Area Code 506

About Area Code 506

Area code 506 is a geographic telephone area code assigned to Saint John, New Brunswick. It operates in the Atlantic time zone and was first introduced in 1955. Split from 902. Province-wide New Brunswick. Overlay 428 added.

Within New Brunswick, area code 506 operates alongside 1 other area code. The province's 2023 population estimate is 834,717. New Brunswick's capital is Fredericton and its largest city is Moncton.

When you receive a call from a 506 number on your Caller ID, the call originated from a phone number assigned to the 506 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 506 only confirms where the number was originally assigned.

Where is the 506 area code located?

Area code 506 is assigned to Saint John, New Brunswick, in the Atlantic time zone. The state of New Brunswick uses 2 active area codes, and 506 is one of them. Calls placed from the 506 area code originate from numbers assigned by NANPA — the North American Numbering Plan Administrator — and the 506 prefix appears on Caller ID for both landline and wireless calls placed from this region.

The Atlantic time zone observes Daylight Saving Time, shifting from UTC-4 to UTC-3 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 506 area code?

The 506 area code serves 9 notable cities, listed below in order of population. The largest city in the 506 territory is Saint John (69,895 residents in Saint John County).

• Saint John, NB — 69,895 residents (22.3% of 506 numbers)
• Moncton, NB — 79,470 residents (25.4% of 506 numbers)
• Fredericton, NB — 63,116 residents (20.2% of 506 numbers)
• Dieppe, NB — 27,032 residents (8.6% of 506 numbers)
• Riverview, NB — 20,584 residents (6.6% of 506 numbers)
• Miramichi, NB — 17,427 residents (5.6% of 506 numbers)
• Edmundston, NB — 16,584 residents (5.3% of 506 numbers)
• Bathurst, NB — 12,157 residents (3.9% of 506 numbers)
• Campbellton, NB — 6,883 residents (2.2% of 506 numbers)

Phone number format in area code 506

All phone numbers within area code 506 follow the standard North American 10-digit format:(506) 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 + 506 + 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 506 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 506

Split from 902. Province-wide New Brunswick. Overlay 428 added.

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 506 area code safe to answer?

Area code 506 itself is a normal geographic code with no elevated spam risk. That said, scammers can spoof any area code — including 506 — so if you don't recognize the full number, let it go to voicemail and verify the caller's identity before calling back.