Area code 612
Encyclopedia
Telephone numbering plan
A telephone numbering plan is a type of numbering scheme used in telecommunications to allocate telephone numbers to subscribers and to route telephone calls in a telephone network. A closed numbering plan, such as found in North America, imposes a fixed total length to numbers...
code for the city of Minneapolis, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
and a few surrounding areas such as Fort Snelling
Fort Snelling, Minnesota
Fort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota...
, St. Anthony and Richfield
Richfield, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 34,439 people, 15,073 households, and 8,727 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,993.9 people per square mile . There were 15,357 housing units at an average density of 2,226.9 per square mile...
. It is currently the smallest area code in the state by land area. However, the region used to be much larger, accounting for the entire Twin Cities region and a wide swath surrounding it. The 612 and the metro calling area (most of area codes 651
Area code 651
Area code 651 is the telephone numbering plan code for Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities. A dogleg portion also extends to the southeast along the Mississippi River to include cities such as Red Wing...
, 952
Area code 952
Area code 952 is the telephone numbering plan code in Minnesota for the southwestern suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul including cities such as Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina and Minnetonka...
, and 763
Area code 763
Area code 763 is the telephone numbering plan code for the northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, including cities such as Plymouth, Maple Grove, and Brooklyn Park...
, plus parts of area codes 320
Area code 320
Area code 320 is the telephone numbering plan code covering most of central Minnesota. It was the fourth Minnesota area code, created in 1996 when it was carved out of the former area code 612, which covered the state's midsection. The Twin Cities region retained 612, while the rest of the area...
and 507
Area code 507
Area code 507 is the telephone numbering plan code for the southern 1/5 of Minnesota, including cities such as Rochester, Mankato, Worthington, Fairmont and Austin. It was the third area code created for use in the state in 1954, following the original Area code 218 and Area code 612...
in addition to 612) is the largest geographic local calling area in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
A map of the North American Numbering Plan
North American Numbering Plan
The North American Numbering Plan is an integrated telephone numbering plan administered by Neustar which encompasses 24 countries and territories, including the United States and its territories, Canada, Bermuda, and 16 nations of the Caribbean...
(NANP) in 1947 showed the region defined as roughly one third of the area of Minnesota, with the separating line extending westward from Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth, Minnesota
Duluth is a port city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Saint Louis County. The fourth largest city in Minnesota, Duluth had a total population of 86,265 in the 2010 census. Duluth is also the second largest city that is located on Lake Superior after Thunder Bay, Ontario,...
to the center of the state, then down through the center. The rest of the state consisted of area code 218
Area code 218
218 is the North American telephone area code for the northern part of the state of Minnesota, making it the northernmost area code in the contiguous United States. It is one of Minnesota's original two codes, although it has been modified since inception...
, which formed an "r"-shaped region around the 612 area code.
In 1954, the state was divided into three area codes. The 612 area code was rotated to reach out to the western edge of the state. It still included the Twin Cities, but no longer extended far to the north. The 218 region was made more square, covering roughly the top half of the state. The new area code 507
Area code 507
Area code 507 is the telephone numbering plan code for the southern 1/5 of Minnesota, including cities such as Rochester, Mankato, Worthington, Fairmont and Austin. It was the third area code created for use in the state in 1954, following the original Area code 218 and Area code 612...
stretched across the southern fifth of the state, including cities such as Rochester
Rochester, Minnesota
Rochester is a city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Olmsted County. Located on both banks of the Zumbro River, The city has a population of 106,769 according to the 2010 United States Census, making it Minnesota's third-largest city and the largest outside of the...
and Mankato
Mankato, Minnesota
Mankato is a city in Blue Earth, Nicollet, and Le Sueur counties in the U.S. state of Minnesota. The population was 39,309 at the 2010 census, making it the fourth largest city in Minnesota outside of the Minneapolis-St. Paul metropolitan area. The county seat of Blue Earth County, it is located...
. Through the 1990s, those areas were modified slightly, but most of the changes have focused on subdividing the former 612 area code.
In 1996, the region was broken into two parts. Area code 320
Area code 320
Area code 320 is the telephone numbering plan code covering most of central Minnesota. It was the fourth Minnesota area code, created in 1996 when it was carved out of the former area code 612, which covered the state's midsection. The Twin Cities region retained 612, while the rest of the area...
took up all of the former 612 area outside of the Twin Cities, while 612 shrank. The 612 region was roughly split in half two years later in 1998, with Minneapolis and western suburbs retaining the old code and neighboring St. Paul and suburbs to the east gaining the new area code 651
Area code 651
Area code 651 is the telephone numbering plan code for Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities. A dogleg portion also extends to the southeast along the Mississippi River to include cities such as Red Wing...
. The most recent split occurred in 2000, when the 612 code shrank to its current size, area code 763
Area code 763
Area code 763 is the telephone numbering plan code for the northwestern suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota, including cities such as Plymouth, Maple Grove, and Brooklyn Park...
was created to include the northwest suburbs, and area code 952
Area code 952
Area code 952 is the telephone numbering plan code in Minnesota for the southwestern suburbs of Minneapolis-St. Paul including cities such as Bloomington, Eden Prairie, Edina and Minnetonka...
began to be used for southwest suburbs. The area code splits in the Twin Cities are unusual because they split along municipal, rather than central office, boundaries. This led to a sizeable number of exchanges being divided between two area codes, and a few being divided between three.
The St. Paul campus of the University of Minnesota Twin Cities is a notable exception to the regional numbering plan. Because of an integrated phone system between the main Minneapolis campus and the one to the east in the St. Paul suburb of Falcon Heights
Falcon Heights, Minnesota
As of the census of 2000, there were 5,572 people, 2,103 households, and 1,434 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,487.9 people per square mile . There were 2,136 housing units at an average density of 953.7 per square mile...
, students and staff on that campus use the 612 area code.
Cities and communities within area code 612
- City of MinneapolisMinneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis , nicknamed "City of Lakes" and the "Mill City," is the county seat of Hennepin County, the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota, and the 48th largest in the United States...
- RichfieldRichfield, MinnesotaAs of the census of 2000, there were 34,439 people, 15,073 households, and 8,727 families residing in the city. The population density was 4,993.9 people per square mile . There were 15,357 housing units at an average density of 2,226.9 per square mile...
- St. Anthony
- Fort SnellingFort Snelling, MinnesotaFort Snelling, originally known as Fort Saint Anthony, was a military fortification located at the confluence of the Minnesota River and Mississippi River in Hennepin County, Minnesota...
- University of Minnesota