Houston has five telephone area codes. The 621 went into service in January 2025 and covers the same region as 281, 346, 713, and 832.
Updated October 9, 2026
By Domingo Banda
The Houston area code can begin with 281, 346, 621, 713, or 832. The five telephone codes currently serve Houston and various communities in its metropolitan area.
The most recent, 621, entered service on January 23, 2025 to expand the availability of telephone numbers in the region.
The existing numbers with 281, 346, 713, and 832 did not change. 621 functions as an additional code within the same geographic area.
The 621 code belongs to the Houston area
A telephone number with the 621 code may correspond to Houston or to another community within the same metropolitan area.
The Texas Public Utility Commission (PUCT) approved 621 as an overlay code for the area that already used 281, 346, 713, and 832.
Since January 23, 2025, telephone companies can assign numbers with 621 to customers requesting a new line within that region.
Receiving a new number does not necessarily mean it will be 621. The five codes are part of the same numbering system for the Houston area.
281, 346, 621, 713 and 832 cover the same region
The 621 code covers the same general area as the existing codes 281, 346, 713, and 832.
The region includes Houston and communities such as:
- Baytown;
- League City;
- Missouri City;
- Pasadena;
- Pearland;
- Sugar Land;
- The Woodlands.
The system also reaches parts of Harris, Austin, Brazoria, Chambers, Fort Bend, Galveston, Liberty, Montgomery, San Jacinto and Waller counties.
The numbers 713, 281, 832, and 346 did not change with the arrival of 621
The introduction of 621 did not require changing existing telephone numbers.
A person or business that already had a number with the 281, 346, 713, or 832 code keeps that same number. 621 simply added new combinations available for future numbers.
There was also no exclusive Houston zone where only 621 would be used. The five codes can coexist within the same region.
Local calls in Houston still use 10 digits
Local calls within the region require dialing the area code and telephone number, for a total of 10 digits.
The arrival of 621 did not modify that system because Houston already used 10-digit dialing before the fifth code went into service.
For example, a local number can start with:
- (713) XXX-XXXX;
- (281) XXX-XXXX;
- (832) XXX-XXXX;
- (346) XXX-XXXX;
- (621) XXX-XXXX.
Houston went from one area code to five
The 713 was created in 1947 and was one of the original codes assigned to Texas under the North American Numbering Plan.
In 1996, 281 was created to accommodate the growth of Houston and its suburbs. The demand for numbers continued to rise and subsequently the region moved to an overlay coding system.
832 was added in 1999 and 346 was approved in 2013. The PUCT subsequently approved 621 in response to the need for new telephone number combinations.
The 621 code approved for the Houston area officially went into service on January 23, 2025.
What is the Houston area code or lada?
For a call to Houston, there is currently not a single area code exclusive to the entire city.
A number in the Houston area can use 281, 346, 621, 713, or 832, depending on the number assigned to the user.
For that reason, to call a specific person or business it is necessary to know the area code that appears alongside their telephone number.
The five codes remain active and 621 functions as part of the same regional telephone system.
