Where Is Area Code 743 From?

I have answered phones in Greensboro since 2000, and I still get this question every single week. Somebody sees a 743 number light up their caller ID and assumes it is a telemarketer from three time zones away. Then they find out it is their dentist on Elm Street.

So let's settle it once and for all. This post pulls together everything we have written about the 743 area code over the years, adds a current map and a complete list of North Carolina area codes, and answers the questions people actually type into Google. There is even a candy question in here. Stay with me, it connects.

Where is area code 743 from, exactly?

Area code 743 belongs to the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina. It is what the phone industry calls an overlay: a second area code stacked on top of an existing one, serving the identical geographic footprint. In this case, 743 overlays 336, which has served northwestern and north-central North Carolina since December 15, 1997.

The overlay territory covers fifteen counties: Alamance, Alleghany, Ashe, Caswell, Davidson, Davie, Forsyth, Guilford, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Stokes, Surry, Wilkes and Yadkin. If you know the region, that is Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Burlington, Kernersville, Thomasville, Lexington, Asheboro, Eden, Reidsville, Mount Airy, Elkin, Boone's neighbors to the east, and everything in between.

We covered this story as it unfolded. When the state first announced the plan, we wrote about how North Carolina approved a second area code for the Piedmont Triad. A few years later, we followed up on the slow adoption of the new 743 area code, because local businesses held onto their 336 numbers like family heirlooms. Honestly, I understood. Your phone number is part of your identity. Ours is (336) 544-4000, and I would not trade it either.

Why did the Piedmont Triad need a second area code?

Simple math. Each area code supports roughly 8 million possible numbers, and between cell phones, fax lines, alarm systems, and every kid in Guilford County getting a phone, the 336 pool was projected to run dry by 2016.

Here is the timeline, for the record:

• August 20, 2014: The North Carolina Utilities Commission announces that 336 will be overlaid with 743.
• October 24, 2015: Permissive dialing begins. You can dial 7 or 10 digits while everyone adjusts.
• April 23, 2016: Ten-digit dialing becomes mandatory for all local calls in the region.
• May 23, 2016: Carriers begin assigning the first new numbers in the 743 area code.

An overlay was the merciful choice. The alternative, a geographic split, would have forced half the region to change numbers entirely, which is exactly what happened to us in 1993 and again in 1997. Piedmont Triad businesses have lived through four area codes: 704, then 910, then 336, and now 743 alongside it. For the full saga going back to the very first codes in 1947, read our history of North Carolina area codes.

Is area code 743 located in California?

No. Area code 743 is not in California. It is easy to see where the confusion comes from, because California does have a similar-looking code: 747, which serves the San Fernando Valley area of Los Angeles as an overlay of 818. But 743 has exactly one home, and it is North Carolina. If a 743 number calls you, the caller's number was issued in the Piedmont Triad, not the Pacific coast.

One honest caveat from a guy who has spent 45 years in telecom: scammers can spoof any area code, including 743 and 336. The area code tells you where a number was issued, not necessarily where today's caller is sitting. When in doubt, hang up and call the business back at its published number.

Where is area code 734 located in the US?

Careful, that is a different number. Area code 734 (with the digits flipped) is located in southeastern Michigan. It covers Ann Arbor, Ypsilanti, Livonia, Canton and the western and southern suburbs of Detroit, and it was created in 1997 in a split from Detroit's 313. People mix up 734 and 743 constantly, which is one more reason this article exists. If the number starts with 734, think University of Michigan. If it starts with 743, think Grandover Resort and Krispy Kreme's hometown.

Where is the 743 phone exchange?

When people search for the "743 phone exchange," they usually mean one of two things. If you mean the area code, everything above applies: it is the Piedmont Triad of North Carolina. If you mean an exchange in the older sense, the three digits after the area code, those identify a smaller local rate center within the region, such as Greensboro, Winston-Salem or Burlington. Every 743 number maps to one of the same rate centers that 336 numbers use, because the two codes share one footprint. There is no town called 743. It is the same coverage map, twice over.

What are the area codes in North Carolina?

As of 2026, North Carolina has ten area codes serving six geographic regions. Here is the complete list:

336 / 743

The Piedmont Triad: Greensboro, Winston-Salem, High Point, Burlington, Asheboro, Mount Airy. 336 arrived in 1997; 743 was overlaid in 2016.

