About Area Code 573
- Region Code
- 573
- City
- Columbia
- State
- Missouri
- Population
- 1,482,993
- Largest City
- Columbia
- Neighboring Codes
- Time Zone
- Central Time
Missouri
(573) Area Code 573 — Columbia, Missouri
573 Area Code – Columbia, Missouri: Location, Time Zone & History
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Map of Area Code 573
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History & Cultural Notes
Area code 573 came into service at the end of the day on January 7, 1996, when it split from area code 314, taking most of eastern and central Missouri outside the St. Louis metro area while 314 remained tied to the city itself. The territory it inherited was large and varied, running from Columbia and Jefferson City through Cape Girardeau, Hannibal, and the Missouri Bootheel. Nearly three decades later, growth caught up with the numbering plan: permissive ten-digit dialing began in August 2023, mandatory dialing followed in February 2024, and the overlay code 235 entered service that March.
Columbia, the primary city, is home to the flagship campus of the University of Missouri, and together with Jefferson City, the state capital, it forms the region's government and higher-education core. Rolla and Farmington round out the smaller communities within the 573/235 footprint. Hannibal carries its own distinct claim to notice as the childhood home of Mark Twain, whose novels drew on the town's setting along the Mississippi River.
Beyond government and education, the area's economy is supported by agriculture, healthcare, and manufacturing spread across its many county seats and smaller cities.