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Area Code Overview
Area code 978 is a geographic telephone area code in Massachusetts that went into service on September 1, 1997. The geographic regions covered by this area code overlay has a population of approximately 1,134,428.
Overlay and Dialing Rules
- Area Code: 978
- State: Massachusetts
- Type: General Purpose Code
- In Service Date: September 1, 1997
- Overlay Complex: 351/978
- Local Dialing Plan: This area does require you to dial the area code when calling locally.
Estimated Number of Assigned Phone Numbers in Area Code 978
This area code is ranked 146th out of 363 nationwide in estimated assigned phone numbers. Within the state territory it serves, it is ranked 3rd out of 9.
5,586,000
Estimated Service-Type Mix of Assigned Phone Numbers in Area Code 978
Wireless
1,797,000 assigned
32.17%
Wireline and VoIP
3,376,000 assigned
60.44%
Other / Unclassified
413,000 assigned
7.39%
Estimated Share of Wireless Numbers Originally Assigned to Each Carrier in Area Code 978
Estimated assigned wireless phone numbers: 1,797,000
Numbers may later be ported to another carrier, but this chart reflects original number assignment, not current subscriber share.
T-Mobile 721,000 (40.12%)
Verizon Wireless 602,000 (33.50%)
AT&T Wireless 464,000 (25.82%)
MASS MOBILE LLC 10,000 (0.56%)
Estimated Share of Wireline and VoIP Numbers Originally Assigned to Each Carrier in Area Code 978
Estimated assigned wireline and VoIP phone numbers: 3,376,000
VERIZON NEW ENGLAND INC. 1,132,000 (33.53%)
Bandwidth 243,000 (7.20%)
Comcast Business 217,000 (6.43%)
PAETEC ITEL, LLC 217,000 (6.43%)
MCIMETRO ACCESS TRANSMISSION SERVICES LLC 198,000 (5.86%)
TERRA NOVA TELECOM INC. 130,000 (3.85%)
Peerless Network 128,000 (3.79%)
YMAX COMMUNICATIONS CORP. - MA 43,000 (1.27%)
Other / Unclassified Assigned Numbering in Area Code 978
Estimated assigned other or unclassified phone numbers: 413,000
NORFOLK COUNTY INTERNET, INC. 110,000 (26.63%)
IP HORIZON LLC 101,000 (24.46%)
U.S. TELEPACIFIC CORP. DBA TPX COMMUNICATIONS 43,000 (10.41%)
HD CARRIER LLC 34,000 (8.23%)
AMERICAN MESSAGING SERVICES, LLC 30,000 (7.26%)
TC SYSTEMS, INC. 23,000 (5.57%)
FREEDOM RING COMMUNICATIONS, LLC 22,000 (5.33%)
BARR TELL USA, INC. - MA 21,000 (5.08%)
TON80 COMMUNICATIONS, LLC 17,000 (4.12%)
FIVE9, INC. 1,000 (0.24%)
IDT AMERICA, CORP. - MA 1,000 (0.24%)
Cities and Towns in Area Code 978
Acton, Massachusetts Amesbury, Massachusetts Andover, Massachusetts Ashburnham, Massachusetts Ashby, Massachusetts Athol, Massachusetts Ayer, Massachusetts Barre, Massachusetts Berlin, Massachusetts Beverly, Massachusetts Billerica, Massachusetts Bolton, Massachusetts Clinton, Massachusetts Concord, Massachusetts Danvers, Massachusetts Essex, Massachusetts Fitchburg, Massachusetts Gardner, Massachusetts Georgetown, Massachusetts Gloucester, Massachusetts Groton, Massachusetts Hamilton, Massachusetts Harvard, Massachusetts Haverhill, Massachusetts Hubbardston, Massachusetts Hudson, Massachusetts Ipswich, Massachusetts Lawrence, Massachusetts Leominster, Massachusetts Littleton, Massachusetts Lowell, Massachusetts Lunenburg, Massachusetts Manchester, Massachusetts Maynard, Massachusetts Merrimac, Massachusetts Newburyport, Massachusetts North Reading, Massachusetts Orange, Massachusetts Peabody, Massachusetts Pepperell, Massachusetts Petersham, Massachusetts Princeton, Massachusetts Rockport, Massachusetts Rowley, Massachusetts Salem, Massachusetts Shirley, Massachusetts Sterling, Massachusetts Sudbury, Massachusetts Templeton, Massachusetts Topsfield, Massachusetts Townsend, Massachusetts Tyngsboro, Massachusetts West Newbury, Massachusetts Westford, Massachusetts Westminster, Massachusetts Wilmington, Massachusetts Winchendon, Massachusetts These geographic regions are also served by area code 351.
How These Figures Were Built
These figures are estimates based on public phone-number assignment records. They are meant to show the likely mix of assigned phone numbers associated with area code 978, not live customer counts.
Some providers may have assigned phone numbers tied to this area code even if they do not actively market or sell service locally. These figures reflect public number-assignment records, not confirmed local service availability.
They also do not reflect number portability at the individual phone-number level, so some numbers may now be used on a different network or by a different provider than the original assignment records suggest.
Population data and locality matching provided by GeoNames.
Last refreshed: April 15, 2026 6:22 pm