North American Numbers Source-cited · ownership disclosed
Area code
501
In service
United States · since 1947

Little Rock

Arkansas's original 1947 area code, once serving the entire state and now reduced to central Arkansas around Little Rock. It remains a single-code area with no overlay.

The essentials Numbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Little Rock
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1947
Projected exhaust
2044 Q3

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 501 is

Central Arkansas — Little Rock and most of its suburbs, spanning Pulaski, Faulkner, Saline, Garland, Lonoke, White, Conway and neighboring counties..

Communities served wholly or partly by 501:

Little RockNorth Little RockConwayHot SpringsBentonSherwoodJacksonvilleCabot
B · Relationships

How it relates to other codes

The codes 501 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?

Spawned · 1997 870 Jonesboro / Pine Bluff (eastern, southern & northern Arkansas) Eastern, southern and most of northern Arkansas split off from 501 in 1997.
Spawned · 2002 479 Fort Smith / Fayetteville (Northwest Arkansas) Northwestern Arkansas split off from 501 in 2001-2002.
What's changing. No overlay; single-code area serving central Arkansas.
C · History

How 501 got here

1947
Assigned as one of the original North American area codes, covering the entire state of Arkansas.
Source: Wikipedia
1997-04-14
Eastern/southern/northern Arkansas split off as area code 870.
Source: Wikipedia
2002-01-19
Northwestern Arkansas split off as area code 479, reducing 501 to central Arkansas.
Source: Wikipedia
D · Capacity

How full it is

Prefixes assigned
652
Prefixes available
148
Thousands-blocks assigned
2,990

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

Compare 501 with another code →
Sources
Wikipedia ↗
Area code 501
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.