757 Area Code – Norfolk, Virginia: Location, Time Zone & History

Home to the world's largest naval base, Hampton Roads carries area code 757, split off from 804 on July 1, 1996 to relieve number exhaustion in a region defined by the U.S. Navy, shipbuilding, and the Port of Virginia. The new code took in Norfolk, Virginia Beach, Chesapeake, Portsmouth, Newport News, Hampton, Suffolk, and the Eastern Shore, while Richmond and the rest of the old territory kept 804.

Growth in the region pushed 757 toward exhaustion again by the early 2020s. Area code 948 was assigned as an all-services overlay, with activation beginning April 9, 2022 and taking full effect on May 9, 2022 -- the first overlay in Virginia -- bringing mandatory ten-digit dialing to the area.

• Naval Station Norfolk, the largest naval station in the world, is homeport to roughly 75 ships and headquarters of U.S. Fleet Forces Command.
• Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News Shipbuilding is Virginia's largest industrial employer and the sole builder of U.S. Navy nuclear aircraft carriers.
• Colonial Williamsburg, within the 757 region, is the world's largest living-history museum.
• Tourism thrives along the Virginia Beach oceanfront alongside the region's military and maritime trade economy.