Area Code for St. Louis

St. Louis uses four area codes across the metro — and knowing which covers which neighborhood matters whether you’re dialing a Cardinals ticket hotline, hiring a local contractor, or setting up a business phone line.

The short answer: 314 covers the city of St. Louis and inner suburbs. 557 is the 2022 overlay for the same geography. 636 covers the western suburbs (Chesterfield, St. Charles, O’Fallon). 618 covers the Illinois Metro East side (Belleville, East St. Louis, Edwardsville).

What’s the area code for St. Louis?

St. Louis proper and its inner-ring suburbs in St. Louis County use two codes that cover identical geography:

Code	Established	Coverage	Notes
314	Oct 1, 1947	City of St. Louis + inner St. Louis County suburbs	Original NANP code for eastern Missouri; cultural identity marker
557	Aug 12, 2022	Same as 314 — overlay	Issued when 314 neared exhaustion; 10-digit dialing required
636	May 22, 1999	Western/southern suburbs — St. Charles, Jefferson, Franklin counties	Split from 314; outer metro ring
618	1947 (MO switch 1954)	Metro East Illinois — Belleville, East St. Louis, Edwardsville	Illinois side; overlay 730 added Jul 7, 2023

All four codes share Central Time (CT) — UTC−6 in winter and UTC−5 during daylight saving.

A quick rule of thumb: if a number starts with 314 or 557, the business is in or near the St. Louis city core. If it’s 636, it’s a western suburb location. If it’s 618, it’s across the Mississippi in Illinois.

St. Louis metro area codes by region

314 and 557 — St. Louis city and inner suburbs

Area codes 314 and 557 cover the same footprint: the independent city of St. Louis (not part of any county) and the inner-ring municipalities of St. Louis County.

Key neighborhoods and cities covered by 314/557:

• Downtown St. Louis — Gateway Arch National Park, Busch Stadium, Scottrade/Enterprise Center area
• Midtown and Grand Center — arts district, Powell Symphony Hall, Saint Louis University
• Central West End — Barnes-Jewish Hospital, Washington University Medical Campus
• The Hill — historic Italian-American neighborhood; locally famous for toasted ravioli
• Soulard — Anheuser-Busch Brewery, Soulard Farmers Market
• Clayton — St. Louis County seat; Centene headquarters; major corporate address
• University City (U City) — Washington University in St. Louis campus area
• Ladue, Kirkwood, Webster Groves — established inner-ring suburbs
• Maplewood, Richmond Heights, Brentwood — commercial corridors
• Sunset Hills — Panera Bread headquarters

636 — Western and southern suburbs

Area code 636 covers the outer suburban ring stretching west and south of the city.

Key cities in 636:

• St. Charles and St. Peters — St. Charles County seat; historic First State Capitol of Missouri
• O’Fallon — one of Missouri’s fastest-growing cities; major employer base
• Wentzville and Lake St. Louis — newer development corridors along I-70 west
• Chesterfield — affluent western suburb; Valley Park; Chesterfield Mall corridor
• Ballwin and Manchester — established family suburbs in west St. Louis County
• Fenton and Arnold — southern Jefferson County suburban growth
• Washington (MO) — Franklin County seat, Missouri River community

618 — Illinois Metro East

The Metro East region sits across the Mississippi River from St. Louis. Despite being in Illinois, it is economically and culturally tied to the St. Louis metro.

Key Metro East cities in 618:

• East St. Louis — directly across from downtown St. Louis; major rail and logistics hub
• Belleville — St. Clair County seat; Scott Air Force Base (major federal employer)
• Edwardsville — Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (SIUE) campus
• Collinsville — World’s Largest Catsup Bottle landmark; manufacturing base
• O’Fallon (IL) — distinct from Missouri’s O’Fallon; fastest-growing Metro East city
• Alton — historic Mississippi River city; Mark Twain connections
• Granite City — industrial heritage; steel manufacturing legacy
• Fairview Heights — major retail corridor serving Metro East

Note: area code 618 received its own overlay — 730 — on July 7, 2023, as number exhaustion accelerated in southern Illinois.

History of St. Louis area codes

St. Louis has one of the longest area code histories in North America, dating to the original 1947 numbering plan.

