218
Area code
MN
United States geographic area code, in service since 1947-01-01.
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionMN, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneCentral
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 91.2% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%722 of ~792 assignable NXX values (200–999 excl. N11)100%
Prefix-level assignment does not equal number-level exhaustion; thousands-block pooling extends capacity. First assignment on record 2001-01-14, most recent 2026-09-14.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “MN” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | QWEST CORPORATION | 85 | 11.8% |
| 02 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - MN | 84 | 11.6% |
| 03 | ONVOY, LLC - MN | 61 | 8.4% |
| 04 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 49 | 6.8% |
| 05 | CITIZENS TELECOM CO MN-FRONTIER CITIZENS COM-MN | 46 | 6.4% |
| 06 | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. | 29 | 4% |
| 07 | GARDEN VALLEY TEL. CO. | 24 | 3.3% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - MN | 23 | 3.2% |
| 09 | TON80 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC | 19 | 2.6% |
| 10 | WIKSTROM TEL. CO., INC. | 18 | 2.5% |
Important: these are initial assignees from NANPA CO-code records — the carrier a prefix was originally assigned to. Because of number portability, the current serving carrier of any individual number may differ.
Change history
Recorded events for this NPA- 1947-01-01Area code 218 entered service.
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2021-01-08 | PL-556 ↗ | Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Lifeline) – supersedes PL-544 |
| 2020-08-17 | PL-544 ↗ | Transition to 10-digit dialing (for 988 as 3-digit access to National Suicide Prevention Hotline |