Area codes · +1
Area code 253
Area code 253 covers Tacoma, Washington. We hold 3,519 allocated blocks for it across 10 rate centres, split 50% mobile, 39% landline and 11% VoIP.
How far area code 253 reaches
Area code 253 covers 10 rate centres, so two 253 numbers are not always a local call to each other.
A rate centre is a billing boundary rather than a postal one, which is why an area code can span several and a single city can contain many. It is also why the code alone cannot place a subscriber beyond a rough region.
Washington is split across 6 area codes — 360, 509, 206, 425, 253, 564. By allocated blocks 253 is the 5th largest of them, holding 14% of the Washington total.
Where 253 numbers are concentrated
Rate-centre names are reproduced as NANPA records them. The agency truncates them to ten characters, so longer names appear shortened elsewhere on this site.
| Rate centre | Blocks | Share of 253 |
|---|---|---|
| Tacoma | 1,291 | 37% |
| Auburn | 702 | 20% |
| Tacomawvly | 452 | 13% |
| Kent | 317 | 9% |
| Puyallup | 202 | 6% |
| Gig Harbor | 154 | 4% |
| Des Moines | 140 | 4% |
| Sumner | 110 | 3% |
| Graham | 101 | 3% |
| Roy | 34 | 1% |
Carriers holding the most 253 blocks
T-Mobile Usa, Inc.503 blocks
Verizon Wireless466 blocks
T-Mobile USA, Inc.385 blocks
Onvoy376 blocks
Qwest Corporation327 blocks
AT&T Wireless253 blocks
The largest holder, T-Mobile Usa, Inc., has 14% of the code.
These are original allocations. A number keeps its digits and its block when its subscriber moves network, so a ported 253 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 253 number, or run a whole list through the free cleaner — neither uploads anything.
Common questions
Where is area code 253?
Area code 253 covers Tacoma, Washington, spanning 10 rate centres.
Is a 253 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 253 the split runs 50% mobile, 39% landline and 11% VoIP, so mobile is the most likely single answer.
Which carriers hold 253 numbers?
The largest holders are T-Mobile Usa, Inc., Verizon Wireless, T-Mobile USA, Inc.. That is the carrier the block was allocated to, which is not necessarily the network a given number sits on today.
How many 253 numbers are there?
The code holds 3,519 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 253 covers on the order of 3,519,000 possible numbers — most of which have never been issued to anyone.