314 Area Code: Where It’s Used & How to Get One

Area code 314 covers St. Louis and surrounding areas in Missouri. It is one of the original 86 area codes established by AT&T in 1947. Today it shares its territory with overlay code 557. For the full picture, see all Missouri area codes.

History of Area Code 314

Area code 314 is one of the 86 original area codes created by AT&T in 1947, when the first nationwide numbering plan went into effect on January 1 of that year. It was assigned to Missouri as part of the initial map that divided the United States and Canada into geographic dialing regions.

Since its activation, the geographic area covered by 314 has been reshaped by the following splits:

• 1996 — area code 573 split off to cover Split effective January 7, 1996, carving out central and southeastern Missouri — including Columbia, Jefferson City, and Cape Girardeau — into new area code 573. The 314 territory was reduced to the St. Louis metropolitan area.
• 1999 — area code 636 split off to cover Split effective May 22, 1999, reassigning St. Louis outer suburbs to the west, south, and north to new area code 636. Area code 314 was then confined to the City of St. Louis and its inner-ring suburbs.

Overlay codes have been added to the same geographic territory in:

• 2022 — area code 557 activated as an overlay

Cities and Areas Served by 314

Area code 314 serves City of St. Louis and inner-ring suburbs of St. Louis County, including the following cities and communities:

• St. Louis
• Florissant
• University City
• Kirkwood
• Webster Groves
• Ferguson
• Hazelwood
• Maryland Heights

Nearby area codes covering the same broader region include: 557, 636, 573, 816.

Overlay Codes 314

Area code 557 shares the same geographic territory as 314 (added in 2022). New phone numbers in the region may be assigned either code.

Because multiple area codes serve the same area, ten-digit dialing is mandatory for all local calls. A call from any of these codes originates from the same geographic region in Missouri.

The Cultural Weight of a 314 Number

Area code 314 is one of the original 86 North American Numbering Plan codes, assigned on January 1, 1947, when AT&T divided Missouri into two numbering plan areas — 314 for the eastern half and 816 for the west. Because its digits sum to only eight pulses on a rotary phone, 314 was deliberately given to St. Louis as one of the nation’s high-density metro areas, a priority afforded only to the largest population centers. For nearly five decades the code blanketed all of eastern Missouri, from the Illinois border deep into the Ozark foothills. Two splits trimmed that territory: area code 573 took central and southeastern Missouri in 1996, and area code 636 absorbed the outer St. Louis suburbs in 1999, leaving 314 as the tight urban core of the Gateway City. By August 12, 2022, the remaining numbering pool was nearly exhausted — a product of cell-phone proliferation and decades of dense urban dialing — and overlay area code 557 was added so that both codes now serve the same geography. Ten-digit dialing became mandatory at that point, but the 314 digits themselves have never lost their identity as shorthand for St. Louis.

Few three-digit strings carry as much civic weight as 314 does in St. Louis. Rapper Nelly — born Cornell Haynes Jr. and raised in the 314’s University City suburb — made the code globally recognizable when his debut album Country Grammar reached number one on the Billboard 200 in 2000, eventually earning diamond certification with more than ten million copies sold; the album’s title-track video was filmed in north St. Louis neighborhoods, and Nelly later described his decision to stay in the city as deliberate: ‘I wanted the light to be on our city.’ His follow-up Nellyville (2002) produced back-to-back number-one Billboard Hot 100 singles ‘Hot in Herre’ and ‘Dilemma,’ cementing St. Louis as a serious hip-hop market and opening doors for fellow 314 rappers including Chingy. Deeper in the city’s musical roots, Chuck Berry — who pioneered rock and roll with recordings such as ‘Johnny B. Goode’ at Chess Records — grew up and returned to the St. Louis area, and Miles Davis was born in the region before reshaping jazz worldwide. On the sports side, the 314 is home to Busch Stadium and the St. Louis Cardinals — one of Major League Baseball’s most decorated franchises — and to the Enterprise Center, where the St. Louis Blues captured the NHL’s Stanley Cup in 2019 for the first time in franchise history. The code’s cultural grip extends to March 14, celebrated annually as ‘314 Day,’ when the city marks its area code with concerts, restaurant specials, and civic events across neighborhoods from Soulard and The Hill to the Delmar Loop.

How to Get a Phone Number with Area Code 314

There are three ways to get a phone number with the 314 area code, each suited to a different need:

1. Buy from a premium-number specialist. Companies that hold curated inventories of specific area codes can sell you a 314 number directly, often with a one-time fee and ownership transferred to you (no recurring carrier fees). This is the option for picking a specific memorable number, or for getting an area code that most carriers won’t let you request. Browse our 314 inventory.
2. Sign up with a VoIP carrier. Voice-over-IP services (such as Google Voice, OpenPhone, Grasshopper, and many others) can typically provision a 314 number on request, especially for active overlay codes. You won’t usually get to pick the specific number, but you’ll get a working line in the area code. This is the cheapest option for anyone who doesn’t need a particular number.
3. Port an existing 314 number. If you already have a 314 phone number with another carrier, you can transfer it (port it) to a new service provider while keeping the number. This works for landlines, cell phones, and VoIP services, though landlines outside of Missouri sometimes can’t accept inbound ports of 314 numbers due to 911 routing rules.

Looking for a 314 number? 212areacode.com offers premium 314 numbers for St. Louis, Missouri — choose your number, port it to any carrier in 3–5 business days, and pay a one-time fee with no monthly charges. Browse available 314 numbers →

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the 314 area code still in use?
Yes. 314 is actively assigned to new phone lines in City of St. Louis and inner-ring suburbs of St. Louis County.

What is the difference between 314 and 557?
Today they share the same geographic territory in Missouri. New phone lines in the area may be assigned either code. The two codes work identically for calling, billing, and service.

Can I get a 314 number if I don't live in Missouri?
Yes. Phone numbers are no longer tied to a physical address. With VoIP service or a number broker, you can hold a 314 number from anywhere in the world. The number routes to whatever device or carrier you specify.

Is 314 a scam area code?
No. 314 is a legitimate, active area code for City of St. Louis and inner-ring suburbs of St. Louis County. Like any area code, scammers occasionally spoof 314 caller IDs, but the code itself is heavily used by real Missouri businesses, government offices, and residents.

What cities does area code 314 cover today?
Area code 314 covers the independent City of St. Louis and most of its inner-ring suburbs in St. Louis County, including Florissant, University City, Kirkwood, Webster Groves, Ferguson, Hazelwood, Maryland Heights, Creve Coeur, Mehlville, and Oakville. The outer suburbs to the west are served by area code 636.

Why does the 314 area code now share its territory with area code 557?
By 2022, the pool of available 314 prefixes was nearly exhausted due to decades of growth in cell phones, fax machines, and data lines. Rather than split the territory geographically again, regulators added area code 557 as an overlay on August 12, 2022. Both codes serve the same geographic area; existing 314 numbers were unchanged, and ten-digit dialing became required for all local calls.

Is area code 314 one of the original U.S. area codes?
Yes. Area code 314 was one of the original 86 area codes established under the North American Numbering Plan on January 1, 1947. It was assigned to eastern Missouri, with St. Louis as its largest city, and was prioritized for a major metro with a low rotary-dial pulse count of just eight pulses.

What is '314 Day' and why is it celebrated?
314 Day is an annual civic celebration held on March 14 (3/14), timed to match the area code. St. Louis marks it with concerts, restaurant deals, citywide runs of 3.14 miles, and community events. The day has grown into a broad expression of local identity, drawing on the area code’s role as a cultural shorthand for St. Louis pride.

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