Area codes · +1
Area code 251
Area code 251 is centred on Mobile, Alabama. We hold 4,302 allocated blocks for it across 42 rate centres, split 47% mobile, 37% landline and 17% VoIP.
The towns inside area code 251
Area code 251 is not a city code. It covers 42 separate rate centres — billing areas, each its own local calling zone. The largest of them are named in the table below.
That matters twice over. A call between two 251 numbers is not necessarily a local call, because they can sit in different rate centres. And a code this wide narrows a subscriber to a region rather than a town.
Alabama is split across 7 area codes — 256, 205, 334, 251, 938, 659 and others. By allocated blocks 251 is the 4th largest of them, holding 17% of the Alabama total.
Where 251 numbers are concentrated
NANPA truncates rate-centre names to ten characters and drops the spaces, which is why Mt Vernon and Monroevl are shortened. Names are reproduced as recorded rather than expanded — the abbreviation is the key the block data is filed under.
| Rate centre | Blocks | Share of 251 |
|---|---|---|
| Mobile | 1,749 | 41% |
| Foley | 548 | 13% |
| Atmore | 142 | 3% |
| Jackson | 134 | 3% |
| Fairhope | 128 | 3% |
| Bayminette | 117 | 3% |
| Brewton | 100 | 2% |
| Evergreen | 99 | 2% |
| Mcintosh | 89 | 2% |
| Bellefontn | 83 | 2% |
| Flomaton | 82 | 2% |
| Mt Vernon | 70 | 2% |
| Citronelle | 64 | 1% |
| Monroevl | 54 | 1% |
| Grand Bay | 53 | 1% |
| Melvin | 51 | 1% |
| Peterman | 49 | 1% |
| Finchburg | 47 | 1% |
| Huxford | 46 | 1% |
| Bayoubatre | 44 | 1% |
| Irngtnstel | 44 | 1% |
| Dauphin Is | 41 | 1% |
| Friscocity | 41 | 1% |
| Beatrice | 40 | 1% |
18 further rate centres in 251 hold fewer blocks than these.
Carriers holding the most 251 blocks
Onvoy862 blocks
AT&T Wireless807 blocks
Verizon Wireless311 blocks
Bellsouth Telecomm Inc Dba South Central Bell Tel298 blocks
Eliska Wireless Ventures Subsidiary I, Llc294 blocks
Onvoy Spectrum215 blocks
The largest holder, Onvoy, has 20% of the code.
These are original allocations. A number keeps its digits and its block when its subscriber moves network, so a ported 251 number still reports the carrier it started with. Closing that gap needs a live query against the routing database. How line type is derived.
Check a single 251 number, or run a whole list through the free cleaner — neither uploads anything.
Common questions
Where is area code 251?
Area code 251 is centred on Mobile, Alabama and spans 42 rate centres, so it covers a region rather than a town.
Is a 251 number a mobile or a landline?
It can be either, and the digits do not say which. North American mobile and landline numbers share the same ranges, so the answer comes from the carrier holding the block. In 251 the split runs 47% mobile, 37% landline and 17% VoIP, so mobile is the most likely single answer.
Which carriers hold 251 numbers?
The largest holders are Onvoy, AT&T Wireless, Verizon Wireless. That is the carrier the block was allocated to, which is not necessarily the network a given number sits on today.
How many 251 numbers are there?
The code holds 4,302 allocated blocks in our copy of the numbering plan. A block is 1,000 or 10,000 consecutive numbers depending on how deeply it has been pooled, so 251 covers on the order of 4,302,000 possible numbers — most of which have never been issued to anyone.