Area code 956: where it is and who calls from it
Area code 956 is in Texas.
Texas (Laredo, Harlingen, Brownsville, McAllen, and southmost Texas)
| Where | Texas |
|---|---|
| Time zone | Central Time ยท local time |
| In service since | 1997 |
| Overlay | No |
| Prefixes assigned | 735 of 792 possible (93%) |
Where 956 numbers started
Every prefix is assigned to a rate center, the local calling area it was set up in. These are the biggest in 956, with how many prefixes each has.
Who holds 956 numbers
- Mobile carrier 47%
- Local phone company 24%
- Internet / business phone carrier 21%
- Paging service 1%
- Phone company 7%
| Carrier | Type | Prefixes | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| AT&T (local phone) | Local phone company | 150 | 20% |
| Stpcs Joint Venture | Mobile carrier | 144 | 20% |
| AT&T Mobility | Mobile carrier | 129 | 18% |
| Onvoy | Internet / business phone carrier | 50 | 7% |
| Verizon Wireless | Mobile carrier | 44 | 6% |
| MetroPCS (T-Mobile) | Mobile carrier | 26 | 4% |
| Charter / Spectrum | Internet / business phone carrier | 19 | 3% |
| Bandwidth | Internet / business phone carrier | 18 | 2% |
| Frontier | Local phone company | 17 | 2% |
| Fractel | Internet / business phone carrier | 14 | 2% |
Most prefixes are pooled: the 10,000 numbers in each are handed out in blocks of 1,000 to different carriers, and people can also take their numbers to another carrier. So the carrier shown is where the prefix started, not a guarantee about any one number.
States served: Texas.
Other area codes in Texas
210 214 254 281 325 346 361 409 430 432 469 512 621 682 713 726 737 806 817 830 832 903 915 936 940 945 972 979
Got a call from 956?
An area code tells you where a number was first assigned, not where the caller is. People keep their numbers when they move, and scammers can fake any number. If you weren't expecting the call, let it go to voicemail.
If the call shows a 956 number that matches the first six digits of your own, that's often neighbor spoofing. Use the box above to check the full number.
Area code facts from the NANPA area code database (updated 10/06/2026); prefixes and carriers from NANPA's central office code records (updated 2026-10-10). Place description adapted from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.