CallataGuidesGet a local business phone number in Lowell, MA
Lowell's area codes, prefixes and carriers from NANPA records, and how to put a Lowell number in front of your customers.
- Area code
- 978 / 351
- Exchanges
- 86NANPA-assigned
- Carriers
- 15
- Population
- 120,418Census 2024 est.
Area codes in Lowell
With 120,418 residents in the Census 2024 estimate, Lowell sits in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. NANPA lists 86 exchanges for its rate center across 2 area codes; 978 has the most (81, 94%). 978 is part of an overlay with 351, so a new local number in Lowell may carry any of those codes depending on which have numbers available. Lowell is in the Eastern time zone.
According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 978 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as 1 plus ten digits.
Phone carriers in Lowell
15 carriers hold the 86 exchanges assigned to Lowell's rate center. Verizon New England INC. has the most, with 31. 67 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 |
|---|---|---|
| Verizon New England INC. | 31 | 36% |
| Omnipoint Miami E License, LLC | 10 | 12% |
| Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless - Ma | 9 | 10% |
| Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC | 7 | 8.1% |
| TC Systems, INC. | 7 | 8.1% |
| Paetec Itel, LLC | 7 | 8.1% |
| Level 3 Communications, LLC - Ma | 6 | 7.0% |
| Comcast Ip Phone, LLC | 2 | 2.3% |
| Commio, LLC | 1 | 1.2% |
| Fractel, LLC | 1 | 1.2% |
| Five9, INC. | 1 | 1.2% |
| Norfolk County Internet, INC. | 1 | 1.2% |
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 Lowell
These are the central office codes NANPA records for Lowell. A caller seeing one of them recognizes a local number. The earliest assignment date recorded in the file for these codes is 2001. 6 of the 86 were assigned in 2020 or later.
| Area code | Prefixes (NXX) |
|---|---|
| 351 | 208, 221, 239, 322, 500 |
| 978 | 200, 221, 244, 250, 251, 256, 259, 265, 275, 319, 322, 323, 328, 337, 349, 364, 367, 375, 418, 421, 423, 427, 441, 442, 446, 452, 453, 454, 455, 458, 459, 479, 483, 492, 497, 513, 551, 569, 596, 606, 614, 640, 654, 656, 674, 677, 703, 710, 726, 735, 746, 758, 761, 770, 781, 788, 789, 804, 805, 815, 848, 851, 856, 858, 863, 866, 888, 905, 934, 935, 937, 941, 942, 954, 955, 957, 967, 970, 978, 995, 996 |
Source: NANPA utilized central office code file.
When Lowell's exchanges were assigned
Assignment dates show when each block of Lowell numbers was added to the local supply.
| Decade assigned | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9 | 38% |
| 2010s | 9 | 38% |
| 2020s | 6 | 25% |
Assignment dates as recorded in NANPA's utilized code file; codes without a recorded date are excluded.
How local numbers work in Lowell
NANPA ties every exchange to a rate center. For Lowell that is LOWELL, so a number from one of these exchanges reads as local to people in and around Lowell.
If your business already has a Lowell number, porting it to Callata is free and keeps it on your cards, listings and vehicles.
The local business market
Lowell is part of the Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, home to 5.0 million people in 2024. County Business Patterns counted 133,807 business establishments in the Boston, MA-NH metro area in 2023, employing 2,681,704 people. The largest sectors by establishment count are professional, scientific, and technical services (17,803), retail trade (15,568), and health care and social assistance (15,127).
| Industry | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | 4,652 | 104,689 | 22.5 |
| Limited-service restaurants | 3,920 | 51,825 | 13.2 |
| Residential remodelers | 3,263 | 11,112 | 3.4 |
| Law offices | 2,967 | 24,707 | 8.3 |
| Landscaping services | 2,876 | 12,494 | 4.3 |
| Dental offices | 2,419 | 19,313 | 8.0 |
| Plumbing, heating and air-conditioning contractors | 2,169 | 22,860 | 10.5 |
| Beauty salons | 2,025 | 10,995 | 5.4 |
Selected small-business industries (six-digit NAICS) covered by these guides. Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023.
Business phone service in Lowell
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 Lowell, 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.
A 20-person team is the benchmark here, the rounded average establishment size in the Boston, MA-NH metro area. Billed per seat at month-to-month list prices (checked September 28, 2026), RingCentral RingEX Core costs $600.00 a month and Ooma Office Pro $499.00. On Callata the same 20 people cost $399.00 a month, less than either per-seat plan.
| Provider (plan) | Pricing basis | Per month | Per year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Callata (Callata Office) | $99 incl. 5 users, $20 per extra user | $399.00 | $4,788.00 |
| Quo (Starter) | $19.00 per user | $380.00 | $4,560.00 |
| Nextiva (Core) | $23.00 per user | $460.00 | $5,520.00 |
| Ooma (Office Pro) | $24.95 per user | $499.00 | $5,988.00 |
| Dialpad (Standard) | $27.00 per user | $540.00 | $6,480.00 |
| RingCentral (RingEX Core) | $30.00 per user | $600.00 | $7,200.00 |
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 Lowell, MA?
Lowell has exchanges in 978 and 351; 978 has the most.
How many phone companies have exchanges in Lowell?
15, holding 86 exchanges between them, according to NANPA's 10/01/2026 file.
Can I keep my existing Lowell 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 Lowell?
Callata is $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user, with up to 3 local numbers; 20 users come to $399.00 a month. For comparison, 20 users on RingCentral RingEX Core list at $600.00 a month (checked September 28, 2026).