Los Angeles already has more area codes than any other city in the nation, and now, state utility regulators have approved the county’s 11th.
The new area code, 738, will overlay existing area codes 213 and 323 that service downtown Los Angeles, Alhambra, Bell, Bell Gardens, Beverly Hills, Commerce, Cudahy, Glendale, Hawthorne, Huntington Park, Inglewood, Lynwood, Maywood, Montebello, Monterey Park, Pasadena, Rosemead, South Gate, South Pasadena, Vernon, West Hollywood and unincorporated portions of Los Angeles County.
This change is being made because 213 and 323 are projected to run out of prefixes by June 2025, yet demand for new phone numbers in the area remains high.
The new area code is expected to go into effect on Nov. 1, 2024. The change won’t impact phone numbers already assigned 213 and 323 area codes.
The 213 area code was created in 1947 and was one of the original three area codes in California. The 213 area code was split five times between 1951 and 1991, creating the 714 area code in 1951, the 805 area code in 1957, the 818 area code in 1984, the 310 area code in 1991 and the 323 area code in 1998.