Everything about Area Code 201 totally explained
Area code 201 is a
telephone area code for the
state of
New Jersey covering most of
Hudson and
Bergen Counties, as well as parts of
Essex and
Passaic Counties. It is
overlaid with
area code 551.
The 201 area code was the first area code to be assigned in the
United States, as part of the
North American Numbering Plan. While it was part of the original set of area codes assigned to the U.S. in 1947, this area code wasn't placed into service until 1951. In that year, the first
direct-dialed long distance call was made from
Englewood, New Jersey to
Alameda, California.
After the split in 1958, Area code 201 served the northern counties in the state:
Essex,
Bergen,
Hudson,
Union,
Morris,
Passaic,
Somerset,
Middlesex,
Monmouth,
Sussex and
Warren counties. New Jersey's southern counties, including the southern
Jersey Shore, as well as the
Philadelphia and
Wilmington, Delaware suburbs (in New Jersey) were served by 609.
As the central region of New Jersey grew during the 1980s, the northeastern section of the state lost sizeable chunks of its population due to the decline of its major cities, including
Newark,
Paterson,
Clifton, and
Elizabeth. On
June 8,
1991,
area code 908 split off from 201; it primarily serves the North/Central regions of the state.
The northernmost counties continued to use 201, while the southern
Pine Barrens area kept 609, which is the area code of
Trenton, the state's capital.
During the mid-1990s, businesses began to flourish once again in
North Jersey, while
cell phones and
internet dial-up connections proliferated. In response to the pressure for the addition of more telephone numbers, New Jersey added more area codes, going from three to six. As of
June 1,
1997, Essex and Passaic Counties, home to
Newark and
Paterson respectively (the state's first and third-largest cities), as well as the more rural northwestern counties of New Jersey, Morris and Sussex, were broken away from area code 201, forming the new area code,
973.
Hudson County and Bergen County, the state's two northeastern counties (as well as being two of the state's most densely populated counties) and the closest two counties to
New York City, became the last remaining counties in the state to be served by area code 201.
As Hudson and Bergen Counties developed further, and even more telephone numbers were demanded, it was debated whether 201 should split again, or if an overlay area code should be added instead. The latter option was chosen, to avoid the costs and frustration associated with splitting an area code. However, with the implementation of the overlay area code on December 1 2001,
10-digit dialing became mandatory. Area code
551 was created in 2001, along with area codes
862 and
848 which overlay area codes
973 and
732 respectively.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Area Code 201'.
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