Area code map of Washington. (NANPA)

Area code map of Washington. (NANPA)

Meet area code 564: The new kid in town is gaining ground

The newest area code in Washington has infiltrated 360 territory, and 425, 206 and 253 are next.

  • By Andrea Brown abrown@soundpublishing.com
  • Tuesday, March 23, 2021 2:38pm
  • NewsNorthwest

By Andrea Brown, The Herald (Everett)

Don’t automatically reject that call from area code 564. It might be someone you know, not some annoying robot trying to sell you a timeshare. At least, not yet.

The 360 area code ran out of numbers. New customers in the 360 region now get a 564 area code, which actually has been around since 2017.

If you live in 425, 206 and 253, your days are numbered. You’ll eventually be part of the 564 club. This goes for cell, landline and voice-over-internet-protocol (VOIP) lines.

Here’s the lowdown:

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

The 564 is Washington’s sixth area code. It is an “overlay” code because it covers other codes. The 564 is not long distance in the overlay region, so you don’t have to dial a 1 from a landline. However, the 509 area code on the state’s east side is not included in the 564 overlay.

The 360 area code includes Marysville, Snohomish, Whidbey Island, Bellingham and Olympia. Seattle is in 206. The 425 includes Everett, Lynnwood and Edmonds as well as Renton, Redmond and Bellevue.

And, no, you 425 people can’t get a 564 yet. Not unless you cancel existing service and activate service with a new provider, said a spokesperson for the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, adding that the “FCC guidance prohibiting ‘vanity numbers’ could bar this practice.”

The North American Numbering Plan Administration has the area code system all mapped out.

Area codes were implemented to automate phone calls in an automated way.

When area codes were assigned in 1947, there were 77 in the nation. Now there are 335 area codes.

Area codes range from 201 to 989, with many numbers missing in between, such as those ending in 11 — so they are not confused with 911 and 411. The lowest number is in New Jersey. The highest, 989, is in Michigan.

Unlike ZIP Codes and the Interstate Highway System, the factor in area codes isn’t geography but population growth. Overlay codes are springing up all over.

California, with 36, has the most area codes. Next is Texas with 28. New York has 19. It scored the simplest code to dial on a rotary phone, 212.

As a Tedium.com blogger put it: “The largest and most prominent cities got the best codes, while smaller states had to drag the zero all the way around, almost as a punishment of sorts for not being bigger.”

Area codes were the topic of several skits on “Almost Live,” a Seattle show with Pat Cashman and John Keister that ran from 1984 to 1999. The sketch comedy show was revamped in 2013 and named after an area code, “The 206.”

There’s a reason why phones have letters spread over numbers 2 through 9.

Us oldsters can remember when phone numbers were alphanumeric, a fancy way of saying letters and numbers. Words and phrases were used for the letter prefixes with four- or five-digit phone numbers. On the “I Love Lucy” show, Lucy and Ricky would give their number as “Murray Hill 5-9975.”

The plan to convert to seven digits caused an uproar of sorts. The Anti-Digit Dialing League was formed in 1962, opposing what it termed “creeping numeralism.” S.I. Hayakawa, a San Francisco college professor and later a Californian Republican senator, helped organize the protest, which spread nationwide.

Creeping numeralism won big-time. These days, 10 digits is the norm.


Talk to us

Please share your story tips by emailing editor@kentreporter.com.

To share your opinion for publication, submit a letter through our website https://www.kentreporter.com/submit-letter/. Include your name, address and daytime phone number. (We’ll only publish your name and hometown.) Please keep letters to 300 words or less.

More in News

Image courtesy King County Public Health Seattle & King County
Measles detected in King County infant

The patient visited multiple locations around the county between Feb. 20 and Feb. 25, including Bellevue Square, Bothell, and Redmond.

t
Kent Police arrest 16-year-old boy for Renton carjacking

Pursuit leads to arrest early Wednesday morning, Feb. 26 after vehicle spotted on East Hill

t
Kent Police Blotter: Feb. 9-23

Incidents include shots fired, mall robbery, stolen water cannon, copper wire theft

File Photo
Kent Police arrest mother walking and yelling at young boy

Taken into custody for criminal mistreatment investigation; 911 callers reported Sunday incident downtown

King County’s Clark Children and Family Justice Center in Seattle. FILE PHOTO
Tacoma teen pleads not guilty to November 2024 Kent murder

Prince Mayamba, 17, accused of firing six shots into vehicle and killing 21-year-old SeaTac man

The Federal Way Link light rail extension between Federal Way and SeaTac is scheduled to open in 2026. COURTESY PHOTO, Sound Transit
Temporary nighttime lane closures on I-5 south of Kent

Sound Transit project will close 2 southbound right lanes on certain nights from Feb. 24 to March 13

t
Kent-based Puget Sound Fire raises staffing on ladder trucks

Federal grant of $3.4 million pays for extra firefighters on ladder trucks for next 3 years

t
Kent renews contract to keep crime-fighting Flock cameras

Take photos of vehicle make, model and license plate at streets across the city

Austin Leming, reported missing in 2021, was last seen in Kent. COURTESY PHOTO
Reward increases for tips about missing man last seen in Kent

Crime Stoppers offers $21,000 for information about Austin Leming’s 2021 disappearance

Holy Spirit Parish in downtown Kent. COURTESY PHOTO, Holy Spirit Parish
Kent’s Severe Weather Shelter housed dozens of people

As many as 36 people stayed one night during February’s freezing temperatures

File Photo
Kent Police officer shoots, injures man in Des Moines

Feb. 14 incident under review by Valley Independent Investigative Team

People line SE 272nd Street in Covington on Presidents Day, Feb. 17 to protest many of the actions by the Trump administration. COURTESY PHOTO, Ron Auerbach
People line Covington street to protest Trump, Musk actions

One of many protests across the nation against ‘the anti-democratic and illegal actions’