The History of Colorado’s Area Codes

The very first telephones arrived in Colorado in the late 1800s. By 1879, Denver Telephone Dispatch Company offered telephone service to 161 residents just 3 years after the original patent was issued to Alexander Graham Bell.

In the years that followed, Area Codes would need to be issued as Colorado's population expanded. Below, we will take a look at Colorado's first area code along with the numbers that followed over the years.

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Colorado's First Area Code Was Assigned in 1947

Colorado was assigned its first area code just after WWII. Beginning in1947, Colorado was assigned the area code 303. This lone area code covered the entire state until the late 1980s when additional numbers were introduced.

A Timeline of Colorado Area Codes

The Denver area code 303 stood as the Colorado designation for just over 41 years. By 1988, additional numbers had to be added.

• 1947: Area code 303 was assigned to the state of Colorado.
• 1988: Area code 719 was assigned to areas east and south of the Denver Metro.
• 1995: Area code 970 was assigned to areas of the state outside of the Denver Metro. 970 is Grand Junction's area code.
• 1998: Area code 720 was added to the Denver Metro area as the population continued to grow.
• 2022: The Denver metro area adds its third area code to help cover the growing population in the area. The number 983 was used.

What Should Colorado's Next Area Code Be?

Did you know that the designation 420 is available as an area code? Why has Colorado not grabbed this number and locked it in? It won't be available for long and seems like a great fit. What other numbers would be great as a Colorado area code? Let us know on our station app by using the chat feature to text or voice message the studio.