Texas business phone guide

Businesses in Texas

Texas had 31.3 million residents in the Census Bureau's July 2024 estimate, up 7.3% from April 2020. The U.S. population grew 2.6% over the same period. County Business Patterns counted 670,878 business establishments in the state in 2023 with 12,012,629 mid-March employees and $805.0 billion in annual payroll. The average establishment has 17.9 employees. 53.6% of establishments with employees had fewer than five people. The three largest sectors by establishments are retail trade (84,369), professional, scientific, and technical services (83,842), and health care and social assistance (80,576).

How Texas's businesses compare

Texas has 21.4 business establishments per 1,000 residents, 12.8% below the U.S. figure of 24.6. Establishments average 17.9 employees against 16.7 nationally, and payroll per employee is $67,014 (in line with the U.S. $68,342). 53.6% of establishments with employees have fewer than five people (U.S.: 55.5%), while 6.0% have 50 or more. Because a handful of large employers lift the average, the share of very small establishments says more about who buys a small-business phone system.

Texas's phone numbering

NANPA lists 29 geographic area codes in service in Texas, with 16,097 central office codes assigned across 1,278 rate centers and held by 188 carriers. 281 has the most assigned codes (786). 17 of them are part of overlays. The newest in service is 621, since January 23, 2025. NANPA reports relief planning in progress for 956.

Small-business industries in Texas

Among the 141 phone-heavy small-business industries these guides cover, the largest in Texas by establishment count are limited-service restaurants (24,360), physician practices (21,500), and full-service restaurants (20,819). Follow an industry for its metro-level counts and what a phone system costs a typical team.

Metro and micropolitan areas

67 Census metro or micropolitan areas include part of Texas. The largest is Dallas, TX with 8.3 million residents.

Which Texas area code to pick

24 of Texas's 29 area codes require ten-digit dialing for local calls; in the others NANPA still lists seven-digit local dialing. In overlays (281/346/621/713/832, 214/469/945/972, 281/346/713/832, 512/737, 210/726, and 682/817), the codes share one territory, so a new number may come from any code in the overlay. The city pages show which codes dominate each place, which is the best guide to the number your customers will recognize.

Largest Texas cities for local numbers

541 Texas cities and towns have their own local-number page. The most populous are Houston (281/346), San Antonio (210/726), Dallas (214/469), and Fort Worth (682/817).

What phone service costs a Texas business

The comparison below uses 18 users, the rounded average establishment size in Texas. At list prices checked September 28, 2026, that is $449.10 a month on Ooma Office Pro and $540.00 on RingCentral RingEX Core. Callata comes to $359.00 a month for 18 users ($99 a month with 5 users included, then $20 per additional user), below both.

Callata in Texas

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.

Porting a number you already use in Texas 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.