Area code 601

Area code 601 at a glance

601 is one of 5 geographic area codes serving Mississippi; NANPA records its in-service date as January 1, 1947. It is an overlay: 601 and 769 cover the same territory, so neighbors on the same street can have different area codes. It is in the Central time zone. The places with the most assigned exchanges include Jackson, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Vicksburg, and Laurel. By population, its largest named places are Jackson, Hattiesburg, Meridian, Madison, and Clinton.

Where 601 numbers are local

601 holds 38% of the 2,067 central office codes assigned in Mississippi, the most of any code in the state. 82 Census places could be matched to rate centers with 601 exchanges; the most populous are Jackson (141,000), Hattiesburg (48,522), Meridian (33,549), and Madison (28,210). Each place page lists the exact prefixes and carriers for that town.

How calls are dialed in 601

According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 601 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as 1 plus ten digits. Because local calls need the area code, business cards, signage and website copy should always show the full ten-digit number.

Carriers with 601 numbers

34 carriers hold the 783 central office codes assigned in 601. Bellsouth Telecomm INC d/b/a South Central Bell Tel has the most, with 241 (31%). 458 of the codes (58%) 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.

Where 601 numbers are rated

NANPA assigns each central office code to a rate center, the local calling area that decides whether a call is local or toll. 601 has codes in 107 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 601?

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). 783 are assigned in 601, 98% of 800. 15 were assigned in 2020 or later.

Getting a 601 number for your business

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 601 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.