (42,552). For a storefront or service area inside 253, the place pages show which prefixes are rated local there.

Dialing 253 numbers

According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 253 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as 1 plus ten digits. Ten-digit local dialing means the area code is part of how customers save and recognize your number, so print it in full everywhere. NANPA's dialing-plan note for this code reads: "1+10-digit dialing permissible at service provider discretion"

Who holds 253 exchanges

27 carriers hold the 508 central office codes assigned in 253. Qwest Corporation has the most, with 141 (28%). 305 of the codes (60%) are pooled, meaning the code holder shares blocks of 1,000 numbers with other carriers instead of using all 10,000 itself. Numbers can move between carriers through porting, so a code's holder tells you where the block started, not where every number lives now.

Local calling areas in 253

NANPA assigns each central office code to a rate center, the local calling area that decides whether a call is local or toll. 253 has codes in 10 rate centers. The table lists the rate centers with the most codes, with the matching Census place where the abbreviation could be matched.

How full is area code 253?

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). 508 are assigned in 253, 64% of 800. 63 were assigned in 2020 or later.

A local 253 number on Callata

For $99 a month, Callata puts a team of up to 5 on one plan ($20 for each person after that): up to 3 local numbers, unlimited inbound calls, a pooled allowance of 1,500 outbound US and Canada minutes per user, browser and cell calling, voicemail transcription with urgency triage, recorded calls with AI summaries and business-hours routing, with E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in area code 253, porting it to Callata is free. Texting from a local number requires a one-time carrier registration (10DLC, $49), and the numbers available in any area code depend on carrier inventory when you choose them.

Optional AI agents (receptionist, sales, support or scheduler) can answer calls after hours or when nobody picks up, take messages, text, email and transfer to your team. They are billed from prepaid AI minutes at $0.25 per minute, identify themselves as AI, and may only place outbound calls to people who consented, between 8am and 9pm.