Cities in area code 253
Area code 253 serves 10 localities in Washington, led by Tacoma, Auburn, Tacoma-waverly. The table lists every rate center — the billing locality each prefix is anchored to — with its share of the code's 507 active prefixes.
Tacoma, Auburn, Tacoma-waverly, Kent, Puyallup, Des Moines, Gig Harbor and Sumner hold the largest prefix inventories; and 1 smaller communities down to single-prefix localities. Each locality below links to its rate-center page with the full prefix list.
Metropolitan coverage: 10 rate centers belong to FCC top-100 metro areas.
Overlap note: 1 localities are shared with other area codes, so a neighbor's number may differ in its first three digits.
Clock-wise the coverage is Pacific.
A caller's real location can differ: numbers port between carriers and follow their owners when they move. Use the prefix tables to see where a specific number block was issued.
| Locality (rate center) | Active prefixes | Metro area | All codes serving it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tacoma | 228 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Auburn | 82 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Tacoma-waverly | 50 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Kent | 44 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Puyallup | 27 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Des Moines | 23 | (Seattle--Bellevue--Everett, WA PMSA) | 206, 253 |
| Gig Harbor | 20 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Sumner | 15 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Graham | 13 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
| Roy | 5 | Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA | 253 |
FAQ
What is the biggest city in area code 253?
Tacoma holds the most active prefixes (228), making it the code's largest numbering locality.
How many places does 253 cover?
10 rate centers in Washington hold active 253 prefixes, from Tacoma down to communities with a single prefix.
Does a 253 number guarantee the caller lives in one of these places?
No — the tables show where number blocks were issued. Porting and VoIP let people keep or acquire numbers anywhere.