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Area code 501

Area code 501 serves Arkansas, including Little Rock, Hot Springs and Conway (Central time). It has been in service since January 1, 1947.

Numbers starting with 501 drew 1,625 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 561 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 501 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
Arkansas(little Rock--North Little Rock, AR Msa) and Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Central
In service since
January 1, 1947
Overlay
None: the only code for its area
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
631 of 792held by 46 carriers
Projected to run out
4Q 2042NANPA forecast 2026.2

Complaints about 501 numbers

Reports where the number on the consumer's caller ID (or, for the FCC, the number the caller asked them to call back) starts with 501. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

FTC reports, Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026

1,625

FCC complaints since November 2023

561

Different 501 numbers reported

2,037

FCC complaints naming a 501 number, by month

November 2023 to October 2026. Source: FCC Consumer Complaints Data.

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202310
December 202315
January 202415
February 202411
March 20244
April 202411
May 202413
June 202411
July 202414
August 20249
September 202419
October 202420
November 202410
December 202410
January 202537
February 202543
March 202519
April 202519
May 202521
June 202513
July 202522
August 202510
September 202512
October 20253
November 20259
December 202511
January 202611
February 202615
March 202618
April 202611
May 202617
June 202614
July 202620
August 202623
September 20269
October 202625

What people said 501 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 1,174 of 1,625 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other679
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)378
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends161
Medical and prescriptions124
Dropped call or no message74
Warranties and protection plans48

Places served by 501

NANPA lists 61 rate centers for 501. A rate center is the town or district a block of numbers is tied to for billing; sorted here by how many exchanges each holds.
  • Little Rock252
  • Hot Springs40
  • Conway35
  • Benton29
  • Searcy21
  • Cabot15
  • Sylvan Hills Sherwood13
  • Malvern12
  • Jacksonville11
  • Morrilton11
  • Beebe9
  • Bryant Collegeville9
  • Heber Springs9
  • Jessieville9
  • Lonoke9
  • Palarm9
  • Greenbrier8
  • Ferndale7
  • Spring Lake7
  • Bald Knob6
  • Pinnacle5
  • Bradford4
  • Greers Ferry4
  • Jones Mills4
Show all 61 rate centers

Judsonia, Kensett, Mcrae, Scott, Bauxite, Center Ridge, Clinton, Coy, England, Griffithville, Lonsdale, Maumelle, Morganton, Perryville, Quitman, Redfield, Vilonia, Wrightsville, Bigelow, Bismarck, Casa, Cleveland, Crystal Springs, Damascus, Donaldson, Enola, Fairfield Bay, Pangburn, Paron, Pleasant Plains, Rose Bud, Scotland, Shirley, Wye, Nimrod, Perry, South Fourche.

Phone companies holding 501 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 76% of these exchanges are pooled: their numbers are handed out in blocks of 1,000 to other carriers, so the holder below is not always the company serving a given number.

Exchanges held, top 8 of 46 carriers

NANPA central office code assignments, file of November 11, 2026.

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Southwestern Bell159
New Cingular Wireless PCS, LLC - IL86
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - AR54
Level 3 Communications, LLC - AR48
T-Mobile USA, Inc.42
Onvoy, LLC - AR41
Windstream Communications, Inc. - AR34
Windstream Arkansas, Inc.20

When today's 501 exchanges were assigned

Exchanges still assigned, by year of assignment. Exchanges returned since are not counted.

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200116
200226
200317
20044
200511
20065
20073
20087
20092
20103
201115
20123
20147
201512
20163
20175
20188
201913
202025
202126
202213
20239
20247
202510
20267

Check a 501 number

A check shows the carrier and rate center of the number's exchange and every FTC and FCC report about that exact number. Why the number on screen can be fake.

Other area codes in Arkansas

NANPA area code database and central office code file of November 11, 2026; FCC complaints November 1, 2023 to November 11, 2026; FTC reports August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. How the data is used.

Official sources (7)Show