# What's the first "local" digit of your phone number? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [February 24, 2012, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877 "2012-02-24T21:12:06Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cazzle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cazzle/32/75_2.png) [@Cazzle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cazzle)\ **Post date:** [February 24, 2012, 11:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/21 "2012-02-24T23:54:52Z")
Our landline numbers take the form (00) 12-34-5678, though this isn’t how we’d typically write them. You’ll usually see (00) 1234 5678. 00 is roughly the state, but there’s some grouping involved. 02 is New South Wales and the ACT, 03 is Victoria and Tasmania, 07 is Queensland, 08 is Western Australia, South Australia and the Northern Territory. 12 is the region, and this can cover a large area. I used to live in the (03) 51 area, which covered an area in excess of 144mi/230km. 34 is the town. The OP seems to consider the region (12) to be the first part of the local number, in which case my answer to the OP is 5. ---
**Author:** ![FoieGrasIsEvil](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/foiegrasisevil/32/16638_2.png) [@FoieGrasIsEvil](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FoieGrasIsEvil)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/22 "2012-02-25T00:19:37Z")
Fine! I can’t deal with this kind of pressure! My number is 513-662-3456. There! I feel so relieved. ---
**Author:** ![DCnDC](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dcndc/32/2842_2.png) [@DCnDC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DCnDC)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/23 "2012-02-25T00:23:34Z")
I haven’t had a landline in over a decade. ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/24 "2012-02-25T00:26:26Z")
> [@Sunspace](#): > > But in the local area, _any_ local area in the NANP, that digit could be any digit from 0 to 9! It is in no way an indication of whether a number belongs to a particular locality; that is indicated by the combination of area code and exchange code. > > For instance, consider the village of Sutton, Ontario. It is located in area code 905 and 289. It has local exchange codes 905-596, 905-722, and 289-576. [Link.](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Area_codes_905_and_289) Any of these exchange codes can have “line numbers” from 0000 to 9999. But it’s the exchange code and area code that are tied to the “rate centre”, which determines the location the number is deemed to have. > > Now, if you’d just said, “what’s the first digit of your line number”, and left “local” out of it, I would have said “0”. 🙂 I don’t want to know your locality! The entire point is to get at the digit that could be anything. I want to see if it that is uniformly distributed or not. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/25 "2012-02-25T00:33:51Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > The entire point is to get at the digit that could be anything. I want to see if it that is uniformly distributed or not. And what makes you think your results will tell you that? ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/26 "2012-02-25T00:47:50Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > The entire point is to get at the digit that could be anything. I want to see if it that is uniformly distributed or not. Well, the line number is the first and only part of the phone number that is not dependent on the locality, so in my case it would be 0. Now that we’ve got that sorted out… ---
**Author:** ![spankthecrumpet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a87d85/32.png) [@spankthecrumpet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/spankthecrumpet)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 12:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/27 "2012-02-25T00:48:01Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > And what makes you think your results will tell you that? Same reason as any sampling wotzit. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 1:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/28 "2012-02-25T01:12:10Z")
It used to be easy around here. Generally, Troy phone numbers began with 2, Schenectady numbers began with 3, and Albany numbers began with 4. With cell phones, that’s no longer true. ---
**Author:** ![chrisk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/6de8d8/32.png) [@chrisk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chrisk)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/29 "2012-02-25T02:31:03Z")
Too complicated - didn’t vote. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/30 "2012-02-25T03:50:18Z")
> [@spankthecrumpet](#): > > Same reason as any sampling wotzit. So your samples are unbiased? Did you know that there are no US NPAs that begin with “1” or “0”? Did you consider that years ago, when letters were used for the first 2 numbers, that a bias might still exist? Or are you confused about what digit is the first “local” one, because, given your example, I am. ---
**Author:** ![Ostrya](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/35a633/32.png) [@Ostrya](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ostrya)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/31 "2012-02-25T04:35:56Z")
As another Friday night pursuit I highly recommend thumb twiddling. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 5:15am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/32 "2012-02-25T05:15:53Z")
Sorry, I did the wrong digit. To me, the first “local” number is the first digit of the prefix, because that’s the first number that can be different for different people living in the same town as me. I think of it as area code, local code, line number. ---
