870 Area Code: Arkansas Cities, History and Dialing Rules

Quick answer

Area code 870 serves southern, eastern and most of northern Arkansas. Cities in it include Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, El Dorado, Mountain Home and West Memphis. This guide covers where 870 is, how it came to be, how to dial it and what to know before using an 870 number for a business.

Where is area code 870?

Area code 870 covers southern, eastern and most of northern Arkansas. The larger cities in it include Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana (the Arkansas side), El Dorado, Mountain Home and West Memphis. Central Arkansas, including Little Rock, keeps area code 501, and Fort Smith and the northwest corner of the state use a different code.

That makes 870 the area code of the state's rural and regional centres rather than of one metro area. A caller with an 870 number is as likely to be in a farming town or a river-valley city as in a county seat, which is why a local business using an 870 number reads as "from around here" across a very wide stretch of the state.

870 area code history

The code has a short, well-documented history. These are the dates that matter:

How to dial

Because 327 overlays 870, the same geographic area now has two area codes. That means every call, even to a neighbour across the street, must be dialed with ten digits: the area code plus the seven-digit number. Dialing seven digits no longer completes a call in the area. Long-distance calls from elsewhere in the country still use 1 + 870 + the seven-digit number.

When you save contacts, store the full ten digits, including 870, so that autodialers, door-entry systems, alarm panels and fax lines programmed with seven-digit numbers are the first things you update.

Will the area code change?

The North American Numbering Plan Administration has studied when 870 would run out of numbers, and number pooling and code releases have delayed it. The Wikipedia history of the code also notes that a statewide overlay combining all of Arkansas's area codes has been projected, though details have not been released. For callers the practical result is simple: ten-digit dialing is already the rule.

Time zone and business hours

Arkansas, including the whole 870 area, observes Central Time, so a call to an 870 number is one hour behind Eastern Time and two hours ahead of Pacific Time. Many offices in the area keep an 8 AM to 5 PM schedule, so Central Time hours are the safest window to reach a business.

Using an 870 number for business

A local 870 number tells customers in Jonesboro, Pine Bluff or Texarkana that you serve them, even if your team works somewhere else. It is the easiest way to look local across a region that has no single dominant metro area, and it is the number people in the area are most likely to pick up.

With Ringflow you can route an 870 number to a mobile phone or a team, send missed calls to voicemail-to-email, and run text messaging on the same number. Number porting is free if you already have an 870 number you want to keep, and a 14-day free trial lets you test it before you commit. Availability of numbers in a given area code varies, so check when you sign up.

If you also work in nearby areas, see our guides to area code 501, or read how a virtual phone number works and how to add a second business number.

Spam and scam calls

Unexpected calls from any area code can be scams, and 870 is no different. Do not trust caller ID alone, because numbers can be spoofed, and never share a one-time code, a card number or a Social Security number with an unsolicited caller. Report scam calls at reportfraud.ftc.gov and add your number to the National Do Not Call Registry at donotcall.gov.

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