North American Numbers Source-cited · ownership disclosed
Area code
518
In service
United States · since 1947

Capital District / Northeastern NY

Serves eastern upstate New York including Albany, Schenectady and Troy, extending to the Canadian and Vermont borders. The only one of NY's original five NPAs to keep its original boundaries until 2017.

The essentials Numbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Capital District / Northeastern NY
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1947
Projected exhaust
2064 Q2

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 518 is

Northeastern New York State (Capital District and north).

Communities served wholly or partly by 518:

AlbanySchenectadyTroyGlens FallsPlattsburghSaratoga Springs

Representative; the NPA spans 24 counties.

B · Relationships

How it relates to other codes

The codes 518 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?

Overlay · 2017 838 Capital District (overlay) 838 added Sept 19, 2017 as an overlay.
What's changing. Overlaid by 838 across the same 24-county region; ten-digit dialing required.
C · History

How 518 got here

1947
One of the original area codes; uniquely retained its original boundaries for decades.
Source: Wikipedia 518/838
2017-08-20
Ten-digit dialing became mandatory.
Source: Wikipedia 518/838
2017-09-19
838 overlay activated.
Source: Wikipedia 518/838
D · Capacity

How full it is

Prefixes assigned
800
Prefixes available
0
Thousands-blocks assigned
4,163

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

Compare 518 with another code →
Sources
Wikipedia (secondary) ↗
Area codes 518 and 838
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.