Area codes · +1
Area code 859
Area code 859 is centred on Lexington, Kentucky. We hold 3,956 allocated blocks for it across 42 rate centres, split 44% mobile, 43% landline and 13% VoIP.
The towns inside area code 859
Area code 859 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 859 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.
Kentucky is split across 5 area codes — 502, 270, 859, 606, 364. By allocated blocks 859 is the third largest of them, holding 20% of the Kentucky total.
Where 859 numbers are concentrated
NANPA truncates rate-centre names to ten characters and drops the spaces, which is why Nicholasvl is 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 859 |
|---|---|---|
| Lexington | 975 | 25% |
| Covington | 659 | 17% |
| Boone | 240 | 6% |
| Richmond | 211 | 5% |
| Winchester | 140 | 4% |
| Mtsterling | 105 | 3% |
| Berea | 93 | 2% |
| Alexandria | 91 | 2% |
| Indepndnce | 91 | 2% |
| Danville | 88 | 2% |
| Williamstn | 76 | 2% |
| Cynthiana | 73 | 2% |
| Nicholasvl | 73 | 2% |
| Paris | 72 | 2% |
| Harrodsbg | 68 | 2% |
| Walton | 65 | 2% |
| Warsaw | 58 | 1% |
| Versailles | 55 | 1% |
| Butler | 53 | 1% |
| Carlisle | 52 | 1% |
| Springfld | 45 | 1% |
| Ford | 41 | 1% |
| Falmouth | 40 | 1% |
| Glencoe | 39 | 1% |
18 further rate centres in 859 hold fewer blocks than these.
Carriers holding the most 859 blocks
Onvoy599 blocks
AT&T Wireless531 blocks
Verizon Wireless368 blocks
T-Mobile USA, Inc.256 blocks
Bandwidth196 blocks
Powertel Kentucky Licenses, Inc.164 blocks
The largest holder, Onvoy, has 15% of the code.
These are original allocations. A number keeps its digits and its block when its subscriber moves network, so a ported 859 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 859 number, or run a whole list through the free cleaner — neither uploads anything.
Common questions
Where is area code 859?
Area code 859 is centred on Lexington, Kentucky and spans 42 rate centres, so it covers a region rather than a town.
Is a 859 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 859 the split runs 44% mobile, 43% landline and 13% VoIP, so mobile is the most likely single answer.
Which carriers hold 859 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 859 numbers are there?
The code holds 3,956 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 859 covers on the order of 3,956,000 possible numbers — most of which have never been issued to anyone.