973 Area Code – Newark, New Jersey: Location, Time Zone & History

Newark and northern New Jersey have carried area code 973 since June 1, 1997, when it split off from area code 201 -- itself the code that had covered the entire state since 1947. The new numbering plan area took in Bergen, Essex, Hudson, Morris, Passaic, Sussex, and Union counties, in whole or in part, anchored by Newark.

Growth from cellphones, pagers, and fax lines pushed 973 toward exhaustion within just a few years. Rather than splitting the territory again, regulators layered on an all-services overlay, area code 862, effective December 29, 2001, with mandatory ten-digit dialing beginning that December. Because 862 arrived as an overlay rather than a split, many longtime Newark-area residents and businesses held onto their original 973 numbers as a point of local identity, while newer lines were issued 862.

The 973/862 footprint anchors serious economic weight:

• Port Newark-Elizabeth Marine Terminal and Newark Liberty International Airport, among the busiest transportation hubs in the country
• Prudential Financial's headquarters, part of Newark's historic insurance and financial-services base
• Pharmaceuticals and healthcare industries
• Higher education anchors including Rutgers University-Newark, NJIT, and Seton Hall