364 Area Code: Bowling Green, Owensboro & Western Kentucky

The 364 area code is western Kentucky's second telephone code — an overlay launched on March 3, 2014 that covers the exact same territory as the original 270. Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah, Hopkinsville, Henderson, Murray, and dozens of smaller communities across the western half of the state all sit inside the 364 / 270 footprint.

Existing 270 numbers stayed unchanged; 364 simply provides fresh numbers as the older pool fills up. Ten-digit dialing — area code plus seven digits — has been required on every call in the area since February 1, 2014.

This guide covers the region from core to outer counties, clears up the Texas, California, and Canada confusion in one place, walks through the area code history year by year, explains how 270 and 364 share the footprint, and unpacks the area's two-time-zone quirk.

Metro core, inner ring, and outer reach of 364

The 364 footprint spans hundreds of miles from the Tennessee border to the Ohio River. It helps to think of it in three tiers:

Metro core — Warren County (Bowling Green) Bowling Green is the commercial, educational, and manufacturing anchor of the 364 region. Home to Western Kentucky University and the GM Corvette Assembly Plant — the sole US production site for the Chevrolet Corvette — it draws workers and services from counties across the southern half of the footprint.

Inner ring — Owensboro, Elizabethtown, Hopkinsville Owensboro (Daviess County) is the largest city in western Kentucky by population, anchored by Owensboro Health and a strong river-port manufacturing base. Elizabethtown (Hardin County) sits at the Bluegrass Parkway and US-31W junction, serving as a gateway to Fort Knox. Hopkinsville (Christian County) is the gateway city to Fort Campbell, one of the largest US Army installations in the country.

Outer reach — Paducah, Henderson, Murray, Madisonville Paducah (McCracken County) anchors the far western tip of the footprint at the confluence of the Ohio and Tennessee rivers — a river trade and logistics hub with a nationally recognized arts district. Henderson (Henderson County) sits across the Ohio River from Evansville, Indiana. Murray (Calloway County) is home to Murray State University and the Land Between the Lakes National Recreation Area. Madisonville (Hopkins County) rounds out the outer reach with a coal and energy legacy.

Is 364 in Texas, California, or Canada?

No to all three. 364 is exclusively a Kentucky area code with no presence in Texas, California, or Canada. All three show up in search data regularly, almost certainly because callers receive an unfamiliar 364 number and cast a wide net when trying to place it.

Texas: Texas has its own dense set of area codes. None is 364. Houston runs on 713, 281, and 832; Dallas uses 214, 972, and 469. Western Kentucky has no telephone overlap with Texas.

California: California's Central Valley uses codes like 350 for Stockton and Modesto, and 559 for Fresno. Southern California runs on 213, 310, 323, 818, and others — none of which is 364. The two states share no area codes.

Canada: Canada and the US share the +1 country code under the North American Numbering Plan, which does lead to confusion — but no Canadian province or territory uses 364. It is assigned solely to western Kentucky.

If a call or text arrives from a 364 number, the line is registered in western Kentucky.

Western Kentucky area codes: a year-by-year history

1947 — All of Kentucky gets 502 When the Bell System introduced area codes across North America, Kentucky received a single code — 502 — covering the entire state from Louisville and Lexington west to Paducah.

1994 — Western Kentucky becomes 270 Population growth, mobile-phone adoption, and business expansion pushed 502's number pool toward exhaustion. Regulators split the state: 270 was assigned to western Kentucky, while 502 was retained for Louisville and the central counties.

December 17, 2012 — NANPA assigns 364 Two decades of VoIP growth, smartphone adoption, and IoT devices accelerated 270's consumption. The North American Numbering Plan Administrator assigned 364 as the 270 overlay code on December 17, 2012, giving the region a fresh pool of numbers to draw from.

February 1, 2014 — Mandatory ten-digit dialing Ahead of the overlay launch, regulators required all callers in the 270 / 364 area to dial ten digits — area code plus seven-digit number — on every call, even between next-door neighbors.

March 3, 2014 — 364 goes live New lines across western Kentucky began receiving 364 numbers. Existing 270 subscribers kept their numbers unchanged and were never asked to renumber.

