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Area code 781

Area code 781 serves Massachusetts, including Waltham, Lexington and Burlington (Eastern time). It has been in service since September 1, 1997 and shares its area with 339.

Numbers starting with 781 drew 976 reports to the FTC from Aug 14, 2026 to Nov 11, 2026 and 557 complaints to the FCC since November 2023. The number on your screen can be faked, so a 781 number proves nothing about where a call came from.

Location
MassachusettsBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH Metropolitan Statistical Area
Time zone
Eastern
In service since
September 1, 1997Created from 617
Overlay
Same area as 339
Local calls
Dial 10 digitsArea code needed, even next door
Exchanges in use
769 of 792held by 27 carriers

Complaints about 781 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 781. These are counts of what people reported; the agencies do not verify them.

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

976

FCC complaints since November 2023

557

Different 781 numbers reported

1,390

FCC complaints naming a 781 number, by month

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

Show as a table
MonthComplaints
November 202322
December 20238
January 202411
February 20248
March 202410
April 20249
May 202418
June 202414
July 20249
August 20247
September 20249
October 202416
November 202413
December 202419
January 202520
February 20259
March 202514
April 20259
May 202523
June 202523
July 202529
August 202512
September 202513
October 20250
November 20253
December 202514
January 20264
February 202611
March 202622
April 202618
May 202616
June 202621
July 202617
August 202624
September 202646
October 202627

What people said 781 calls were about

Subjects picked in FTC reports, August 14, 2026 to November 11, 2026. 637 of 976 reports were robocalls.

Show as a table
SubjectReports
Other360
Reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans)248
Dropped call or no message95
Calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends89
Home improvement and cleaning53
Medical and prescriptions13

Most reported 781 numbers

Numbers with at least five reports from three or more places in the last twelve months. Many of them are likely spoofed.

Places served by 781

NANPA lists 40 rate centers for 781. 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.
  • Waltham72
  • Lexington56
  • Burlington41
  • Lynn38
  • Woburn38
  • Dedham35
  • Needham33
  • Braintree31
  • Canton24
  • Medford24
  • Norwood24
  • Weymouth24
  • Malden22
  • Wakefield20
  • Randolph19
  • Wellesley18
  • Winchester18
  • Revere17
  • Rockland17
  • Hingham16
  • Reading16
  • Arlington15
  • Saugus14
  • Stoneham14
Show all 40 rate centers

Kingston, Norwell, Stoughton, Melrose, Lynnfield, Hanover, Marshfield, Sharon, Bryantville, Marblehead, Scituate, Cohasset, Hull, Whitman, Duxbury, Lincoln.

Phone companies holding 781 exchanges

Each exchange (the three digits after the area code) is assigned to one carrier. 78% 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 27 carriers

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

Show as a table
Carrier (legal name)Exchanges
Verizon New England Inc.225
Mcimetro Access Transmission Services LLC92
Paetec Itel, LLC69
Level 3 Communications, LLC - MA59
Tc Systems, Inc.57
Metropcs, Inc.43
Cellco Partnership dba Verizon Wireless - MA42
Comcast IP Phone, LLC35

When today's 781 exchanges were assigned

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

Show as a table
YearExchanges
200159
200224
20031
20041
20052
20062
20071
20081
20102
20122
20139
20145
20155
20162
20178
20184
20192
20201
20219
20221
20232
20243
20252
20261

Check a 781 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 Massachusetts

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