Texas, United States
Central Time
12:23 AM
Area Code
281
State / Province
Texas
Country
United States
Time Zone
Central Time
Area code 281 covers 61 cities and communities across Texas, based on telephone company rate center data.
Use the E.164 format for clickable phone links (RFC 3966):
<a href="tel:+12815550100">+12815550100</a><a href="tel:+12815550199">+12815550199</a>Look up which exchange in Texas a specific 281 number is homed to, and whether its block is wireline or wireless. See what a reverse lookup can establish before relying on the answer.
786 active prefixes in this area code, assigned as 5,280 thousands-blocks — pooling splits one prefix across several carriers, so each block is listed separately with the rate centre it is homed to, its carrier of record, and the switch that serves it.
Showing blocks 1–100 of 5,280
| NPA-NXX | Block | Rate centre | Type | Carrier (OCN) | Switch | LATA | LIR | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 281-200 | 0 | Langham Creek | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 1 | Langham Creek | Wireless | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL (6534) | HSTNTX01GT5 | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 2 | Langham Creek | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 3 | Langham Creek | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 4 | Langham Creek | Wireless | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL (6534) | HSTNTX01GT5 | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 5 | Langham Creek | Wireless | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL (6534) | HSTNTX01GT5 | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 6 | Langham Creek | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 7 | Langham Creek | Wireless | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX (6506) | HSTWTXUFAMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 8 | Langham Creek | Wireless | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX (6506) | HSTWTXUFAMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | 9 | Langham Creek | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-200 | A | Langham Creek | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 0 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 1 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 2 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC (318J) | HSTNTXMOX7X | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 3 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC - TX (7239) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 4 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 5 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 6 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 7 | Sugar Land | Wireless | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL (6534) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 8 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC (318J) | HSTNTXMOX7X | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | 9 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | AT&T - LOCAL (7421) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-201 | A | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | AT&T - LOCAL (7421) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 0 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 1 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 2 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 3 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX (6506) | HSTWTXUFAMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 4 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX (6506) | HSTWTXUFAMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 5 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX (6506) | HSTWTXUFAMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 6 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 7 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX (6506) | HSTWTXUFAMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 8 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL (6534) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | 9 | Richmond-Rosenberg | Wireless | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL (6534) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-202 | A | Richmond-Rosenberg | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 0 | Spring | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 1 | Spring | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 2 | Spring | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 3 | Spring | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 4 | Spring | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 5 | Spring | Landline | SOUTHWESTERN BELL (9533) | SPRING NORTH | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 6 | Spring | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 7 | Spring | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 8 | Spring | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | 9 | Spring | Wireless | AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. (6701) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-203 | A | Spring | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 0 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 1 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 2 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | PEERLESS NETWORK OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (177F) | HSTNTXJAXLX | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 3 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | METROPCS, INC. (5562) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 4 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 5 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | METROPCS, INC. (5562) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 6 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 7 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | METROPCS, INC. (5562) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 8 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | 9 | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | AT&T CORP. (516C) | HSTNTX01X7X | 560 | — | — |
| 281-204 | A | Apollo | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 0 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 1 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 2 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HSTNTX01MMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 3 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 4 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 5 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | PAETEC ITEL, LLC (829J) | HSTATX750MD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 6 | Tomball | Landline | SOUTHWESTERN BELL (9533) | TOMBALL | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 7 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC (318J) | HSTNTXMOX7X | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 8 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | 9 | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-205 | A | Tomball | Landline or VoIP | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - TX (7138) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 0 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 1 | Barker | Landline | SOUTHWESTERN BELL (9533) | BARKER | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 2 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC (7229) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 3 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | METROPCS, INC. (5562) | HSTDTXBGBMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 4 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX (6114) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 5 | Barker | Landline | SOUTHWESTERN BELL (9533) | BARKER | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 6 | Barker | Landline | SOUTHWESTERN BELL (9533) | BARKER | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 7 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC (318J) | HSTNTXMOX7X | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 8 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | ONVOY, LLC - TX (903C) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | 9 | Barker | Landline or VoIP | AT&T - LOCAL (7421) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-206 | A | Barker | Landline or VoIP | AT&T - LOCAL (7421) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 0 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 1 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 2 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 3 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 4 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 5 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 6 | Sugar Land | Landline | ETS TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC. (2091) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 7 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 8 | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | 9 | Sugar Land | Landline | ETS TELEPHONE COMPANY, INC. (2091) | HOUSTON | 560 | — | — |
| 281-207 | A | Sugar Land | Landline or VoIP | LEVEL 3 OF TELECOM OF TEXAS, LLC - TX (7074) | HSTGTX05AMD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 0 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 1 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 2 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 3 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 4 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 5 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 6 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 7 | Stafford | Landline or VoIP | COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC (318J) | HSTNTXMOX7X | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 8 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | 9 | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-208 | A | Stafford | Landline | FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS (4344) | STAFFORD | 560 | — | — |
| 281-209 | 0 | Westfield | Landline | SOUTHWESTERN BELL (9533) | WESTFIELD | 560 | — | — |
Block-level assignments from the North American Numbering Plan administrator, via localcallingguide.com.
