If a call or text just landed on your phone from a 973 number, you're hearing from northern New Jersey. The 973 area code covers some of the state's busiest business hubs, including Newark, Paterson, and Clifton, and it's one of the most recognized codes in the New York metro region.
Whether you're trying to figure out who's calling, planning a move to the area, or want a local number for your growing business, this guide covers everything worth knowing: where 973 is located, its history, its time zone, common scam patterns tied to it, and how to claim a 973 number of your own.
The 973 area code sits in northern New Jersey, part of the greater New York City metropolitan area. It's an urban, densely populated numbering plan area that includes major commercial and residential centers, blending dense downtown cores with quieter suburban towns.
Cities and communities served by 973 include:
In total, the 973 numbering plan area reaches roughly 60 municipalities across parts of Essex, Passaic, Morris, Union, Sussex, and Bergen counties. Because it overlaps with Newark's international airport, downtown business districts, and several large suburban office corridors, 973 is heavily used by both residential customers and companies with a New Jersey presence. The region's proximity to New York City also makes it attractive for businesses that want a metro-area foothold without the higher costs of a Manhattan-based number.
New Jersey originally operated under a single area code — 201 — for the entire state. As mobile phones, fax lines, and second phone numbers multiplied through the 1990s, the state ran out of available number combinations. On June 1, 1997, regulators split the northern portion of 201 into a new code: 973.
The 973 area code operates in the Eastern Time Zone (America/New_York). That means:
If you're scheduling calls with a 973 contact from another part of the country, this is the same time zone used by New York City, Boston, and most of the East Coast — helpful to keep in mind when coordinating business hours or customer support windows.
A 973 number showing up on your caller ID doesn't mean anything is wrong — it's simply one of the most active area codes in a densely populated region. That said, its popularity also makes it a frequent target for spoofed robocalls, since scammers know local numbers are more likely to be answered.
Reported call types tied to 973 numbers include:
If you receive a suspicious call, avoid sharing personal or financial information, hang up, and report persistent scam activity to the FTC or FCC. Legitimate businesses and New Jersey residents make up the overwhelming majority of 973 traffic — the scam volume is a numbers-game problem, not a defect of the area code itself.
Businesses calling from a 973 number can protect their own reputation by registering outbound campaigns properly and using carriers that support caller ID authentication, so their calls aren't mistakenly flagged as spam.
Companies expanding into northern New Jersey, or businesses that already serve customers there, often want a local 973 number rather than a generic toll-free line. A local area code signals presence and builds trust with callers who prefer to work with businesses that feel close to home.
Getting a 973 number for your team typically involves:
Since 973 and 862 cover identical territory, the choice often comes down to availability rather than location:
In practice, most providers simply offer whichever code has open inventory matching your preferred exchange, so it's rarely a decision that needs much deliberation.
The 973 area code is one of northern New Jersey's most active and recognizable numbering regions, covering Newark, Paterson, Clifton, and dozens of surrounding communities in the Eastern Time Zone. Its history — born from the 1997 split of the original 201 code and later paired with the 862 overlay — reflects just how much the area's population and business activity have grown.