224
Area code
IL
United States geographic area code, in service since 2002-01-05. Part of the 224/847 overlay complex — ten-digit dialing required.
Statusin service
Introduced2002-01-05
JurisdictionIL, US
Local dialing1+10D
Time zoneCentral
Last verified2026-09-17
Utilization 76.9% of assignable prefixes assigned
As of 09/17/2026
0%609 of ~792 assignable NXX values (200–999 excl. N11)100%
Prefix-level assignment does not equal number-level exhaustion; thousands-block pooling extends capacity. First assignment on record 2001-09-14, most recent 2026-09-02.
Area codes serve rate-center geographies, not municipal boundaries. “IL” identifies the jurisdiction, not an exact city footprint.
Top assignees
Ranked by assigned prefixes · initial assignee ≠ current carrier| Rank | Assignee | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| 01 | T-MOBILE USA, INC. | 138 | 22.7% |
| 02 | NEW CINGULAR WIRELESS PCS, LLC - IL | 92 | 15.1% |
| 03 | CELLCO PARTNERSHIP DBA VERIZON WIRELESS - IL | 76 | 12.5% |
| 04 | ONVOY, LLC | 67 | 11% |
| 05 | ILLINOIS BELL TEL CO | 34 | 5.6% |
| 06 | FRACTEL, LLC | 29 | 4.8% |
| 07 | TELEPORT COMMUNICATIONS AMERICA, LLC - IL | 19 | 3.1% |
| 08 | LEVEL 3 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC - IL | 19 | 3.1% |
| 09 | BANDWIDTH.COM CLEC, LLC - IL | 17 | 2.8% |
| 10 | COMCAST IP PHONE, LLC | 16 | 2.6% |
Important: these are initial assignees from NANPA CO-code records — the carrier a prefix was originally assigned to. Because of number portability, the current serving carrier of any individual number may differ.
Change history
Recorded events for this NPA- 2002-01-05Area code 224 entered service (created from 847).
Planning letters & orders
Primary documents| Date | Document | Subject |
|---|---|---|
| 2001-10-17 | PL-305 ↗ | Mandatory Dialing Date Established for NPAs 847 and 224 (Illinois) |
| 1999-02-23 | PL-157 ↗ | No Mandatory date set for 1 +10 digit dialing in Chicago NPA 847/224 Overlay; update to PL-127 |
| 1998-06-30 | PL-127 ↗ | NANP-Overlay of 847 (Illinois) Numbering Plan Area (NPA) with 224 NPA |