515
Area code
Statusin service
Introduced1947-01-01
JurisdictionIA, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneCentral
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 74.7% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%592 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 2001-01-10, most recent 2026-03-31.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “IA” 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 | 147 | 24.8% |
| 02 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - IA | 54 | 9.1% |
| 03 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 47 | 7.9% |
| 04 | UNITED STATES CELLULAR - IA | 44 | 7.4% |
| 05 | ONVOY, LLC - IA | 26 | 4.4% |
| 06 | MCC TELEPHONY OF IOWA, LLC - IA | 23 | 3.9% |
| 07 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 22 | 3.7% |
| 08 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - IA | 21 | 3.5% |
| 09 | WINDSTREAM IOWA COMMUNICATIONS, INC. - NORTH | 20 | 3.4% |
| 10 | WEBSTER-CALHOUN COOP. TEL. ASSN. | 16 | 2.7% |
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 515 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 |
| 2000-04-24 | PL-228 ↗ | 515 NPA Split, Creating New 641 NPA (Iowa) |