562 Area Code – Long Beach, California: Location, Time Zone & History

Few area codes carry as much numbering history in as short a span as 562. Its territory was part of area code 310 when 310 itself split off from 213 on November 2, 1991. Just over five years later, on January 25, 1997, the southeastern portion of 310 split again to create 562, serving Long Beach, the Gateway Cities of southeastern Los Angeles County, and a small slice of northern Orange County. An earlier 1995 proposal by the California Public Utilities Commission would have launched the new code as a wireless-only overlay, but cellular carriers sued and the plan was scrapped in favor of a standard geographic split.

Beyond Long Beach, the numbering plan area reaches Downey, Whittier, Norwalk, Lakewood, and Cerritos, among other Gateway Cities communities. Ten-digit local dialing became mandatory here by October 24, 2021, a change timed to the nationwide activation of 988 as the Suicide Prevention Lifeline number, since 988 had previously been a valid central-office prefix within the area.

• Maritime shipping and logistics centered on the Port of Long Beach
• Aerospace and space manufacturing, including the former Boeing C-17 plant
• Oil and gas extraction
• Healthcare, education, tourism, and hospitality