Area codes 760 and 442 are telephone area codes in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of California. These area codes serve an overlay complex that comprises much of the southeastern and southernmost portions of California. It includes Imperial, Inyo, and Mono counties, as well as portions of San Diego, Riverside, San Bernardino, Los Angeles and Kern counties. Area code 760 was created on March 22, 1997 in a split of area code 619. ^[1] Area code 442 was added to the same area on November 21, 2009.

History

Area code 760 was split from 619 in 1997, and 619 had been split from area code 714 in 1982. Within a decade of creation, the proliferation of cell phones and pagers left area code 760 under the threat of exhausting its central office prefixes. The initial relief plan was another area code split, with the San Diego and Imperial areas moving to a new 442 area code. However, this met with protests from businesses who did not want to change their numbers for the second time in a decade. Ultimately, the California Public Utilities Commission decided that 442 would be added as an overlay to 760. Since 2009 all users in the region have been required to include the area code even when dialing local calls.

At 46,666 square miles (120,860 km²), it is the largest numbering plan area in California with approximately 29% of the state served by area codes 760 and 442. ^[2]

Service area

The following communities are located in the numbering plan area, in their respective counties.

Imperial County

Inyo County

Kern County

Los Angeles County

Mono County

Riverside County

San Bernardino County

San Diego County

See also

• List of California area codes
• List of North American Numbering Plan area codes

References

• Report on the 760 Area Code by the California Public Utilities Commission, Telecommunications Division (warning: this link leads to a large PDF file)

External links

• NANPA area code map of California

35°N 116°W / 35°N 116°W / 35; -116