Area Code 253

About Area Code 253

Area code 253 is a geographic telephone area code assigned to Tacoma, Washington. It operates in the Pacific time zone and was first introduced in 1997. Split from 206. South King County & Pierce County.

Within Washington, area code 253 shares numbering capacity with 5 other area codes. The state's 7,812,880-person population (2023 Census Bureau estimate) is served by a combined 6 active codes, with 253 primarily responsible for the Tacoma region. Washington's state capital is Olympia, and its largest city is Seattle.

When you receive a call from a 253 number on your Caller ID, the call originated from a phone number assigned to the 253 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 253 only confirms where the number was originally assigned.

Where is the 253 area code located?

Area code 253 is assigned to Tacoma, Washington, in the Pacific time zone. The state of Washington uses 6 active area codes, and 253 is one of them. Calls placed from the 253 area code originate from numbers assigned by NANPA — the North American Numbering Plan Administrator — and the 253 prefix appears on Caller ID for both landline and wireless calls placed from this region.

The Pacific time zone observes Daylight Saving Time, shifting from UTC-8 to UTC-7 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 253 area code?

The 253 area code serves 12 notable cities, listed below in order of population. The largest city in the 253 territory is Tacoma (219,205 residents in Pierce County).

• Tacoma, WA — 219,205 residents (9.6% of 253 numbers)
• Seattle, WA — 749,256 residents (32.9% of 253 numbers)
• Spokane, WA — 229,071 residents (10.1% of 253 numbers)
• Vancouver, WA — 190,983 residents (8.4% of 253 numbers)
• Bellevue, WA — 151,003 residents (6.6% of 253 numbers)
• Kent, WA — 132,438 residents (5.8% of 253 numbers)
• Everett, WA — 111,475 residents (4.9% of 253 numbers)
• Renton, WA — 104,747 residents (4.6% of 253 numbers)
• Federal Way, WA — 101,030 residents (4.4% of 253 numbers)
• Yakima, WA — 94,005 residents (4.1% of 253 numbers)

Phone number format in area code 253

All phone numbers within area code 253 follow the standard North American 10-digit format:(253) 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 + 253 + 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 253 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 253

Split from 206. South King County & Pierce County.

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 253 area code safe to answer?

Area code 253 itself is a normal geographic code with no elevated spam risk. That said, scammers can spoof any area code — including 253 — so if you don't recognize the full number, let it go to voicemail and verify the caller's identity before calling back.