938 Area Code
| State: | Alabama |
| Top City: | Huntsville |
| Timezone: | Central |
| Zip Code: | 35582/35072 |
| Current Time: |
Where is Area Code 659 located?
Area code 938 is a telephone area code in the North American Numbering Plan (NANP) for the U.S. state of Alabama.
It is an overlay plan for the area served by the 256 area code, which covers the northeastern and east-central portions of the state, including the cities of Huntsville, Decatur, Florence, and Gadsden. Area code 938 was activated on July 10, 2010, and became mandatory on June 5, 2011.
938 Area Code Time Zone
The 938 area code is in the Central Time Zone, which is UTC-06:00 in standard time and UTC-05:00 in daylight saving time.
History of 938 Area Code
Area code 938 was assigned on March 4, 2009, by the North American Numbering Plan Administration (NANPA), which oversees the allocation of phone numbers in the United States, Canada, and some Caribbean countries. It was activated on July 10, 2010, as the state’s first all-services overlay area code.
An overlay area code is a solution to the problem of number exhaustion, which occurs when there are not enough phone numbers available for a given area. Instead of splitting an existing area code into two or more new ones, which would require changing the phone numbers of existing customers, an overlay area code is added on top of the original one, allowing both to coexist in the same region.
Area code 938 was overlaid on area code 256, which was created in 1998 from a split of area code 205. Area code 256 covers most of north Alabama and some eastern parts of the state. The implementation of area code 938 roughly coincided with the end of the projected lifespan of area code 256, which was expected to run out of numbers by 2011.
Area code 938 is home to some notable landmarks and attractions in Alabama, such as:
The Redstone Arsenal: A U.S. Army post that hosts several federal agencies and organizations involved in missile defense, space exploration, and aviation.
The U.S. Space and Rocket Center: A museum and educational center that showcases the history and achievements of the U.S. space program.
The Talladega Superspeedway: A NASCAR racetrack that hosts several major events throughout the year.
Top 10 Counties in Area Code 938
| County | Population |
| Madison County | 372,909 |
| Morgan County | 119,679 |
| Calhoun County | 114,277 |
| Limestone County | 98,915 |
| Marshall County | 96,774 |
| Etowah County | 102,268 |
| DeKalb County | 71,109 |
| Lauderdale County | 92,709 |
| Jackson County | 52,419 |
| Colbert County | 54,428 |
Top 10 Cities in Area Code 938
| City | Population |
| Huntsville | 201,910 |
| Decatur | 54,264 |
| Madison | 52,654 |
| Florence | 40,428 |
| Gadsden | 35,409 |
| Athens | 27,897 |
| Albertville | 21,592 |
| Scottsboro | 14,770 |
| Fort Payne | 14,071 |
| Cullman | 15,858 |
Top Telephone Carriers
| Landline | Wireless |
| Comcast/Xfinity | Verizon |
| WOW! | AT&T |
| CenturyLink | T-Mobile |
| Sprint (now merged with T-Mobile) |