About Area Code 518
- Region Code
- 518
- City
- Albany
- State
- New York
- Population
- 899,223
- Largest City
- Albany
- Neighboring Codes
- Time Zone
- Eastern Time
New York
(518) Area Code 518 — Albany, New York
518 Area Code – Albany, New York: Location, Time Zone & History
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Map of Area Code 518
Available Phone Numbers
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History & Cultural Notes
Few area codes in New York have proven as durable as 518. Assigned in 1947 as one of the state's five original North American Numbering Plan codes, it kept its boundaries unchanged for seventy years, longer than any other original New York code, before relief was finally needed. On September 19, 2017, following a transition period that began that March, area code 838 went into service as an overlay across the same territory; 518 itself was never split, and ten-digit local dialing became mandatory as a result.
Albany has been the seat of New York State government since 1797, home to the State Capitol and the Empire State Plaza, and the numbering plan area reaches well beyond the capital to Schenectady, Troy, Saratoga Springs, Glens Falls, and Plattsburgh. Combined with its overlay, the territory extends from the Capital District north to the Canadian border and Adirondack Park, making it one of the geographically largest numbering plan areas in the northeastern United States.
The regional economy mirrors this mix of government and growth, with state administration and higher education joined by healthcare, financial and insurance services, and an expanding nanotechnology and semiconductor manufacturing sector centered in the Albany area.