How 270 and 364 share the same footprint

Because 364 is an overlay — not a geographic split — both codes serve the same counties, streets, and buildings simultaneously. Three things follow from that:

No geographic boundary between them. A Bowling Green resident on 270-XXX-XXXX and a neighbor on 364-XXX-XXXX live on the same block. The codes are not divided by city, county, or neighborhood.

Calling between 270 and 364 is always local. Carriers treat any call between the two codes as a local call — never long-distance — regardless of your carrier or plan. The overlay design requires this.

You cannot choose your code. New subscribers do not select 270 or 364; the carrier assigns whichever number is next in the available pool. If you need a specific prefix tied to a city (Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah), a VoIP provider can usually help you search by exchange — but the area code itself is carrier-assigned.

Contact us if you want help searching available 364 or 270 prefixes for a specific western Kentucky city.

One area code, two time zones

Most area codes land cleanly in one time zone. The 364 area code is an exception.

Central Time (CT) — the majority of the 364 footprint Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah, Hopkinsville, Henderson, Murray, and Madisonville are all on Central Time:

• Winter: CST — UTC −6
• Summer: CDT — UTC −5

Eastern Time (ET) — eastern edge of the 364 area Elizabethtown and parts of Hardin County sit inside the Eastern Time zone:

• Winter: EST — UTC −5
• Summer: EDT — UTC −4

The practical implication: a Bowling Green business calling an Elizabethtown supplier in the same area code may be calling across a one-hour time difference. For most callers, the safe default is Central Time — the major cities (Bowling Green, Owensboro, Paducah) all observe it. If you are scheduling with someone in the Elizabethtown corridor, confirm their time zone directly.

What 364 runs on

Western Kentucky's economy spans heavy manufacturing, corporate headquarters, higher education, and deep-rooted agribusiness:

• Automotive manufacturing — The GM Bowling Green Assembly Plant is the only facility in the world that builds the Chevrolet Corvette. It employs over 1,000 workers and anchors a tier-1 and tier-2 supplier network across Warren County.
• Corporate headquarters — Fruit of the Loom is headquartered in Bowling Green, putting one of the US's most recognized apparel brands in the 364 region.
• Higher education — Western Kentucky University (Bowling Green) and Murray State University (Murray) together enroll tens of thousands of students, supporting retail, healthcare, and service industries across the outer counties.
• Healthcare — Owensboro Health Regional Hospital and The Medical Center at Bowling Green are the regional anchor hospitals, each among the area's top five employers.
• Agribusiness — Western Kentucky's flat river-bottom farmland produces corn, soybeans, dark-fired tobacco, and grain crops, with Paducah's river infrastructure providing access to barge export routes.

Scam calls from 364 numbers

Robocallers and fraudsters spoof local Kentucky area codes — including 364 — to make their calls appear to originate in the region. Because 364 is relatively unfamiliar, callers are more likely to answer, which is exactly why it gets spoofed.

Common patterns using spoofed 364 numbers:

• Utility disconnection threats — Fake calls claiming your electric or gas service will be cut unless you pay by gift card or wire transfer immediately.
• Government impersonation — Callers falsely claiming to be from the IRS, Social Security Administration, or local courts demanding payment or personal information.
• Smishing (text scams) — Fraudulent texts with links claiming you have an undelivered package, owe a fine, or have won a prize.

The FCC's STIR/SHAKEN call authentication framework requires carriers to verify caller ID — the reason many phones now display "Spam Risk" before you answer suspected spoofed calls. No legitimate government agency or utility company will demand immediate gift-card payment by phone.

Key takeaways

• 364 overlays 270 across western Kentucky — the same footprint from Bowling Green and Owensboro south to Tennessee and west to Paducah on the Ohio River.
• It launched on March 3, 2014; ten-digit dialing has been mandatory since February 1, 2014.
• 364 is a Kentucky code — no connection to Texas, California, or Canada.
• Most of the area is Central Time (CT); Elizabethtown and parts of Hardin County are Eastern Time (ET).
• Key industries: GM Corvette Assembly Plant, Fruit of the Loom HQ, Western Kentucky University, Owensboro Health, and agribusiness along the river corridor.

Frequently asked questions