1947 — 314 assigned to eastern Missouri. When AT&T engineers designed the North American Numbering Plan (NANP), Missouri received two codes: 314 for the eastern portion (including St. Louis) and 816 for the western portion (Kansas City). Area code 314 was one of the original 86 NPAs established October 1, 1947.

1996 — 573 splits off central and southern Missouri. By the mid-1990s, subscriber growth and the proliferation of fax machines and pagers threatened 314’s number pool. Effective January 7, 1996, area code 573 was created for central and southeastern Missouri — Jefferson City, Columbia, Cape Girardeau. St. Louis retained 314.

1999 — 636 splits off the western suburbs. St. Louis’s suburban boom through the 1990s — particularly in St. Charles County — again strained the 314 pool. On May 22, 1999, area code 636 was split off to serve the outer western and southern suburbs. After the permissive dialing period, exclusive 636 use began February 26, 2000.

2021 — Mandatory 10-digit dialing. The FCC’s national designation of 988 as the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline required that no area code could use 9-8-8 as a local exchange. The St. Louis 314/557 region transitioned to mandatory 10-digit dialing effective October 24, 2021 — nearly nine months before the 557 overlay launched.

2022 — 557 overlaid on 314 and 636. Rather than splitting the city core again, the Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) ordered an overlay. Area code 557 activated on August 12, 2022, covering the same geography as both 314 and 636. New subscribers in the 314/636 region began receiving 557 numbers; existing numbers were unaffected.

2023 — 730 overlaid on 618. The Illinois Metro East side followed the same pattern. Area code 730 launched July 7, 2023, as an overlay for 618 to address southern Illinois number exhaustion.

Citations: NANPA for NANP history; FCC for STIR/SHAKEN; Missouri PSC for the 557 overlay order.

314 as St. Louis identity

Area code 314 is more than a dialing prefix — it is a civic identity marker that Missourians wear proudly.

The Gateway Arch. St. Louis’s most recognizable symbol, Gateway Arch National Park, sits at the confluence of the Mississippi and Missouri rivers at the edge of the 314 footprint. The Arch’s 630-foot stainless steel curve has anchored St. Louis’s national identity since its completion in 1965.

The Cardinals and the Blues. Major League Baseball’s St. Louis Cardinals — 11-time World Series champions, one of the most storied franchises in American sports — play at Busch Stadium downtown. The NHL’s St. Louis Blues won their first Stanley Cup in 2019. Both teams’ ticket and fan lines run on 314.

Anheuser-Busch heritage. The Anheuser-Busch Brewery on Lynch Street in Soulard is one of the oldest active breweries in the United States. Founded in 1852, it became the world’s largest brewery under Adolphus Busch. Now owned by AB InBev (Belgian), the St. Louis campus remains a major employer and tourist destination.

Corporate St. Louis. Fortune 500 companies headquartered in the 314 area include Centene (ranked #23 nationally), Reinsurance Group of America, Emerson Electric (Ferguson, MO), Edward Jones (Des Peres), Graybar Electric, Post Holdings, Express Scripts (Cigna), Build-A-Bear Workshop, Panera Bread (Sunset Hills), Energizer Holdings, and Bayer Crop Science (formerly Monsanto, Creve Coeur).

Washington University in St. Louis. WashU is consistently ranked among the top 15 universities in the US and operates on a 314 number. It anchors the research and biotech corridor around Forest Park and the Central West End.

BJC HealthCare. BJC, based in the Central West End at the Barnes-Jewish Hospital complex, is one of the largest nonprofit health systems in the United States. It is among the metro’s top employers and runs on 314.

St. Louis area code spam and scams

St. Louis area codes — particularly 314 — are frequently spoofed by fraudsters who exploit local caller ID to increase answer rates.

Common scam patterns targeting St. Louis numbers include:

• Fake Ameren Missouri utility shutoff calls — callers impersonating Ameren threaten immediate power shutoff unless payment is made via prepaid card or wire transfer. Ameren never demands immediate phone payment.
• AB InBev / Boeing recruitment fraud — callers spoofing 314 numbers claim to offer employment at Anheuser-Busch or Boeing Defense, then request Social Security numbers or upfront “processing fees.”
• IRS impersonation — a nationwide scam that uses local 314 caller ID to appear legitimate. The IRS never initiates tax collection by phone.
• Flood and tornado recovery fraud — after Missouri’s frequent severe weather events, scammers pose as FEMA contractors or insurance adjusters, targeting homeowners who recently filed claims.