**Author:** ![JBDivmstr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b4bc9f/32.png) [@JBDivmstr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JBDivmstr)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 5:31am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/33 "2012-02-25T05:31:28Z")
> [@tdn](#): > > I’m not sure I get it. My number is (000) 123-4567. What should I answer? > [@silenus](#): > > 4, I think. Well if that’s the case, change my vote to 9. :smack: ---
**Author:** ![jackdavinci](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackdavinci/32/3259_2.png) [@jackdavinci](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jackdavinci)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 9:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/34 "2012-02-25T09:04:13Z")
It’s the number your neighbor would dial to phone you, rather than someone from another county/state/country. Which makes me wonder, are there any places that don’t have phone numbers in left to right regional to local order? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 1:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/35 "2012-02-25T13:38:09Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > So your samples are unbiased? Did you know that there are no US NPAs that begin with “1” or “0”? Did you consider that years ago, when letters were used for the first 2 numbers, that a bias might still exist? Or are you confused about what digit is the first “local” one, because, given your example, I am. He’s twice specifically said he wants the two in a standard NANP (North American Numbering Plan (USA, Canada, parts of Mexico (although I think that Mexico may have dropped completely out of NANP)) number - 999-888-2111. Although the advent of overlapping NPAs and number portability has changed some of the rules, it is the best choice for a definition of ‘first digit of a local number’, since the NXX/888 portion still generally relates to an area (actually, you’ll find that most of your neighbors at least share the first two digits of the NXX. And, assuming the Dope is a random group of folks (and for number assignment, it probably is), I’d expect his NANP numbers to be randomly distributed. Possibly light on 0/1 - in my home town, we used to have 4-digit dialing, so no last-four would start with 0/1, since those still signaled in a desire for an operator or a long-distance call. I don’t know how common that was (I’d guess not very), but it could have an affect. ---
**Author:** ![Minnie\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/4bbf92/32.png) [@Minnie\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Minnie_Luna)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 2:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/36 "2012-02-25T14:59:28Z")
> [@jackdavinci](#): > > It’s the number your neighbor would dial to phone you, rather than someone from another county/state/country. But as someone pointed out above, that’s no longer a good indicator. I live in suburban Philadelphia. We have multiple “local” area codes. 215, 610, 484 and 267 are all local numbers. To dial my neighbor, I must dial ten digits, 610-555-1234. To dial my grandparents in Canada, I dial 11 digits, 1-343-555-3456. Highly populated areas with multiple area codes and even more exchanges do not fit the model. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 3:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/37 "2012-02-25T15:10:24Z")
> [@Minnie\_Luna](#): > > To dial my neighbor, I must dial ten digits, 610-555-1234. You dial ten digits, not eleven (no, that’s not a Spinal Tap joke)? You don’t dial a “1” first? ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/38 "2012-02-25T16:22:06Z")
> [@Musicat](#): > > You dial ten digits, not eleven (no, that’s not a Spinal Tap joke)? You don’t dial a “1” first? Dialing the 1 makes it a long distance call, which I imagine will generally get you the “you don’t need to dial 1 to complete this call” message if you do it by accident. If you live in a city with an overlay, all calls need 10-digits, to differentiate between 646-455-1111 and 917-455-1111 (to use a NYC example). The need to 10-digit dial all numbers was one of the major hurdles of getting people to accept overlays (as opposed to an area code split, which causes a different set of acceptance issues). ---
**Author:** ![Mr\_Downtown](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Mr\_Downtown](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr_Downtown)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 4:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/39 "2012-02-25T16:58:31Z")
North American pay phones traditionally had line numbers of the form 90XX, 91XX, or 92XX. Long-distance operators knew this pattern so they could call a local operator in the destination city for a “coin check” to ensure that you weren’t placing a collect call to a pay phone where your friend was waiting. Obviously there aren’t many pay phone numbers any more, but in a large enough sample, the number of _9s_ would be slightly below other digits. ---
**Author:** ![Musicat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/musicat/32/20189_2.png) [@Musicat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Musicat)\ **Post date:** [February 25, 2012, 5:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877/40 "2012-02-25T17:22:11Z")
> [@Mr\_Downtown](#): > > North American pay phones traditionally had line numbers of the form 90XX, 91XX, or 92XX. Long-distance operators knew this pattern so they could call a local operator in the destination city for a “coin check” to ensure that you weren’t placing a collect call to a pay phone where your friend was waiting. Why would that be a problem? Why couldn’t the recipient of the call pay for it if he had enough quarters, dimes and nickels? [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-the-first-local-digit-of-your-phone-number/613877.md?page=3)