704 / 980

The Charlotte metro region: Charlotte, Concord, Gastonia, Salisbury, Statesville. 704 is one of North Carolina's original 1947 area codes; 980 was overlaid as the region boomed.

919 / 984

The Research Triangle: Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill, Cary, Sanford. 919 dates to 1954, and 984 was added as an overlay.

910 / 472

Southeastern North Carolina: Fayetteville, Wilmington, Jacksonville, Lumberton and Fort Bragg. 910 arrived in 1993, and the 472 overlay began issuing numbers in October 2022.

252

Eastern North Carolina and the coast: Rocky Mount, Greenville, Elizabeth City, the Outer Banks.

828

Western North Carolina and the mountains: Asheville, Hendersonville, Hickory, Boone.

Which area code is Greensboro, NC?

Greensboro uses 336 and 743. Older numbers are almost all 336; newer lines may be assigned 743. Both are equally local, and calls between them cost the same.

Which area code is Winston-Salem, NC?

Same answer: Winston-Salem is in the 336 and 743 overlay. So are Forsyth County neighbors like Kernersville, Clemmons and Lewisville.

What is the Charlotte, NC area code?

Charlotte is 704 and 980. If you are searching for a "704 area code ZIP code," keep in mind that area codes and ZIP codes are two completely different systems that do not line up neatly. The 704 region contains hundreds of ZIP codes; downtown Charlotte's central ZIP is 28202, but 704 numbers ring everywhere from Gastonia to Salisbury.

What are the Raleigh, NC area codes?

Raleigh uses 919 and 984, shared with Durham, Chapel Hill and the rest of the Triangle.

The NC area codes map

A map makes the whole system click. Notice how the 336/743 region sits at the top center of the state, wedged between the mountains of 828 and the Triangle's 919/984. That pink block is home to more than 1.6 million people and one of the most diverse business economies in the Southeast, from furniture and textiles heritage in High Point and Lexington to aviation at PTI and biotech in the Triad Research Park.

What candy is from NC? (Yes, this connects.)

You would be amazed how often this question shows up next to area code searches, so let's answer it properly, because the answer lives inside the 336/743 area code.

The most famous candy from North Carolina is the Red Bird Peppermint Puff, made by the Piedmont Candy Company in Lexington, NC, which has been pulling peppermint the old-fashioned way since 1890. That is a Piedmont Triad business more than 130 years old, operating right in the heart of the 743 overlay. Winston-Salem gave the world Krispy Kreme doughnuts in 1937 and Texas Pete hot sauce, and Salisbury, over in the 704, gave us Cheerwine. But if we are talking true candy, the soft peppermint puff from Lexington is our state's sweetest export.

I mention this for a reason beyond trivia. Piedmont Candy Company is exactly the kind of business the 743 story is really about: a local institution whose phone number is part of its identity. When your customers have known your number for generations, "just change it" is not an option. Which brings me to the part of this story I know best.

What the 743 overlay taught Piedmont Triad businesses

Back in 2021, we wrote that adoption of 743 was slow because businesses feared the cost of a new identity: new signage, new ads, new business cards, new customer habits. Five years later, that fear has mostly faded, and here is why. The phone number and the phone line quietly got divorced.

With a cloud-based phone system, your number is no longer welded to a copper pair running into a building. Whether your number starts with 336 or 743, it lives in the cloud and rings wherever you are: the office, your cell phone, your laptop at the beach. You can move your office across town, or across the state, and keep the number your customers have dialed for 25 years. Number portability plus hosted VoIP ended the era when an area code change could hurt a business.

That is not theoretical for us. Carolina Digital Phone has been headquartered in downtown Greensboro since 2000, and we have helped hundreds of Triad businesses, schools and local governments carry their 336 numbers onto modern cloud systems, add new 743 lines when they grow, and stop worrying about the numbering plan altogether. The North Carolina Utilities Commission handles the area codes. We handle everything after the dial tone.

Can I get a list of area codes?

Absolutely. For quick reference beyond North Carolina, these two resources are the ones we send people to:

• Wikipedia: List of North Carolina area codes, with the history and county-by-county detail behind every NC code.
• AllAreaCodes.com, a searchable directory of every area code in the United States and Canada, handy for identifying unfamiliar callers.

Frequently asked questions about area code 743

Continue the story: History of North Carolina Area Codes • 743: N.C. Approves Second Area Code for Piedmont Triad • Slow Adoption of Area Code 743 • How to Choose a Hosted VoIP Provider