Area code 916

Area code 916 at a glance

916 is one of 41 geographic area codes serving California; NANPA records its in-service date as January 1, 1947. It is an overlay: 916 and 279 cover the same territory, so neighbors on the same street can have different area codes. It is in the Pacific time zone. The places with the most assigned exchanges include Sacramento, Sacramento, Folsom, Elk Grove, and Lincoln. By population, its largest named places are Sacramento, Elk Grove, Chico, Folsom, and Lincoln.

Where 916 numbers are local

916 holds 3.6% of the 22,087 central office codes assigned in California, the 14th most of the state's 41 codes. 6 Census places could be matched to rate centers with 916 exchanges; the most populous are Sacramento (536,000), Elk Grove (183,000), Chico (103,000), and Folsom (88,091). For a storefront or service area inside 916, the place pages show which prefixes are rated local there.

How calls are dialed in 916

According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 916 are dialed as 1 plus ten digits 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.

Phone companies in area code 916

42 carriers hold the 785 central office codes assigned in 916. Pacific Bell has the most, with 236 (30%). 491 of the codes (63%) 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.

Where 916 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. 916 has codes in 17 rate centers. The table lists the rate centers with the most codes, with the matching Census place where the abbreviation could be matched.

916 code assignments over time

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). 785 are assigned in 916, 98% of 800. 32 were assigned in 2020 or later.

Using area code 916 for business calls

Callata is a business phone system priced at $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user. Callata Office includes up to 3 local business numbers, unlimited inbound calling, 1,500 pooled outbound US and Canada minutes per user each month, a browser softphone that can also ring your cell, voicemail with transcription, call recording with AI summaries, business-hours routing and E911 on every number.

If you already have a number in area code 916, 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.