612 Area Code – Minneapolis, Minnesota: Location, Time Zone & History

Minneapolis has kept the 612 area code since 1947, when it was one of Minnesota's two original North American area codes, though its boundaries have shrunk repeatedly over the decades since. A 1954 statewide realignment split off the south into new area code 507 while rotating the remaining territory to cover a wide central band running from the Wisconsin border to South Dakota through the Twin Cities.

The territory narrowed further as the state grew: area code 320 took the northern and western portion outside the Twin Cities in 1996, and the territory was split roughly along the Mississippi River in 1998, sending St. Paul and everything east of the river into new area code 651. A further three-way split in 2000 carved off the northwest suburbs of Brooklyn Park, Coon Rapids, and Maple Grove into 763, and the southwest suburbs of Bloomington, Eden Prairie, and Minnetonka into 952, leaving Minneapolis and only a handful of adjoining suburbs such as Richfield and St. Anthony under the original code.

Despite this long history of splits, the area has never received an overlay, so seven-digit local dialing remains possible in Minneapolis, with projections suggesting the supply will last until at least 2039. The city anchors an economy built on finance and banking, healthcare, higher education at the University of Minnesota, and a concentration of Fortune 500 corporate headquarters, and together with St. Paul across the river it forms the Twin Cities, Minnesota's core metropolitan area.