CallataGuidesGet a local business phone number in Tacoma, WA
Tacoma's area code, prefixes and carriers from NANPA records, and how to put a Tacoma number in front of your customers.
- Area code
- 253
- Exchanges
- 228NANPA-assigned
- Carriers
- 24
- Population
- 228,202Census 2024 est.
Tacoma area codes
Tacoma, in Pierce County, Washington, had a Census-estimated population of 228,202 in July 2024. All 228 exchanges NANPA lists for its rate center are in area code 253. Tacoma is in the Pacific time zone.
According to NANPA's dialing-plan data, local calls within 253 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 253 | 228 | 100% | 1997 | none | Pacific |
Source: NANPA utilized central office code file and NPA report, dated 10/01/2026.
Phone carriers in Tacoma
24 carriers hold the 228 exchanges assigned to Tacoma's rate center. Qwest Corporation has the most, with 71. 107 of them are pooled codes, which the holder shares with other carriers in blocks of 1,000 numbers. A business number in Tacoma can come from any of these blocks; once it is yours, porting lets it move between providers.
| Carrier (NANPA operating company) | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Qwest Corporation | 71 | 31% |
| T-mobile USA, INC. | 34 | 15% |
| Cellco Partnership d/b/a Verizon Wireless - Wa | 28 | 12% |
| Onvoy, LLC - Wa | 24 | 11% |
| New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC | 18 | 7.9% |
| Electric Lightwave LLC d/b/a Allstream | 10 | 4.4% |
| Level 3 Communications, LLC - Wa | 9 | 3.9% |
| Spok, INC. | 7 | 3.1% |
| Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC | 5 | 2.2% |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC - Wa | 4 | 1.8% |
| Comcast Ip Phone, LLC | 3 | 1.3% |
| Fractel, LLC | 2 | 0.88% |
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 Tacoma
Each prefix below is a block of up to 10,000 numbers that NANPA assigned to Tacoma's rate center (TACOMA). The earliest assignment date recorded in the file for these codes is 2001. 15 of the 228 were assigned in 2020 or later.
| Area code | Prefixes (NXX) |
|---|---|
| 253 | 201, 203, 207, 208, 209, 212, 213, 219, 222, 223, 224, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 232, 233, 238, 240, 241, 244, 254, 255, 260, 267, 272, 273, 274, 276, 278, 279, 280, 282, 283, 284, 287, 291, 292, 295, 298, 300, 301, 302, 304, 305, 306, 307, 309, 310, 312, 314, 317, 318, 319, 320, 322, 323, 324, 327, 328, 330, 341, 342, 343, 346, 348, 352, 353, 354, 355, 356, 357, 359, 363, 365, 366, 369, 370, 371, 376, 377, 380, 381, 382, 383, 384, 389, 390, 393, 396, 399, 401, 403, 404, 405, 412, 414, 415, 416, 423, 426, 427, 428, 433, 439, 440, 441, 442, 444, 448, 459, 460, 468, 471, 472, 473, 474, 475, 476, 477, 484, 495, 498, 502, 503, 507, 512, 527, 531, 532, 533, 534, 535, 536, 537, 538, 539, 540, 541, 548, 550, 552, 564, 565, 566, 571, 572, 573, 576, 579, 581, 582, 583, 584, 587, 588, 589, 590, 591, 592, 593, 594, 595, 596, 597, 606, 617, 620, 625, 627, 650, 651, 660, 663, 666, 669, 671, 677, 678, 679, 680, 682, 683, 686, 687, 691, 692, 720, 722, 732, 751, 752, 753, 756, 759, 761, 777, 779, 792, 798, 800, 820, 830, 844, 861, 879, 882, 888, 903, 905, 906, 912, 934, 948, 961, 964, 966, 967, 968, 970, 973, 982, 983, 984, 985, 988, 999 |
Source: NANPA utilized central office code file.
When Tacoma's exchanges were assigned
Assignment dates show when each block of Tacoma numbers was added to the local supply.
| Decade assigned | Exchanges | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31 | 46% |
| 2010s | 22 | 32% |
| 2020s | 15 | 22% |
Assignment dates as recorded in NANPA's utilized code file; codes without a recorded date are excluded.
How local numbers work in Tacoma
NANPA ties every exchange to a rate center. For Tacoma that is TACOMA, so a number from one of these exchanges reads as local to people in and around Tacoma.
Keeping an existing Tacoma number costs nothing on Callata, because porting is free; a new number depends on what carriers have open in 253 when you pick it.
The local business market
Tacoma is part of the Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA metro area, home to 4.1 million people in 2024. County Business Patterns counted 110,685 business establishments in the Seattle, WA metro area in 2023, employing 1,884,361 people. The largest sectors by establishment count are professional, scientific, and technical services (14,812), construction (13,610), and health care and social assistance (13,557).
| Industry | Establishments | Employees | Employees per establishment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full-service restaurants | 3,876 | 65,711 | 17.0 |
| Offices of real estate agents and brokers | 3,449 | 9,353 | 2.7 |
| Limited-service restaurants | 2,939 | 48,471 | 16.5 |
| Residential remodelers | 2,882 | 10,444 | 3.6 |
| Dental offices | 2,189 | 18,592 | 8.5 |
| Law offices | 2,146 | 15,271 | 7.1 |
| Physician practices | 1,630 | 37,420 | 23.0 |
| Landscaping services | 1,583 | 11,001 | 6.9 |
Selected small-business industries (six-digit NAICS) covered by these guides. Source: Census County Business Patterns 2023.
Setting up a Tacoma business line
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 Tacoma, 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 17-person team is the benchmark here, the rounded average establishment size in the Seattle, WA metro area. Billed per seat at month-to-month list prices (checked September 28, 2026), RingCentral RingEX Core costs $510.00 a month and Ooma Office Pro $424.15. On Callata the same 17 people cost $339.00 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 | $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 Tacoma, WA?
253. All exchanges NANPA lists for Tacoma are in 253.
How many phone companies have exchanges in Tacoma?
24, holding 228 exchanges between them, according to NANPA's 10/01/2026 file.
Can I keep my existing Tacoma 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 Tacoma?
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).