North American Numbers Source-cited · ownership disclosed
Area code
219
In service
United States · since 1948

Gary

Serves northwest Indiana, including the Indiana portion of the Chicago metropolitan area (Gary, Hammond). Created in 1948 for the northern third of the state, it was reduced to the northwest corner by a three-way split in 2002.

The essentials Numbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Gary
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1948
Projected exhaust
2047 Q1

Status, dates and counts are read from NumberResearch (NANPA / CNAC / FCC records). Assignment records show initial assignees, not the carrier serving a number today.

A · Where it is

Where 219 is

Northwest Indiana: Lake, Porter, La Porte, Newton, and Jasper counties..

Communities served wholly or partly by 219:

GaryHammondEast ChicagoValparaisoMichigan City
B · Relationships

How it relates to other codes

The codes 219 was split from, spawned, or shares its area with. A split divides the map and changes some numbers; an overlay shares the same ground and changes none — what's the difference?

Split from · 1948 317 Indianapolis In 1948, 219 was carved from the original northern territory of area code 317.
Spawned · 2002 574 South Bend Jan 15, 2002 three-way split; 574 took the South Bend / north-central region.
Spawned · 2002 260 Fort Wayne Jan 15, 2002 three-way split; 260 took the Fort Wayne / northeast region.
What's changing. Not overlaid (single code); ten-digit dialing since 2021 due to 988.
C · History

How 219 got here

1948
Area code 219 established for the northern third of Indiana.
Source: Wikipedia
2002-01-15
Three-way split: 219 retained northwest Indiana; 574 created for South Bend region and 260 for Fort Wayne.
Source: Wikipedia
2021-10
Transitioned to ten-digit dialing tied to the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline implementation.
Source: Wikipedia
D · Capacity

How full it is

Prefixes assigned
510
Prefixes available
290
Thousands-blocks assigned
2,826

Prefix-assignment counts describe allocation to carriers, not how many individual numbers are in use. Full technical records: NumberResearch ↗.

Compare 219 with another code →
Sources
Wikipedia ↗
Area code 219
NumberResearch.org ↗
Live status, dates, assignment counts and exhaust forecast — data as of 2026-09-18 (CC BY 4.0).

Place, relationships and history above are compiled by North American Numbers from the sources listed and last checked 2026-09-18. A check date is not an expert review — see how this is made. Flag an error.