STIR/SHAKEN (Secure Telephone Identity Revisited / Signature-based Handling of Asserted information using toKENs) is the FCC-mandated authentication framework that combats this. Carriers assign attestation levels — A (fully verified), B (partial), C (gateway/unverified) — to outbound calls. Spoofed scam calls receive C-attestation or none, triggering “Spam Likely” on modern smartphones.

When you get a St. Louis number through DialPhone, outbound calls carry A-attestation — the highest STIR/SHAKEN trust level. See the FCC’s guidance: fcc.gov/consumers/guides/spoofing-and-caller-id. For a full explanation of how call authentication works, see our STIR/SHAKEN glossary entry.

How to get a St. Louis business phone number

Getting a St. Louis 314, 557, or 636 number takes under 10 minutes through a cloud VoIP provider. No St. Louis office required.

Step 1: Choose your area code. Decide which code fits your brand. 314 signals the established city core and carries cultural prestige. 557 is functionally identical geography with a newer number pool. 636 signals a western-suburbs presence — ideal for businesses in Chesterfield, St. Charles, or O’Fallon.

Step 2: Sign up with DialPhone. Search available St. Louis numbers by area code during signup. 314 inventory is limited — check availability first, as older codes fill faster.

Step 3: Assign the number. Route your St. Louis number to mobile, desktop app, or a team call queue. Add an AI receptionist, voicemail greeting, or call menu as needed.

Step 4: Set outbound caller ID. Configure your St. Louis number as the outbound caller ID so every call you make displays the local number — not an 800 number or personal cell.

Step 5: Port if needed. Already have a St. Louis number with another carrier? Bring it to DialPhone via number porting — typically 2–5 business days for US local numbers. See our number porting guide for the full walkthrough.

See DialPhone pricing for plan details, or start a free trial to claim your St. Louis number today.

Famous companies in St. Louis area codes

St. Louis’s 314/557 footprint hosts one of the highest concentrations of Fortune 500 headquarters among US cities of its size.

Edward Jones (Des Peres, 314) — the nation’s largest financial-advisor network by headcount, with over 19,000 branch offices across North America. Its suburban St. Louis campus is the firm’s global headquarters.

Centene Corporation (Clayton, 314) — ranked #23 in the Fortune 500, Centene is one of the largest managed care organizations in the US, specializing in government-sponsored healthcare programs.

Emerson Electric (Ferguson, 314) — #238 Fortune 500; global leader in engineering and technology solutions. Ferguson, MO is an inner St. Louis County suburb fully within the 314 footprint.

Anheuser-Busch / AB InBev (St. Louis, 314) — the Soulard brewery campus remains one of the most recognized industrial landmarks in American history. Now the US headquarters for AB InBev global operations.

Express Scripts / Cigna (St. Louis, 314) — one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the world, headquartered on a large St. Louis County campus.

Boeing Defense, Space & Security (North St. Louis, 314) — Boeing employs approximately 15,000 people at its north St. Louis manufacturing campus, producing F/A-18 Super Hornets and other defense platforms.

Bayer Crop Science (Creve Coeur, 314) — formerly Monsanto, the global agricultural biotech operation retains its Creve Coeur, MO campus as headquarters for Bayer’s crop science division.

Build-A-Bear Workshop (St. Louis, 314) — the toy retailer’s global headquarters sits in downtown St. Louis.

Panera Bread (Sunset Hills, 314) — the fast-casual bakery-café chain’s corporate headquarters are in Sunset Hills, a south St. Louis County municipality.

St. Louis area code FAQ

St. Louis area code FAQ

What is the area code for St. Louis? +

St. Louis city and its inner-ring suburbs use area code 314, the original 1947 NANP code for eastern Missouri. Area code 557 was added as an overlay on August 12, 2022, covering the same geography as 314 — so both codes now serve the St. Louis core.

