CallataGuidesGet a local business phone number in Houston, TX
Houston's area codes, prefixes and carriers from NANPA records, and how to put a Houston number in front of your customers.
- Area code
- 713 / 832 / 346
- Exchanges
- 1,502NANPA-assigned
- Carriers
- 55
- Population
- 2,390,125Census 2024 est.
What area code is Houston, TX?
Houston city is a Census place in Harris County, Texas, with an estimated 2,390,125 residents in 2024. NANPA lists 1,502 exchanges for its rate center across 4 area codes; 713 has the most (737, 49%). 713 is part of an overlay with 281, 346, 621, and 832, so a new local number in Houston may carry any of those codes depending on which have numbers available. Houston is in the Central time zone.
According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 713 are dialed as ten digits (area code plus number) and toll calls as 1 plus ten digits.
| Area code | Exchanges here | Share | In service since | Overlay with | Time zone |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 713 | 737 | 49% | 1947 | 281, 346, 621, 832 | Central |
| 832 | 441 | 29% | 1999 | 281, 346, 713 | Central |
| 346 | 176 | 12% | 2014 | 281, 621, 713, 832 | Central |
| 281 | 148 | 9.9% | 1996 | 346, 621, 713, 832 | Central |
Source: NANPA utilized central office code file and NPA report, dated 10/01/2026.
Houston exchanges by carrier
55 carriers hold the 1,502 exchanges assigned to Houston's rate center. Southwestern Bell has the most, with 518. 912 of them are pooled codes, which the holder shares with other carriers in blocks of 1,000 numbers. Holding a code means NANPA assigned that block of numbers to the carrier for this rate center; individual numbers may since have been ported elsewhere.
| Carrier (NANPA operating company) | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Bell | 518 | 34% |
| New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - Il | 235 | 16% |
| Aerial Communications, INC. | 181 | 12% |
| Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless - TX | 141 | 9.4% |
| Spok, INC. | 78 | 5.2% |
| Onvoy, LLC - TX | 57 | 3.8% |
| Metropcs, INC. | 44 | 2.9% |
| Level 3 Communications, LLC - TX | 41 | 2.7% |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC - TX | 26 | 1.7% |
| Level 3 of Telecom of Texas, LLC - TX | 23 | 1.5% |
| Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC - TX | 22 | 1.5% |
| Bandwidth.com CLEC, LLC - TX | 20 | 1.3% |
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.
Houston phone prefixes
Each prefix below is a block of up to 10,000 numbers that NANPA assigned to Houston's rate center (HOUSTON). The earliest assignment date recorded in the file for these codes is 2001. 90 of the 1,502 were assigned in 2020 or later.
| Area code | Prefixes (NXX) |
|---|---|
| 281 | 216, 217, 220, 221, 222, 224, 225, 228, 236, 250, 254, 266, 267, 268, 300, 352, 365, 380, 381, 382, 384, 386, 387, 389, 390, 404, 407, 409, 413, 414, 418, 433, 434, 435, 439, 450, 451, 455, 460, 467, 468, 472, 501, 507, 510, 513, 520, 527, 536, 543, 546, 567, 604, 605, 610, 613, 615, 620, 621, 627, 629, 630, 635, 636, 652, 657, 658, 660, 661, 669, 682, 684, 685, 686, 687, 702, 703, 714, 718, 722, 726, 727, 728, 731, 732, 733, 734, 735, 740, 744, 745, 753, 755, 757, 763, 768, 772, 773, 777, 779, 780, 782, 785, 787, 788, 793, 794, 795, 796, 797, 798, 799, 800, 802, 804, 813, 814, 822, 827, 832, 833, 840, 841, 844, 846, 851, 857, 865, 881, 888, 889, 900, 904, 905, 906, 908, 914, 928, 932, 936, 952, 953, 963, 974, 979, 981, 989, 995 |
| 346 | 200, 201, 204, 212, 214, 217, 221, 223, 226, 227, 228, 231, 232, 234, 237, 238, 240, 241, 247, 250, 256, 262, 265, 266, 267, 272, 274, 281, 286, 293, 294, 299, 303, 308, 310, 317, 319, 320, 324, 326, 327, 330, 335, 339, 348, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 383, 388, 395, 396, 397, 398, 401, 403, 404, 405, 406, 407, 426, 428, 430, 438, 441, 444, 446, 448, 451, 453, 455, 469, 473, 475, 492, 494, 500, 502, 503, 504, 506, 509, 510, 516, 520, 526, 537, 541, 542, 547 |
First 240 of 1502 prefixes. Source: NANPA.
When Houston's exchanges were assigned
Assignment dates show when each block of Houston numbers was added to the local supply.
| Decade assigned | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 286 | 46% |
| 2010s | 240 | 39% |
| 2020s | 90 | 15% |
Assignment dates as recorded in NANPA's utilized code file; codes without a recorded date are excluded.
What makes a number local to Houston
Phone numbers are tied to a rate center, the local calling area used to decide whether a call is local or toll. Houston's numbers are rated to the HOUSTON rate center in NANPA's records. A business number from one of the prefixes above shows up on customers' phones as a Houston number.
If your business already has a Houston number, porting it to Callata is free and keeps it on your cards, listings and vehicles.
Businesses around Houston
Houston is part of the Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX metro area, home to 7.8 million people in 2024. County Business Patterns counted 162,055 business establishments in the Houston, TX metro area in 2023, employing 2,863,143 people. The largest sectors by establishment count are professional, scientific, and technical services (22,233), retail trade (20,204), and health care and social assistance (20,054).
| Industry | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Limited-service restaurants | 5,768 | 129,426 | 22.4 |
| Physician practices | 5,628 | 52,412 | 9.3 |
| Full-service restaurants | 5,201 | 133,839 | 25.7 |
| Law offices | 3,867 | 27,482 | 7.1 |
| Dental offices | 3,400 | 21,058 | 6.2 |
| Insurance agencies and brokerages | 2,805 | 16,850 | 6.0 |
| Management consulting firms | 2,726 | 20,467 | 7.5 |
| Offices of real estate agents and brokers | 2,582 | 6,722 | 2.6 |
Selected small-business industries (six-digit NAICS) covered by these guides. Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023.
Business phone service in Houston
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.
If you already have a number in Houston, 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.
An 18-person team is the benchmark here, the rounded average establishment size in the Houston, TX metro area. Billed per seat at month-to-month list prices (checked September 28, 2026), RingCentral RingEX Core costs $540.00 a month and Ooma Office Pro $449.10. On Callata the same 18 people cost $359.00 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 | $359.00 | $4,308.00 |
| Quo (Starter) | $19.00 per user | $342.00 | $4,104.00 |
| Nextiva (Core) | $23.00 per user | $414.00 | $4,968.00 |
| Ooma (Office Pro) | $24.95 per user | $449.10 | $5,389.20 |
| Dialpad (Standard) | $27.00 per user | $486.00 | $5,832.00 |
| RingCentral (RingEX Core) | $30.00 per user | $540.00 | $6,480.00 |
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 Houston, TX?
Houston has exchanges in 713, 832, 346, and 281; 713 has the most.
How many phone companies have exchanges in Houston?
55, holding 1,502 exchanges between them, according to NANPA's 10/01/2026 file.
Can I keep my existing Houston 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 Houston?
Callata is $99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user, with up to 3 local numbers; 18 users come to $359.00 a month. For comparison, 18 users on RingCentral RingEX Core list at $540.00 a month (checked September 28, 2026).