Arkansas' 870 Area Code: Jonesboro, Pine Bluff & More

Quick answer: The 870 area code covers most of Arkansas outside the Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas metro areas, including Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, El Dorado, and West Memphis. It was created on April 14, 1997, when it split from the 501 area code, Arkansas's original numbering plan. Every call in the 870 region requires 10-digit dialing, and the area shares its territory with the newer 327 overlay code.

Introduction

Arkansas' 870 area code covers more land than any other area code in the state, wrapping around the Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas metro areas to take in the Delta, the Arkansas River lowlands, and much of the Ozark and Ouachita mountain country. It's a numbering plan area that spans flat Delta farmland along the Mississippi River, timber and mountain terrain in the north, and oil-industry towns in the south — more a description of everywhere outside the state's two biggest metro corridors than a single unified region.

The region's economy runs on agriculture, timber, and light industry. The Arkansas Delta, covering the eastern edge of the 870 territory, is some of the most productive rice and soybean farmland in the country, and Jonesboro anchors the region as home to Arkansas State University. Pine Bluff carries a long industrial and educational history centered on the University of Arkansas at Pine Bluff, while Texarkana straddles the Arkansas-Texas state line, and El Dorado in the south still reflects its early-20th-century oil boom heritage.

This guide covers where the 870 area code reaches, how it came to split from 501, the major cities and counties it serves, how to dial in and out of the region, why a local number still matters for business, and how to spot the scam calls that increasingly target Arkansas residents.

Where the 870 area code reaches

The 870 numbering plan area covers 59 counties across southern, eastern, and most of northern Arkansas, wrapping around the 501 territory (Little Rock) and the 479 territory (Northwest Arkansas) like a horseshoe. That footprint includes the Arkansas Delta along the Mississippi River, the Ozark Mountains in the north, the Ouachita Mountains in the west-central part of the state, and the timber country of south Arkansas.

Because 870 was carved directly out of the state's original numbering plan, it borders several other states — Missouri, Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, and Oklahoma — so callers near the edges of Arkansas sometimes cross into out-of-state numbers without realizing it. Just across the state line, the 601 area covers Jackson and southern Mississippi under a similar overlay arrangement.

Growth throughout the 1990s used up the original 501 supply statewide, which is why regulators split off the new 870 area code — Arkansas's second — to cover the state's rural and small-city regions outside the capital.

A short history of the 870 code

Arkansas used a single 501 area code for the entire state after area codes were introduced in 1947. For half a century, every Arkansas phone number, from Little Rock to Jonesboro to Texarkana, dialed through the same code.

As Arkansas' population and phone-line demand grew through the 1980s and 1990s, that single statewide code strained to keep up. On April 14, 1997, regulators split 501, creating a new 870 area code for southern, eastern, and most of northern Arkansas while Little Rock and central Arkansas kept 501. It was the 189th new area code to enter service nationwide that year.

By the early 2020s, growth in cell phones and VoIP lines had used up much of the 870 supply. Arkansas regulators authorized 327 as an all-services overlay, with mandatory 10-digit dialing taking effect on January 19, 2024, ahead of the new code's in-service date of February 20, 2024. Existing 870 customers kept their numbers; only new lines activated after that date began receiving the 327 prefix.

Major cities in the 870 area code

The table below lists ten of the most recognizable communities inside the 870 area code, along with the county each sits in and what it's best known for.

How to dial an 870 number

Every call to or from an 870 or 327 number requires all ten digits — area code plus the seven-digit line number — even between two neighbors in the same town. That rule became mandatory across the region on January 19, 2024, ahead of the 327 overlay's launch.

The 870 area code sits in the Central Time zone (CT) alongside the rest of Arkansas. Clocks run on Central Standard Time (CST, UTC-6) in winter and switch to Central Daylight Time (CDT, UTC-5) for daylight saving in spring and summer. That places Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, and the rest of the region on the same schedule as Memphis, Dallas, and Chicago, which matters for businesses coordinating call center hours across the Mid-South. Further north, the 861 area covers west-central Illinois on that same Central Time schedule.

Why choose an 870 number

A local 870 or 327 number still carries weight in a region built on agricultural relationships and small-town loyalty. Arkansas customers across the Delta and rural counties are more likely to answer a call showing a familiar area code, and local businesses — from Jonesboro farm suppliers to Texarkana contractors — use that recognition to book more appointments.

A local number also helps businesses serve Arkansas' spread-out rural markets without opening offices in a dozen small towns. A company based in Little Rock or out of state can activate an 870 line for its Delta or south Arkansas customers, and call routing lets that number ring a laptop, a cell phone, or a full customer-service team without the caller knowing the difference.

For businesses expanding into rural Arkansas, My Country Mobile can set up an 870 line that goes live the same day, with routing and voicemail configured before the first call comes in.

Staying safe from 870 scam calls

Scammers routinely spoof local area codes, including 870, because a familiar prefix makes people more likely to pick up. Neighbor spoofing — where caller ID shows a number resembling someone nearby — is the most common tactic reported across the region, followed by robocalls impersonating utility companies or farm-supply lenders and phishing scripts designed to pressure fast payments.

A few habits help. Let calls from unknown numbers go to voicemail rather than answering live. Never share personal or financial details with a caller who contacted you first, and never send gift cards or wire transfers on demand — caller ID alone can't confirm who's really calling, since spoofing makes any number easy to fake.

Carriers increasingly rely on the FCC's STIR/SHAKEN framework to flag likely spoofed calls, and residents can report suspicious activity directly to the FCC.

Conclusion

The 870 area code has covered most of rural and small-city Arkansas for more than a quarter-century, since its 1997 split from 501 gave Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, and the rest of the state's outer regions their own numbering plan. It now covers 59 counties, sharing its territory with the newer 327 overlay code since 2024, and ties together the Delta, the Ozarks, and the Ouachitas under one shared numbering plan.

For residents, that history mostly shows up as a dialing habit — ten digits, every time. For businesses, it's a branding decision: a local 870 number signals a company is genuinely part of rural Arkansas, whether the team sits in a Jonesboro office or works remotely. My Country Mobile builds that local presence into a phone system that routes calls, texts, and voicemail anywhere a business needs them to go, without asking customers to dial anything unfamiliar.

Key takeaways

• The 870 area code covers 59 counties across most of Arkansas outside Little Rock and Northwest Arkansas.
• It split from 501 on April 14, 1997, becoming Arkansas's second area code.
• 327 was added as an all-services overlay, with 10-digit dialing mandatory since January 19, 2024.
• The region runs on Central Time (UTC-6 CST / UTC-5 CDT).
• Jonesboro, Pine Bluff, Texarkana, and El Dorado are among its largest cities.
• Local 870 numbers help rural Arkansas businesses build trust with agricultural and small-town customers.

Frequently asked questions