What is the 516 area code?

The 516 area code is a numbering plan area created in 1951 to relieve area code 914. It serves Hempstead and the surrounding territory in New York.

Where is the 516 area code located?

The 516 area code covers Hempstead and neighboring communities in New York, including Hempstead, Levittown, Freeport. See the cities and counties table above for the full list.

What time zone is the 516 area code in?

The 516 area code is in Eastern Time (UTC−5 / UTC−4), the same time zone as Hempstead.

Is the 516 area code a scam?

No, the 516 area code is a regular geographic code used by residents and businesses in New York. Some scam calls spoof the 516 area code, so judge each call by its content, not its code.

How do I call a 516 area code number?

Dial 1 plus the ten-digit number, for example +1 516 555 0123. Inside the territory, local calls also require ten digits. From outside North America, use your exit code, then +1.

Can I find out who owns a 516 number?

This guide identifies numbering areas, not subscribers. To identify a caller, use a callback, an official contact channel, or a reverse-lookup service — and stay cautious with unexpected calls.

516 Area Code: Location, Cities, Time Zone & Phone Lookup

Where the 516 area code is used, which cities and counties it covers in New York, its time zone, overlay codes and the exact dialing format.

Quick answer

The 516 area code serves Hempstead and surrounding communities in New York, United States, in the Eastern Time zone (UTC−5 / UTC−4). It has been in service since 1951. Dial it as (516) 555-0123 locally or +1 516 555 0123 from abroad.

Free reference, no signup. Data reviewed against NANPA records.

Popular lookups

929 727 954 437 951

Location: Hempstead, NY
Country: United States
Time zone: Eastern Time (ET)
In service: Since 1951
Code type: Split code (from 914)
Local format: (516) 555-0123
Population served: ≈ 1,400,000 residents
Service span: 75 years

Where Is the 516 Area Code?

The 516 area code is a geographic numbering plan area in the North American Numbering Plan.

The 516 area code is assigned to Hempstead, the anchor city of the region, together with the surrounding communities listed below. When the 516 area code was introduced, regulators drew its boundary around the calling communities that shared a local calling area, which is why the territory follows county lines rather than city limits.

In everyday terms, if you see the 516 area code on an incoming call, the number was originally assigned in the Hempstead area of New York. Landlines, mobile phones and business lines in that territory can all carry the 516 area code.

The cities below are the principal municipalities served by the 516 area code. County names are included because numbering plan boundaries in New York traditionally follow county lines.

Top cities at a glance

HempsteadNassau County
LevittownNassau County
FreeportNassau County
Valley StreamNassau County
Long BeachNassau County

Full city and county list for the 516 area code below.

516 Area Code Cities and Counties

Major cities covered by the 516 area code, including Hempstead, Levittown, Freeport and more.

The 516 area code covers the communities in the table below. Together they form the local calling community for Hempstead, the primary city of the numbering plan area in New York.

City	County
Hempstead	Nassau County
Levittown	Nassau County
Freeport	Nassau County
Valley Stream	Nassau County
Long Beach	Nassau County
Glen Cove	Nassau County
Oyster Bay	Nassau County
Port Washington	Nassau County

City and county coverage reflects published numbering plan boundaries; individual carriers may assign numbers slightly differently within the territory.

If you are calling any of these cities from outside North America, prefix the 516 area code number with the US/Canada country code +1. Numbers are ten digits long: three for the area code plus seven for the line.

516 Area Code Time Zone

The 516 area code observes Eastern Time (ET), the same clock as Hempstead.

Communities in the 516 area code follow Eastern Time: UTC−5 / UTC−4 with daylight saving time in effect from the second Sunday of March to the first Sunday of November. When scheduling a call into the 516 area code territory from Europe or Asia, check both clocks first.

A quick reference: when it is 12:00 noon in the 516 area code, it is 17:00 in London and 01:00 the next day in Tokyo during standard time. The 516 area code shares its clock with the rest of its region.

How to Dial a 516 Area Code Number

Ten digits for local calls, +1 for international calls.

Every number in the 516 area code follows the North American format: a three-digit area code plus a seven-digit local number. From inside the US or Canada, dial 1, then the 516 area code, then the seven digits — for example (516) 555-0123. In overlay regions, the ten-digit form is required even for next-door calls.

From abroad, replace the leading 1 with your international exit code and add the country code: +1 516 555 0123. Mobile phones in most countries let you store the number with the + sign so the 516 area code number dials correctly from anywhere.

Dialing format

Local / national

(516) 555-0123

International

+1 516 555 0123

555 numbers are reserved for examples; real 516 area code lines use working exchange prefixes.

Who Is Calling From the 516 Area Code?

What the 516 area code does — and does not — tell you about a caller.

A call from the 516 area code most often comes from a person or business in the Hempstead area of New York. The 516 area code is used by ordinary households, government offices and companies across the territory, so the code alone is not a sign of spam.

However, the 516 area code cannot prove where a caller physically is. Number portability lets a customer keep a 516 area code number after moving away, and internet calling services can assign 516 area code numbers to users anywhere in the world. Scammers can also display a fake 516 area code through caller-ID spoofing.

The safe rule: treat the 516 area code as a hint about the number's origin, never as caller verification. Let unfamiliar calls go to voicemail, and contact organizations through official numbers rather than ones that called you.

516 Area Code History

How the 516 area code came to serve New York.

The 516 area code entered service in 1951 as a split from area code 914, which had served the wider region until demand for new numbers required relief. The split kept the existing 914 numbers untouched while assigning the 516 area code to new lines in the Hempstead area.

Demand for telephone numbers keeps growing because every mobile line, fax machine and internet phone needs one. When a numbering plan area approaches exhaustion, regulators either split the territory or overlay a new code on top of it — which is why the 516 area code boundary looks the way it does today.

516 Area Code Overlays and Neighbors

Codes that share territory with the 516 area code or border its region.

Overlay / shared territory

363

Neighboring codes

631718347929845914

FAQ

516 Area Code FAQ

The most common questions about the 516 area code, answered briefly.

Data sources: NANPA (North American Numbering Plan Administration) numbering plans and public regulator announcements. Reviewed October 2026. Lookup results describe number assignment areas and cannot be used to infer the true location of a caller.

By the Area Code Lookup editorial team · Updated October 12, 2026

Sources & citations

NANPA — North American Numbering Plan Administrationwww.nationalnanpa.com
List of North American Numbering Plan area codes (Wikipedia)en.wikipedia.org
Local Calling Guide — NANP prefix databasewww.localcallingguide.com

Every guide on this site is verified against these sources and carries its own review date. Lookup results describe number assignment areas and never prove where a caller is located.