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970

Area Code 970

Fort Collins, Colorado · United States

Geographic Mountain Since 1995

Split from 303. Western & northern Colorado.

Current Time in 970
1:36 AM
Saturday, August 8, 2026
UTC OffsetUTC-7
Daylight SavingObserved
IANA ZoneAmerica/Denver
Primary city
Fort Collins
State / Province
Colorado
Country
United States
Approx. users
3,996,244
970 Area Code Coverage Map
Approximate coverage area for the 970 area code in Colorado.
Loading map...
Fort Collins, Colorado · Area code 970
Counties Served
12 counties fully or partially covered by area code 970.
Larimer, CO362,533
7.3%
El Paso, CO734,349
14.7%
Denver, CO715,522
14.3%
Arapahoe, CO656,590
13.1%
Jefferson, CO580,806
11.6%
Adams, CO519,237
10.4%
Douglas, CO359,899
7.2%
Weld, CO332,383
6.7%
Boulder, CO331,558
6.6%
Pueblo, CO169,231
3.4%
Mesa, CO156,932
3.1%
Broomfield, CO76,265
1.5%

About Area Code 970

Area code 970 is a geographic telephone area code assigned to Fort Collins, Colorado. It operates in the Mountain time zone and was first introduced in 1995. Split from 303. Western & northern Colorado.

Within Colorado, area code 970 shares numbering capacity with 3 other area codes. The state's 5,839,926-person population (2023 Census Bureau estimate) is served by a combined 4 active codes, with 970 primarily responsible for the Fort Collins region. Colorado's state capital is Denver, and its largest city is Denver.

When you receive a call from a 970 number on your Caller ID, the call originated from a phone number assigned to the 970 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 970 only confirms where the number was originally assigned.

Where is the 970 area code located?

Area code 970 is assigned to Fort Collins, Colorado, in the Mountain time zone. The state of Colorado uses 4 active area codes, and 970 is one of them. Calls placed from the 970 area code originate from numbers assigned by NANPA — the North American Numbering Plan Administrator — and the 970 prefix appears on Caller ID for both landline and wireless calls placed from this region.

The Mountain time zone observes Daylight Saving Time, shifting from UTC-7 to UTC-6 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 970 area code?

The 970 area code serves 8 notable cities, listed below in order of population. The largest city in the 970 territory is Fort Collins (171,690 residents in Larimer County).

  • Fort Collins, CO — 171,690 residents (7.4% of 970 numbers)
  • Denver, CO — 715,522 residents (31% of 970 numbers)
  • Colorado Springs, CO — 486,248 residents (21% of 970 numbers)
  • Aurora, CO — 399,524 residents (17.3% of 970 numbers)
  • Lakewood, CO — 156,706 residents (6.8% of 970 numbers)
  • Thornton, CO — 142,442 residents (6.2% of 970 numbers)
  • Arvada, CO — 123,436 residents (5.3% of 970 numbers)
  • Westminster, CO — 115,625 residents (5% of 970 numbers)

Phone number format in area code 970

All phone numbers within area code 970 follow the standard North American 10-digit format:(970) 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 + 970 + 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 970 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 970

Split from 303. Western & northern Colorado.

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 970 area code safe to answer?

Area code 970 itself is a normal geographic code with no elevated spam risk. That said, scammers can spoof any area code — including 970 — so if you don't recognize the full number, let it go to voicemail and verify the caller's identity before calling back.