Western suburbs (Chesterfield, St. Charles, O'Fallon) use area code 636. The Illinois Metro East side of the St. Louis metro — Belleville, East St. Louis, Edwardsville — uses area code 618.

What is the difference between 314 and 557? +

Area code 314 and 557 serve identical geography — the city of St. Louis and inner-ring suburbs in St. Louis County. There is no geographic distinction between them. The difference is age: 314 numbers are established (assigned before 2022), while 557 numbers are newer, issued after the overlay launched in August 2022.

Businesses that have held 314 numbers for years keep them. New subscribers in the same zip code may receive a 557 number. Both codes require 10-digit dialing for all local calls.

What cities are in area code 636? +

Area code 636 covers St. Louis's outer western and southern suburbs. Major cities include St. Charles, St. Peters, O'Fallon, Wentzville, Lake St. Louis, Chesterfield, Wildwood, Ballwin, Manchester, Fenton, Arnold, and Festus.

It spans St. Charles County, Jefferson County, Franklin County, Warren County, Lincoln County, and Montgomery County. Area code 636 was split from 314 on May 22, 1999, when suburban growth exhausted the original code's number pool.

What area code is used in East St. Louis and Belleville, Illinois? +

East St. Louis, Belleville, Edwardsville, Collinsville, O'Fallon (IL), Alton, Granite City, Fairview Heights, and the rest of the Metro East Illinois side of the St. Louis metro use area code 618.

Area code 618 was one of the original 1947 NANP codes. In 1954, the Metro East region switched from 217 to 618. A second overlay, area code 730, was added to the 618 geography on July 7, 2023, to accommodate continued number demand.

When did St. Louis get the 557 area code? +

Area code 557 became active on August 12, 2022. The Missouri Public Service Commission (PSC) ordered the overlay after available 314 numbers neared exhaustion. Rather than splitting the geography — which would force existing subscribers to change numbers — the PSC chose an overlay, meaning 314 numbers remain unchanged.

Mandatory 10-digit dialing for the 314/557 area was required starting October 24, 2021, roughly nine months before 557 activated. The 10-digit requirement was partly driven by the national designation of 988 as the Suicide & Crisis Lifeline.

Is 636 a St. Louis area code? +

Yes and no. Area code 636 is the St. Louis metropolitan area code for western and southern suburbs, but it does not cover St. Louis city itself or the inner-ring suburbs of St. Louis County. If you need a number that signals downtown St. Louis or the city core, choose 314 or 557.

For a business located in Chesterfield, St. Charles, or O'Fallon, a 636 number accurately signals your suburban St. Louis location — which can be a positive signal for local customers in those communities.

Can I get a St. Louis 314 number without a physical office there? +

Yes. Virtual (VoIP) phone numbers are not tied to a physical address. A business anywhere in the US — or the world — can get a St. Louis 314 number through a cloud phone provider and route calls to any device.

DialPhone assigns available 314, 557, or 636 numbers in minutes. No St. Louis office, no hardware, and no long-term contract required. Outbound calls display the St. Louis number as caller ID, with STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation so recipients see a verified number — not 'Spam Likely.'

What are common St. Louis phone scams to watch for? +

Scammers frequently spoof 314 numbers to exploit local trust. Common patterns in the St. Louis area include fake Ameren Missouri utility shutoff threats, fake AB InBev or Boeing recruitment calls requesting personal information, IRS impersonation using a local 314 caller ID, and flood or tornado recovery fraud following severe weather events.

Legitimate carriers implement STIR/SHAKEN authentication. Spoofed scam calls typically receive C-attestation or no attestation, triggering 'Spam Likely' on modern smartphones. When in doubt, hang up and call the organization back using a number from their official website.

Get a St. Louis business number

A verified St. Louis 314, 557, or 636 number builds immediate local trust — whether you’re a national company entering the Missouri market or a local business that wants calls answered instead of screened.

DialPhone provides St. Louis numbers with STIR/SHAKEN A-attestation, AI receptionist, call recording, and SMS — on a single plan with no hardware.

Start your free trial → | See all plans →

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Related resources:

• 314 area code landing page
• 636 area code landing page
• Missouri area codes
• DialPhone business phone
• AI receptionist
• Number porting guide