North American Numbers Source-cited · ownership disclosed
Area code
618
In service
United States · since 1947

Southern Illinois (Metro East)

One of the original 1947 area codes, 618 serves southern Illinois including the Illinois side of Greater St. Louis (Metro East). Since July 2023 it has been overlaid by area code 730.

The essentials Numbering data · NumberResearch · as of 2026-09-18
Place
Southern Illinois (Metro East)
Type
geographic
Status
in service
In service since
1947
Projected exhaust
2040 Q4

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 618 is

Southern Illinois - the Metro East (Illinois side of the St. Louis metro), plus the deep-southern "Little Egypt" region down to Cairo.

Communities served wholly or partly by 618:

BellevilleEast St. LouisEdwardsvilleAltonGranite CityCarbondaleMarionMount VernonCentraliaCairo

Representative subset; the NPA comprises roughly 126 municipalities.

B · Relationships

How it relates to other codes

The codes 618 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 · 1951 217 Central Illinois (Springfield) 618 gained most of the southern Metro East from 217 via a 1951 boundary shift; more Metro East moved in 1954.
Overlay · 2023 730 Southern Illinois (overlay of 618) Overlay of 618, in-service July 7, 2023.
What's changing. Overlaid by 730 (overlay complex) since July 7, 2023.
C · History

How 618 got here

1947
Established as one of the original North American area codes, assigned to southern Illinois.
Source: Wikipedia - Area code 618
1951
Gained most of the southern Metro East region from area code 217 via boundary shift.
Source: Wikipedia - Area code 618
1954
Most of the remaining Metro East region switched from 217 to 618.
Source: Wikipedia - Area code 618
2023-07-07
Area code 730 placed in service as the overlay of 618.
Source: Illinois Commerce Commission press release
D · Capacity

How full it is

Prefixes assigned
800
Prefixes available
0
Thousands-blocks assigned
3,838

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

Compare 618 with another code →
Sources
Wikipedia ↗
Area code 618
Illinois Commerce Commission ↗
New 730 Area Code Coming to the Illinois 618 Area Code Region
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.