Get a local business phone number in Homer, IL
Homer's area codes, prefixes and carriers from NANPA records, and how to put a Homer number in front of your customers.
- Area code
- 217 / 447
- Exchanges
- 2NANPA-assigned
- Carriers
- 2
- Population
- 41,486Census 2024 est.
Homer area codes
Homer, in Will County, Illinois, had a Census-estimated population of 41,486 in July 2024. NANPA lists 2 exchanges for its rate center across 2 area codes; 217 has the most (1, 50%). 217 is part of an overlay with 447, so a new local number in Homer may carry any of those codes depending on which have numbers available. Homer is in the Central time zone.
According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 217 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as 1 plus ten digits.
Homer exchanges by carrier
2 carriers hold the 2 exchanges assigned to Homer's rate center. Frontier North, INC. - Il has the most, with 1. 2 of them are pooled codes, which the holder shares with other carriers in blocks of 1,000 numbers. The table counts codes by the operating company NANPA assigned them to, not by who serves each number today.
| Carrier (NANPA operating company) | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Frontier North, INC. - Il | 1 | 50% |
| Onvoy, LLC | 1 | 50% |
Carrier names are the operating company (OCN) names on NANPA's utilized central office code file dated 10/01/2026. A carrier holding a code may port numbers to other carriers.
Exchanges (NPA-NXX) assigned in Homer
Each prefix below is a block of up to 10,000 numbers that NANPA assigned to Homer's rate center (HOMER). The earliest assignment date recorded in the file for these codes is 2021. 1 of the 2 were assigned in 2020 or later.
| Area code | Prefixes (NXX) |
|---|---|
| 217 | 896 |
| 447 | 774 |
Source: NANPA utilized central office code file.
Rate centers and local calling in Homer
Phone numbers are tied to a rate center, the local calling area used to decide whether a call is local or toll. Homer's numbers are rated to the HOMER rate center in NANPA's records. A business number from one of the prefixes above shows up on customers' phones as a Homer number.
If your business already has a Homer number, porting it to Callata is free and keeps it on your cards, listings and vehicles.
Businesses around Homer
Homer is part of the Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN metro area, home to 9.4 million people in 2024. County Business Patterns counted 248,519 business establishments in the Chicago, IL-IN metro area in 2023, employing 4,285,971 people. The largest sectors by establishment count are professional, scientific, and technical services (32,828), health care and social assistance (29,768), and retail trade (25,308).
| Industry | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited-service restaurants | 8,179 | 139,869 | 17.1 |
| Full-service restaurants | 7,371 | 149,532 | 20.3 |
| Law offices | 5,865 | 46,449 | 7.9 |
| Physician practices | 5,693 | 80,101 | 14.1 |
| Residential remodelers | 5,230 | 12,655 | 2.4 |
| Dental offices | 4,881 | 30,767 | 6.3 |
| Offices of real estate agents and brokers | 4,252 | 11,786 | 2.8 |
| General freight trucking companies (local) | 4,040 | 14,869 | 3.7 |
Selected small-business industries (six-digit NAICS) covered by these guides. Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023.
A Homer 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.
Porting a number you already use in Homer 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.
The comparison below uses 17 users, the rounded average establishment size in the Chicago, IL-IN metro area. At list prices checked September 28, 2026, that is $424.15 a month on Ooma Office Pro and $510.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core. Callata comes to $339.00 a month for 17 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.
| Provider (plan) | Pricing basis | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callata (Callata Office) | $99 incl. 5 users, $20 per extra user | $339.00 | $4,068.00 |
| Quo (Starter) | $19.00 per user | $323.00 | $3,876.00 |
| Nextiva (Core) | $23.00 per user | $391.00 | $4,692.00 |
| Ooma (Office Pro) | $24.95 per user | $424.15 | $5,089.80 |
| Dialpad (Standard) | $27.00 per user | $459.00 | $5,508.00 |
| RingCentral (RingEX Core) | $30.00 per user | $510.00 | $6,120.00 |
Competitor prices are each vendor's published month-to-month list price per user for its lowest plan that includes business calling and texting, checked September 28, 2026: Quo Starter $19, Nextiva Core $23, Ooma Office Pro $24.95 (Essentials excludes texting; one-time $29.95 activation not included), Dialpad Standard $27, RingCentral RingEX Core $30 ($20 billed annually). Prices exclude taxes and fees and may change; annual contracts lower some competitors' prices.
Frequently asked questions
What area code is Homer, IL?
Homer has exchanges in 217 and 447; 217 has the most.
How many phone companies have exchanges in Homer?
2, holding 2 exchanges between them, according to NANPA's 10/01/2026 file.
Can I keep my existing Homer business number?
Yes. Porting an existing number to Callata is free. Texting from it starts after carrier registration (10DLC), a one-time $49 fee.
How much is a business phone line in Homer?
Callata is $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user, with up to 3 local numbers; 17 users come to $339.00 a month. For comparison, 17 users on RingCentral RingEX Core list at $510.00 a month (checked September 28, 2026).