Area codes · +1
Area code 617
Area code 617 is centred on Boston, Massachusetts. We hold 4,788 allocated blocks for it across 27 rate centres, split 29% mobile, 62% landline and 10% VoIP.
The other area codes laid over 617
Area code 617 does not have Boston to itself. 1 other code — 857 — serves the same rate centres, laid over the same ground rather than dividing it. That is an overlay: a new code added when the old one ran out of numbers, covering the same streets. Two neighbours can hold different area codes, so the code says roughly when a number was issued rather than where it sits.
8573,846 blocks, 21 rate centres, mostly mobile
Each holds its own blocks and its own carrier mix, so a 617 number and a 857 number from the same street can report different line types. Filtering Boston by area code needs all 2 of them.
617 is not confined to Boston itself: its blocks sit across 27 rate centres, named in the table below.
Massachusetts is split across 9 area codes — 978, 781, 774, 508, 413, 617 and others. By allocated blocks 617 is the 6th largest of them, holding 12% of the Massachusetts total.
Where 617 numbers are concentrated
NANPA truncates rate-centre names to ten characters and drops the spaces, which is why Quincy and Jamaica Pl 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 617 |
|---|---|---|
| Boston | 1,383 | 29% |
| Cambridge | 720 | 15% |
| Quincy | 334 | 7% |
| Newton | 318 | 7% |
| Brookline | 227 | 5% |
| Somerville | 160 | 3% |
| Brighton | 152 | 3% |
| Dorchester | 139 | 3% |
| Eastboston | 125 | 3% |
| Everett | 125 | 3% |
| Milton | 125 | 3% |
| Hyde Park | 124 | 3% |
| So Boston | 122 | 3% |
| Watertown | 122 | 3% |
| Jamaica Pl | 118 | 2% |
| Roxbury | 104 | 2% |
| Charlestn | 101 | 2% |
| Chelsea | 92 | 2% |
| Belmont | 80 | 2% |
| Winthrop | 41 | 1% |
| Waltham | 27 | 1% |
| Saugus | 7 | 0% |
| Dedham | 4 | 0% |
| Malden | 2 | 0% |
3 further rate centres in 617 hold fewer blocks than these.
Carriers holding the most 617 blocks
Verizon New England Inc.670 blocks
Bandwidth341 blocks
Verizon New England Inc. (Verizon Communications)340 blocks
Verizon Wireless317 blocks
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services Llc312 blocks
Onvoy285 blocks
The largest holder, Verizon New England 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 617 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 617 number, or run a whole list through the free cleaner — neither uploads anything.
Common questions
Where is area code 617?
Area code 617 covers Boston, Massachusetts. It is not the only code there: 857 is an overlay on the same rate centres, so a Boston, Massachusetts number can start with any of them.
Is a 617 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 617 the split runs 29% mobile, 62% landline and 10% VoIP, so landline is the most likely single answer.
Which carriers hold 617 numbers?
The largest holders are Verizon New England Inc., Bandwidth, Verizon New England Inc. (Verizon Communications). That is the carrier the block was allocated to, which is not necessarily the network a given number sits on today.
How many 617 numbers are there?
The code holds 4,788 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 617 covers on the order of 4,788,000 possible numbers — most of which have never been issued to anyone.