Indiana area codes ranked (plus poll)

In My Humble Opinion
1
  • What is your favorite Indiana area code?
  • 219
  • 260
  • 317
  • 463
  • 574
  • 765
  • 812
  • 930
0 voters

FYI: List of Indiana area codes - Wikipedia

I take a break from my normal ultra-vitriolic anti-Trump politicking to bring you a frivolous but nevertheless (I hope) charming post on Indiana area codes.

What makes an area code good? I think it’s the simplicity and iconicity of the numbers themselves combined with the coolness of the region it covers. An area code cannot achieve great or good status unless both factors are fully realized.

Aside from my 8 years in Japan, I have lived most of my life in Indiana. I think the Hoosier state has some really nice area codes, so here are my rankings of them from best to worst:

The great

1. 317 (Indianapolis)
I’m originally from Indianapolis, and I’ve had the same same 317 phone number since 2004 when I moved back from Japan. This is a classic, simple area code, reminiscent of 312 (Chicago) and 212 (New York).

2. 219 (Northwest Indiana)
I also have a phone with this area code that I inherited from my mother, and I spent a large chunk of my childhood and teenage years in the Region. This is another simple and elegant area code, and Northwest Indiana is so cool and unique that it gets to be called the Region*–in contrast to the infinite number of small-r regions in the US.

3. 812 (Southern Indiana)
I currently live in Evansville but do not have a phone with this area code. But I love it! The bigness of the 8 sits in nice contrast to the small 1 and 2. This area code seems very appropriate for the more laid-back vibe of Southern Indiana.

4. 260 (Fort Wayne)
I have spent a bunch of time in Fort Wayne (albeit not recently), since I dated someone from there and someone else who lived there. I really like the city, and the numbers of this area code are simple with a nice roundness to them. Very friendly, like the city itself.

The good

5. 574 (South Bend)
At first glance, this is a chunky, ungainly, and a bit retro area code that might call to mind a 1970s muscle car or split level with orange shag carpet. But therein lies its beauty: it’s just so different than most area codes that it stands out. I worked in this area for three months on a contract in 2019 and really had a good time.

The bad

6. 765 (Central Indiana)
I got my first cell phone in 1999 when I was at Purdue for b-school, and this was my area code. The trouble with this area code is that the numbers themselves are dull and unattractive, and it was the code that surrounded 317 like a sloppy doughnut while manifestly not being 317. It was like an extension code before they even existed. Just terrible.

The total shit

7 and 8. 463 (extension for Indy), 930 (extension for Southern Indiana)
Extension codes by their nature are uncool because they ain’t the real codes, yo. If you live in Indy, you want a 317 number–not fucking dogshit 463! Further, since extension codes were created long after the “real codes,” they are almost always ugly numbers that look like something you’d dial to reach a pyschic in the Cayman Islands or something. Not just no–fuck no!

So there you have it. I think Indiana has four genuinely great area codes, which means that the state, IMHO, punches above its weight in, um, phonedom. Thanks for participating in the poll and providing your thoughts!

*Pace Wikipedia, the Region is Lake and Porter Counties–nothing else!

2

An area code is only cool if it’s the same forward and backward, with a 0 or a 1 in the middle. Chicago’s 312 is almost granted cool status, but it’s like New York and Detroit just wouldn’t quite let them have it.

3

I would agree that 212 is the greatest of area codes, but I’m not sure that palindromity is a necessary condition for “coolness”!

4
  1. Rensselaer for the win!

Probably not a reason you were expecting.

5

I grew up in the little town of New Albany, which is on the Ohio River, less than 15 minutes from Louisville.

Area code 812 formed a pivotal part in my adolescence.

6

I’m old enough to remember when 317 covered all of Central Indiana, not just Indianapolis. When they expanded the number of area codes back in 1996, suddenly our area code became 765. It was a jarring but ultimately exciting experience. What a fantastic time to be alive, to witness the birth of a new area code!

Thus, I voted for 765, not only because it’s mine, but because it’s the only Hoosier area code that has consecutive numbers. Okay, they’re in reverse order, but still. Consecutive numbers, my friends! Thus, it stands out. It is unique among the disparate Indiana area codes, and the only one truly worthy of our affection.

7

LOL! :laughing:

8

Oh yes, passed by its exit many times on ol’ I-65!

I’ve found in NWIN and Evansville that, despite the proximity to other states, that one feels one is still in Indiana, that’s one identity lay there. E.g., I’ve heard the Region described as Chicago suburbs. These days, the part of US 41 that’s near Whole Foods sure feels like Illinois, but elsewhere, no. How was New Albany in this regard?

9

I don’t know Indiana, but any proper area code has a 0 or 1 as the middle digit. The others are all Johnny-come-lately poseurs. And of course the 1s are superior to the 0s.

10

I guess I am old enough as well, but I don’t remember the shift, probably because I was in Japan at the time and my family was up in 219. I just remember not wanting a 765 area code when I got my first cell phone in 1999.

You do raise some good points about 765, however!

11

Right! And for those too young to remember, the biggest cities got area codes with 2’s and 1’s like that because they were easier to dial on rotary phones.

12

I went with 219 though 317 is a close 2nd. 219 is a familiar local number for us Chicago area residents.

I’m from the region just East and haven’t heard of this Region. It’s just Northwest Indiana, as in, “Offer valid at participating Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana Kia dealers,” or whatever.

13

That’s difficult to say. New Albany runs right into Clarksville, which runs directly into Jeffersonville, and only the locals know where one ends and the other begins. And since New Albany sits on I-64, it’s always been considered a distant suburb of Louisville.

14

I lived in Evansville for awhile so I have to be loyal to the 812, but if I were completely neutral I’d go with 317.

15

I see. But did you feel as though you were in a “Louisville suburb”?

16

How did you like it?

17

It seemed like a foreign country. Until I got my driver’s license. Then it felt like a suburb.

18

Ah, got it!

19

It was back in the '70s. The biggest employer was Whirlpool and it was a 24-hour a day town. Unfortunately I was only there a few months and didn’t have a chance to really get out and get to know it better.

20

This thread is approaching peak Straight Dope. Love it.

All area codes ending in 0 are right out. I’ll be deep in the cold, cold ground before I recognize 260.