Top 8 Cities in Area Code 970
Cities served by the 970 area code, ranked by 2022 ACS population.
CityCountyPopulation% of 970
Fort Collins, COLarimer171,6907.4%
Denver, CODenver715,52231%
Colorado Springs, COEl Paso486,24821%
Aurora, COArapahoe399,52417.3%
Lakewood, COJefferson156,7066.8%
Thornton, COUnknown142,4426.2%
Arvada, COUnknown123,4365.3%
Westminster, COUnknown115,6255%
Counties in Area Code 970
County-level population data from the 2022 ACS 5-year estimates. "% of 970" shows the share of 970 phone exchanges in each county.
CountyPopulation% of 970% of County
Larimer, CO362,5337.3%85%
El Paso, CO734,34914.7%52%
Denver, CO715,52214.3%40%
Arapahoe, CO656,59013.1%89%
Jefferson, CO580,80611.6%88%
Adams, CO519,23710.4%80%
Douglas, CO359,8997.2%33%
Weld, CO332,3836.7%71%
Boulder, CO331,5586.6%72%
Pueblo, CO169,2313.4%67%
Mesa, CO156,9323.1%88%
Broomfield, CO76,2651.5%47%
Carrier Market Share in Area Code 970
Approximate share of assigned 970 numbers by carrier, based on FCC number-pooling data.
Cellco Partnership (Verizon Wireless)30%
Wireless
T-Mobile USA22%
Wireless
AT&T Mobility18%
Wireless
Comcast (Xfinity)8%
Cable
Frontier Communications6%
Landline
CenturyLink (Lumen)6%
Landline
Bandwidth.com (VoIP)5%
VoIP
Cox Communications3%
Cable
Spectrum (Charter)2%
Cable
Sample Prefixes in Area Code 970
A selection of 970 exchanges (NXX prefixes) with their assigned city and carrier.
PrefixCityCarrierAssigned
970-202Fort CollinsFrontier Communications1998
970-212Fort CollinsCenturyLink2007
970-222Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA2009
970-232Fort CollinsComcast2024
970-242DenverCable One2006
970-252Fort CollinsBandwidth.com2001
970-262Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA2012
970-272Colorado SpringsComcast1981
970-282Fort CollinsComcast1997
970-292Fort CollinsCenturyLink2001
970-302Fort CollinsCox Communications1986
970-312Fort CollinsComcast1986
970-322Fort CollinsVerizon Wireless1982
970-332Fort CollinsSprint2002
970-342Fort CollinsCable One2013
970-352Fort CollinsFrontier Communications2003
970-362Fort CollinsVerizon Wireless2020
970-372Fort CollinsBandwidth.com2007
970-382Fort CollinsCenturyLink1989
970-392Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA1981
970-402AuroraT-Mobile USA2006
970-412Fort CollinsBandwidth.com1992
970-422DenverBandwidth.com1989
970-432Fort CollinsComcast2015
970-442Fort CollinsBandwidth.com2015
970-452Fort CollinsBandwidth.com2008
970-462Fort CollinsCable One1982
970-472Fort CollinsCable One1975
970-482Fort CollinsSpectrum2022
970-492Fort CollinsCenturyLink2018
970-502Fort CollinsSprint1977
970-512Fort CollinsAT&T Mobility2009
970-522AuroraT-Mobile USA2002
970-532Fort CollinsSprint1976
970-542ArvadaBandwidth.com2001
970-552Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA1992
970-562Fort CollinsBandwidth.com1984
970-572Colorado SpringsSpectrum1989
970-582Fort CollinsCenturyLink1984
970-592Colorado SpringsSpectrum1996
970-602Fort CollinsFrontier Communications1993
970-612Fort CollinsVerizon Wireless2010
970-622Fort CollinsCox Communications2015
970-632Fort CollinsCox Communications2003
970-642ArvadaComcast1980
970-652Fort CollinsCable One1991
970-662Fort CollinsBandwidth.com2013
970-672DenverBandwidth.com1983
970-682Fort CollinsCable One2017
970-692WestminsterSpectrum1992
970-702Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA2009
970-712AuroraCox Communications2000
970-722Fort CollinsAT&T Mobility1986
970-732Fort CollinsSpectrum1991
970-742Fort CollinsCox Communications1998
970-752Fort CollinsSpectrum1995
970-762Fort CollinsAT&T Mobility1994
970-772Fort CollinsCox Communications1983
970-782Colorado SpringsFrontier Communications1988
970-792ThorntonCox Communications1987
970-802Fort CollinsCenturyLink2016
970-812Fort CollinsAT&T Mobility1982
970-822Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA1980
970-832Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA1975
970-842Fort CollinsSprint1987
970-852Fort CollinsSpectrum2023
970-862Fort CollinsBandwidth.com1984
970-872Fort CollinsVerizon Wireless1979
970-882Fort CollinsAT&T Mobility1991
970-892Fort CollinsT-Mobile USA1998
970-902Fort CollinsVerizon Wireless2016
970-912ArvadaBandwidth.com2002
970-922Fort CollinsCable One1986
970-932Fort CollinsCenturyLink2012
970-942LakewoodT-Mobile USA2005
970-952Fort CollinsCox Communications1976
Frequently Asked Questions about Area Code 970

Need to look up a specific 970 number?

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