Area Code 973

New Jersey

Area code 973 serves New Jersey, primarily Newark, in the Eastern Time (ET) time zone. It has served the region since 01-Jun-1997.

Overlay Area Code

This area code is part of an overlay region, meaning the same geographic area is served by multiple area codes. Overlay codes were introduced to meet growing demand for phone numbers without requiring existing customers to change their numbers.

This area code shares its geographic region with: area code 862 (Newark).

In service since: 01-Jun-1997

Learn more about overlay and split area codes →

Demographics & Economics

Demographic Data Unavailable for Area Code 973

County-level demographic data is not available for this area code because NPA boundary polygons are not publicly distributed by NANPA. We use geographic boundary data from the Colorado Open Data Portal to map area codes to counties, which currently covers 194 of 376 geographic area codes.

Demographic statistics (population, income, education, poverty) require county-level aggregations from Census ACS data. Without a county mapping, these aggregations cannot be computed. We are actively seeking additional data sources to improve coverage.

Statistics are population-weighted aggregations from Census ACS 5-year estimates where county boundary data is available.See Sources for details.

Time Zone

Eastern Time (ET)

NANPA Relief Status

According to the latest NANPA analysis (July 2026), this area code is not currently listed as exhausting within the next 36 months. No relief planning is in progress for this NPA.

Source: NANPA NPA Relief Planning Reports · See all relief planning statuses

Current Time

Eastern Time (ET)

Prefix Utilization

Geographic Coverage

State

Major Cities

Newark
Paterson
Clifton
Passaic
East Orange
Kearny
Garfield
Lodi
Parsippany
Morristown
Harrison
Hawthorne
Preakness
Dover
Madison
Hopatcong
Short Hills
Woodland Park
Florham Park
Upper Montclair
Wallington
Ringwood
Wanaque
Pompton Lakes

and 96 more cities

Area Code 973 geographic coverage map (light mode)

Demographics

Detailed demographic and economic data is not yet available for area code 973.

History

Area code 973 was established in 1997 as a geographic area code. It shares its territory with area code area code 862.

County Coverage

Population-weighted county share based on aggregated ZCTA population (100% = total mapped population for area code 973).

County	Population	Share
Essex, NJ	855,186	38.2%
Passaic, NJ	587,729	26.3%
Morris, NJ	475,834	21.3%
Sussex, NJ	153,306	6.8%
Bergen, NJ	70,273	3.1%
Union, NJ	39,163	1.7%
Warren, NJ	35,019	1.6%
Hudson, NJ	22,128	1.0%

Area Code 973 Family Tree

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Total Codes

Splits

Overlays

Max Depth

All Descendants

Code ▲	State	Type	In Service	Parent
862	NJ	overlay	29-Dec-2001	973

Area code 973 was originally assigned in 01-Jun-1997 to serve NJ. Over the years, it has generated 1 descendant area code through a combination of geographic splits and overlays as demand for telephone numbers grew.