The 401 area code covers Providence, Pawtucket and 19 more places in Rhode Island.
Area code 401 is in Rhode Island, on Eastern Time. In the 401 area, phone numbers are given out most in Providence County, then Washington and Newport counties. It has been in service since 1947.
- Where
- 5 counties in Rhode Island, mostly Providence County, Washington County and Newport County
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- In service since
- 1947, one of the original area codes
- Shares its area with
- No other area code
- Prefixes in use
- 581
- How to dial
- Local calls inside 401 can still be dialed with just 7 digits.
Find out who called you from a 401 number.
Enter the full 10-digit number to see who it is listed to and the city and state on the listing. It is the same free check as our who called me lookup. To see only the caller ID name on the number, use our free CNAM lookup. To see whether it is a mobile, a landline or a VoIP line, use our free VoIP checker. To see which carrier a (401) number is on today, use our free carrier lookup.
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Providence holds 40% of the phone prefixes in area code 401.
A prefix is the three digits after the area code, and NANPA assigns each one to a town. Counting the 581 prefixes in use shows where 401 numbers are actually given out.
- Providence235 prefixes, 40%
- Pawtucket38 prefixes, 7%
- Woonsocket34 prefixes, 6%
- Newport26 prefixes, 4%
- Warwick21 prefixes, 4%
- West Warwick19 prefixes, 3%
- Narragansett19 prefixes, 3%
- Cumberland19 prefixes, 3%
Also served: Westerly, Warren, Portsmouth and Bristol and 9 smaller places.
Of the carriers named here, PAETEC (Windstream) holds the most phone number prefixes in area code 401: 65 of 581.
NANPA, which runs the North American numbering plan, assigns each prefix (the three digits after the area code) to one carrier. Here is how the 581 prefixes in use in 401 divide between carriers; holders this page does not name are grouped as other carriers.
| Carrier | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|
| PAETEC (Windstream)Windstream's business phone network | 65 | 11% |
| T-MobileMobile network | 41 | 7% |
| Comcast (Xfinity)Cable company's phone service | 35 | 6% |
| AT&T MobilityMobile network | 32 | 6% |
| Level 3 (Lumen)Lumen's business and wholesale network | 32 | 6% |
| Metro by T-MobileT-Mobile's prepaid brand | 30 | 5% |
| 32 other carriers | 346 | 60% |
73% of these prefixes are pooled, which means the blocks of 1,000 numbers inside them can belong to other carriers. Any number can also have been moved to another carrier since, so this shows who holds the prefixes, not who serves a given number.
Want the carrier of one exact number? Our free carrier lookup checks it, because numbers move between carriers.
Source: NANPA central office code assignments, October 1, 2026.
401 has covered the same ground since 1947.
1947
401 is one of the original North American area codes.
A 401 number on your screen can still be a scam, because caller ID is easy to fake.
- Let an unknown call go to voicemail. A real caller leaves a message; a robocaller usually does not.
- Look the number up with the box above before you call back, because calling back tells a robocaller your line is live.
- Hang up on anyone who wants gift cards, crypto or a wire transfer, or asks you to read out a code that was just texted to you.
- Report unwanted robocalls at reportfraud.ftc.gov, or paste a suspicious message into our free scam checker.
The area codes closest to 401 are 508, 781 and 617.
This list measures the distance between the centres of each area, across state lines, and shows codes that share one area together.
These are the questions people ask most about area code 401.
Where is area code 401?
401 covers Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket and Newport and 17 more places in Rhode Island. In the 401 area, phone numbers are given out most in Providence County, then Washington and Newport counties.
What state is area code 401 in?
Rhode Island. 401 is a Rhode Island area code on Eastern Time.
What cities use area code 401?
The places holding the most 401 prefixes are Providence, Pawtucket, Woonsocket, Newport, Warwick, West Warwick, Narragansett and Cumberland, out of 21 places in all. The count comes from NANPA's prefix assignments as of October 1, 2026.
Which phone company owns area code 401?
No single phone company owns 401. NANPA's records list its 581 prefixes across many carriers, and the ones named on this page include PAETEC (Windstream), T-Mobile and Comcast (Xfinity). Numbers move between carriers, so check one exact number with a carrier lookup.
What time zone is area code 401 in?
401 is on Eastern Time.
When did area code 401 start?
401 is one of the original North American area codes, in service since 1947.
How do I dial a 401 number?
Local calls inside 401 can still be dialed with just 7 digits.
Is 401 a toll-free number?
No. 401 is a regular area code for Providence and Pawtucket in Rhode Island, not a toll-free one. The toll-free codes in North America are 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877 and 888.
What area codes are near 401?
The closest are 508/774 (Worcester, Massachusetts), 781/339 (Waltham, Massachusetts), 617/857 (Boston, Massachusetts) and 860/959 (Hartford, Connecticut), measured between the centres of each area.
Who called me from a 401 number?
Enter the full 10-digit number in the lookup above. It returns the listed owner where there is a public record, where the number is registered, and whether it is a mobile, a landline or a VoIP line.
Is area code 401 a scam?
401 is a real Rhode Island area code, so the code itself is not a warning sign. Scam callers fake local-looking numbers on purpose, so judge the call by what the caller asks for, and look the number up before calling back.
Put this lookup on your site: our free area code widget takes two lines of code and shows any US area code's state, time zone and local time.
Source: NANPA, the North American Numbering Plan Administrator: its area code database and prefix assignments, as of October 1, 2026.