Assigned Prefixes
786
Assignment Blocks
5,280
Rate Centers
61
Carriers of Record
43
| Type | Blocks | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Landline | 1,663 | 31% |
| Landline or VoIP | 2,446 | 46% |
| Wireless | 1,171 | 22% |
| Carrier | Blocks |
|---|---|
| SOUTHWESTERN BELL | 1,181 |
| ONVOY, LLC - TX | 497 |
| AERIAL COMMUNICATIONS, INC. | 480 |
| CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - TX | 380 |
| LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - TX | 337 |
| METROPCS, INC. | 319 |
| BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - TX | 271 |
| NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 252 |
| FRONTIER SOUTHWEST INC DBA FRONTIER COMM OF TEXAS | 242 |
| COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC | 170 |
| 33 other carriers | 1,151 |
Carrier of record for each block. Numbers ported to another carrier keep their original block assignment, so this is not a lookup of who serves a given number today.
| Rate Center | Prefixes | Blocks |
|---|---|---|
| Houston | 148 | 748 |
| Houston Suburban | 131 | 931 |
| Bammel | 60 | 380 |
| Sugar Land | 44 | 104 |
| Apollo | 28 | 197 |
| Humble | 24 | 154 |
| Langham Creek | 24 | 124 |
| Barker | 20 | 149 |
| Spring EMS | 19 | 129 |
| Kemah | 18 | 148 |
| Satsuma | 18 | 108 |
| Baytown | 17 | 117 |
| Spring | 16 | 126 |
| Westfield | 13 | 96 |
| Deer Park | 12 | 116 |
| Friendswood | 11 | 101 |
| Katy | 11 | 111 |
| Tomball EMS | 11 | 81 |
| Dickinson | 10 | 80 |
| League City | 9 | 49 |
| Alvin | 8 | 58 |
| Channelview | 8 | 62 |
| Cleveland | 8 | 78 |
| La Porte | 8 | 64 |
| Tomball | 8 | 58 |
| Stafford | 7 | 37 |
| Richmond-Rosenberg EMS | 6 | 46 |
| Arcola | 5 | 55 |
| Katy EMS | 5 | 35 |
| Manvel | 5 | 45 |
| Richmond-Rosenberg | 5 | 35 |
| Seabrook | 5 | 35 |
| Sheldon | 5 | 54 |
| Baytown EMS | 4 | 34 |
| Crosby | 4 | 34 |
| Cypress EMS | 4 | 24 |
| Pinehurst | 4 | 34 |
| Porter | 4 | 34 |
| Beach City | 3 | 33 |
| Cypress | 3 | 33 |
| Highlands | 3 | 33 |
| Rosharon | 3 | 33 |
| Beach City EMS | 2 | 22 |
| Brookshire | 2 | 22 |
| Huffman | 2 | 22 |
| Mont Belvieu | 2 | 22 |
| Pinehurst EMS | 2 | 22 |
| Porter Heights | 2 | 22 |
| Smithers Lake EMS | 2 | 22 |
| Splendora | 2 | 12 |
| Highlands EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Liverpool | 1 | 11 |
| Liverpool EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Mont Belvieu EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Porter Heights EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Rosharon EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Smithers Lake | 1 | 11 |
| Splendora EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Valley Lodge | 1 | 11 |
| Valley Lodge EMS | 1 | 11 |
| Westfield EMS | 1 | 1 |
A rate center is the telephone exchange area a number is homed to. It sets local calling boundaries, and is not the caller's current location.
281 now shares its territory with 621. Because of this overlay, local calls in this region must be dialed with all ten digits.
Area code 281 is a North American Numbering Plan (NANP) telephone area code assigned to Texas, United States. It is one of 29 area codes serving Texas. As population and demand for phone numbers grew, the region was divided into multiple numbering plan areas to avoid exhausting the available 7-digit number pool.
Yes. 281 is an active North American Numbering Plan (NANP) area code, currently assigned to Texas, United States. It is safe to answer or dial calls using this area code.
Area code 281 covers 61 cities and communities in Texas, including Alvin, Apollo, Arcola, Bammel, Barker, and 56 more localities. This is based on telephone company rate center data — the geographic areas carriers use to determine local calling boundaries and to assign numbers when a business or individual requests a phone number in a specific city.
All numbers in the 281 area code observe Central Time (IANA timezone: America/Chicago). Central Time is UTC−6 in winter (CST) and UTC−5 in summer (CDT). When placing a call to a 281 number from a different time zone, check the current local time above to avoid calling outside of business hours.
From within Texas, dial the 7-digit local number directly if calling within the same rate center, or dial 1 + 281 + 7-digit number for long-distance calls within North America. From outside the US or Canada, dial your country's international exit code followed by 1 281 XXX XXXX. The country code for both the United States and Canada in NANP is +1.
Format 281 numbers using E.164 notation as required by RFC 3966: prefix with +1 and omit dashes and parentheses (e.g., +12815550100). This format ensures tel: links work correctly on all mobile browsers and VoIP apps. See the tel: URI formatting guide for complete examples.