The 610 area code is a telephone number that corresponds to the Delaware Valley, which is commonly referred to as the Greater Philadelphia metropolitan area; situated in southeastern Pennsylvania.
This codification is overlaid by the 484 area code. Both numbers run in the eastern and southeastern sections of the state covering a total of 9 counties, including Delaware, Chester, Montgomery, and Berks.
Considering that The 610 area code is the most populous numbering plan area in Pennsylvania, it represents a pillar for the telecommunication service of the state. At the time, it provides service for over 2.6 million users, covering important municipalities such as Allentown, Reading, Bethlehem, Norristown, and Drexel Hill.
1. History
As it was recently explained, the 610 area code is the most utilized dialing code of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. This codification began serving on January 8, 1994, as a split from the telephone prefix 215.
For its part, the prefix 215 is one of the four original codifications assigned to Pennsylvania as part of the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) in 1947. Originally, this area code received the entire southeast quadrant of Pennsylvania, from the Delaware border to the Lehigh Valley.
On the other hand, the numbering plan area 610 arrived at the Pennsylvania network as a long-term solution. However, the massive increase of the state’s population and the proliferation of Cell phones, pagers, and fax machines, obligated the Bell System to incorporate an overlay for this services area. Therefore, the 484 area code started running on June 5, 1999.
By May 2000, the Pennsylvania public commission announced the 835 area code as an overlay for the prefixes 610 and 484. Nevertheless, the commission introduced instead a more efficient method known as “Number Pooling”, based on reallocating area codes in the NANP. Currently, this code is deactivated.
2. Location
Situated in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic, and Northeastern region of the country, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is the 33rd most extensive state, surrounding over 46,055 square miles and the 5th largest in terms of population, encompassing nearly 12.8 million inhabitants.
The main service region of the 610 area code is the metropolitan statistical area referred to as The “Delaware Valley”. This urban area comprises counties of Southeastern Pennsylvania, South Jersey, Delaware, and the Eastern Shore of Maryland.
This urban area expands across 1,981.4 square miles and disposes of a population of around 7.2 million inhabitants, being the 9th most populous of the U.S. Its largest municipality is Philadelphia, which symbolizes the major commercial, industrial and cultural center of the state.
The 610 area code is located in the Eastern Daylight time zone. At the moment, this dialing number possesses 289 non-unique postal area zip codes and surrounds 2982.72 square miles.
Adjacent codes
The telecommunication system of Pennsylvania is composed of 13 area codes that serve the entire territory. The youngest of these codifications is the 445 area code, which started serving in 2018.
On the other hand, Pennsylvania disposes of four original codifications assigned in 1947, the 215 area code covered southeastern Pennsylvania, the northwestern and central region was covered by the prefix 814, the 412 code surrounded the western section, and the number 717 received the eastern side of the state.
For its part, Philadelphia, the state’s largest city functions with the 267 area code. This codification is an overlay for the original prefix 215 and arrived at the state on July 1, 1999.
3. Most Important Locations in the 610 Area Code
Allentown
Incorporated on March 12, 1867, this city is the county seat of Lehigh County. Currently, Allentown is the third most populous city of Pennsylvania with an estimated population of around 120k inhabitants.
Founded and named for the merchant, attorney and Chief Justice of the Province of Pennsylvania, William Allen, this city is the largest municipality of the Lehigh Valley; a metropolitan area composed of Carbon, Lehigh, and Northampton Counties in eastern Pennsylvania and Warren County in northwestern New Jersey.
Surrounding a total area of 17.99 square miles, Allentown disposes of 8 non-unique ZIP codes: 18101, 18102, 18103, 18104, 18105, 18106, 18109, and 18195.
Reading
Located in southeastern Pennsylvania, it lies on the Schuylkill River, 51 miles northwest of Philadelphia. Today, Reading stands out as the county seat of Berks County, which is also included in the Greater Delaware Valley.
As the 5th most populous city of the state, it encompasses nearly 88k residents and covers around 10.08 square miles. Besides, this municipality is the principal city of the Greater Reading Area, which encloses over 420k people.
Covered by the 610 area code Reading postal service comprises 12 Zip codes, including 19601, 19605, 19607, 19610, and 19611.
4. Other Important Districts and ZIP Codes of the 610 Area Code
The 610 area code encloses 9 of the 16 counties of the Delaware Valley:
- Delaware County: formed on September 26, 1789, Delaware is the third-smallest area county of Pennsylvania in terms of territory. However, it is ranked as the 5th most populous, encompassing over 564k Included in the Greater Philadelphia area it disposes of 49 ZIP codes.
- Chester County: founded on August 24, 1682, and named for England’s city of Chester, this county is home to over 519k At present, its county seat and largest city in West Chester occupying 1.85square miles. Its postal service is divided into 63 ZIP codes.
- Montgomery County settled on September 10, 1784, it was named for the Irish Soldier Richard Montgomery. Currently, it is the third-most populous county of Pennsylvania with around 823k Covering nearly 487square miles, it owns 83 Zip codes.
Main Postal and Shipping Services
- United States Postal Service Carrier Annex, Norristown, PA, - +1 610-630-9718
- Post Office, Wayne, PA, - +1 610-964-6448
- The UPS Store, Havertown, PA, - +1 610-449-9000
- AIM Mail Center, West Chester, PA - +1 610-399-9092
- Mail N More Services, Coatesville, PA, - +1 610-383-1010
5. FAQs
How Many Area Codes Are There in Pennsylvania?
The commonwealth of Pennsylvania owns 13 area codes.
Can I Use the 610 Prefix on a Cellphone?
Pennsylvania establishes a specific codification for cell phones, depending on the user's city.