Area Code 249

About Area Code 249

Area code 249 is a geographic telephone area code assigned to Sudbury, Ontario. It operates in the Eastern time zone and was first introduced in 2011. Overlay for 705. Northeastern Ontario.

Within Ontario, area code 249 operates alongside 15 other area codes. The province's 2023 population estimate is 15,996,389. Ontario's capital is Toronto and its largest city is Toronto.

When you receive a call from a 249 number on your Caller ID, the call originated from a phone number assigned to the 249 area code — but be aware that Local Number Portability (in effect since 2003) means the caller could be physically located anywhere in the US or Canada. Area code 249 only confirms where the number was originally assigned.

Where is the 249 area code located?

Area code 249 is assigned to Sudbury, Ontario, in the Eastern time zone. The state of Ontario uses 16 active area codes, and 249 is one of them. Calls placed from the 249 area code originate from numbers assigned by NANPA — the North American Numbering Plan Administrator — and the 249 prefix appears on Caller ID for both landline and wireless calls placed from this region.

The Eastern time zone observes Daylight Saving Time, shifting from UTC-5 to UTC-4 in summer. The local time shown above is always current, so you can quickly check whether it's a reasonable hour to call back.

What cities and counties use the 249 area code?

The 249 area code serves 8 notable cities, listed below in order of population. The largest city in the 249 territory is Toronto (2,794,356 residents in Toronto County).

• Toronto, ON — 2,794,356 residents (40.9% of 249 numbers)
• Ottawa, ON — 1,017,449 residents (14.9% of 249 numbers)
• Mississauga, ON — 717,961 residents (10.5% of 249 numbers)
• Brampton, ON — 656,480 residents (9.6% of 249 numbers)
• Hamilton, ON — 569,353 residents (8.3% of 249 numbers)
• London, ON — 422,324 residents (6.2% of 249 numbers)
• Markham, ON — 338,503 residents (4.9% of 249 numbers)
• Vaughan, ON — 323,103 residents (4.7% of 249 numbers)

Phone number format in area code 249

All phone numbers within area code 249 follow the standard North American 10-digit format:(249) NXX-XXXX. The NXX is the central office prefix (also called an "exchange") and XXXX is the subscriber line number. For long-distance calls within the NANP, dial 1 + 249 + NXX + XXXX. From outside North America, dial your country's international access code, then 1 (the NANP country code), then the 10-digit number.

If you need to verify whether a specific 249 number is wireless, landline, or VoIP, you can use our reverse phone lookup tool. Be aware that number portability means the area code no longer guarantees the caller's physical location — only where the number was first assigned.

History of area code 249

Overlay for 705. Northeastern Ontario.

The original 86 area codes were assigned by AT&T and Bell Labs in 1947 as part of the North American Numbering Plan. At the time, rotary-dial phones meant codes with lower digits (like 212 for NYC, 213 for LA, 312 for Chicago) were given to the largest cities because they took less time to dial. Today's area code assignments still reflect those early choices, even though touch-tone and cell phones made the original reason obsolete.

Is the 249 area code safe to answer?

Area code 249 itself is a normal geographic code with no elevated spam risk. That said, scammers can spoof any area code — including 249 — so if you don't recognize the full number, let it go to voicemail and verify the caller's identity before calling back.