609
Area code
NJ
United States geographic area code, in service since 1957-01-01. Part of the 609/640 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Split from 201. Created 856. Created 640. Overlaid with 640 .
Statusin service
Introduced1957-01-01
JurisdictionNJ, US
Local dialing10D
Time zoneEastern
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 101% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%800 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 2001-01-15, most recent 2026-07-02.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “NJ” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | VERIZON NEW JERSEY, INC. | 220 | 27.5% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - DC | 90 | 11.3% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - NJ | 80 | 10% |
| 04 | PAETEC ITEL, LLC | 60 | 7.5% |
| 05 | OMNIPOINT COMMUNICATIONS ENTERPRISES, LP | 60 | 7.5% |
| 06 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - NJ | 48 | 6% |
| 07 | ONVOY, LLC - NJ | 35 | 4.4% |
| 08 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - NJ | 28 | 3.5% |
| 09 | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC - NJ | 24 | 3% |
| 10 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - NJ | 23 | 2.9% |
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- 2017-05-26 NPA 640 to Overlay NPA 609 (New Jersey)
- 1957-01-01Area code 609 entered service (created from 201).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2017-05-26 | PL-508 ↗ | NPA 640 to Overlay NPA 609 (New Jersey) |