Louisiana's 985 Area Code: The Cajun Bayou Country

Quick answer: The 985 area code covers southeast Louisiana outside New Orleans proper — the bayou country around Houma and Thibodaux, the North Shore cities of Covington and Slidell, and the River Parishes near LaPlace. It has been its own dedicated area code since 1999 and runs on Central Time.

Introduction

Southeast Louisiana outside New Orleans is a region defined by water — bayous, Lake Pontchartrain, and the Mississippi River all shape daily life here — and 985 covers nearly all of it. The area stretches from the Cajun bayou country around Houma and Thibodaux, through the River Parishes hugging the Mississippi, up to the North Shore cities of Covington, Slidell, and Hammond.

That geography drives the economy just as much as it shapes the culture. Houma anchors one of the country's busiest offshore oil and gas service hubs, Thibodaux hosts a growing university community, and the North Shore has become a fast-growing bedroom region for commuters working in New Orleans. Together, these areas grew enough to need their own dedicated area code separate from the city itself.

This guide covers exactly where 985 reaches, how it came to exist as its own code, the cities it serves, how to dial it correctly, why a local number matters for business, and how to stay safe from the scams that increasingly target the region.

Where the 985 area code reaches

The 985 area code covers southeast Louisiana outside the New Orleans metro core, spanning three distinct sub-regions: the bayou parishes of Terrebonne and Lafourche around Houma and Thibodaux, the River Parishes along the Mississippi near LaPlace, and the North Shore communities of St. Tammany and Tangipahoa parishes, including Covington, Slidell, and Hammond.

985 is a geographic split, not an overlay — every number inside its boundary belongs to 985 alone. That mirrors how the 956 area came to exist, carved out of a larger parent code once a distinct regional economy grew too large to keep sharing numbers with a major city. In Louisiana's case, the parent code was 504, and 985 took over everything surrounding New Orleans once the city itself needed the numbering room.

A short history of Louisiana's 985 code

Louisiana used a single area code — 504 — for the entire southeastern half of the state for decades, covering New Orleans and every surrounding parish from the North Shore to the bayou country. As New Orleans grew through the 1990s, regulators split the region in 1999, keeping 504 for New Orleans proper — Orleans and Jefferson parishes — while creating 985 for everything else in the surrounding area.

Since that 1999 split, 985 has remained a single, undivided code covering an unusually wide mix of communities: offshore energy hubs, university towns, and fast-growing suburban parishes commuting into New Orleans. Despite significant population growth on the North Shore in particular, the region has never needed a further split or an overlay.

Major cities in the 985 area code

The 985 region spans three distinct parts of southeast Louisiana. The largest and most notable cities include:

Houma anchors the bayou region as a hub for offshore energy services, drawing workers and companies supporting Gulf of Mexico oil and gas operations. The North Shore cities of Covington and Slidell, by contrast, function largely as fast-growing residential communities for commuters working across Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans.

How to dial a 985 number

Dialing within the 985 region follows standard North American formatting.

Ten-digit dialing is standard practice across southeast Louisiana. The 985 region runs on Central Time — Central Standard Time (UTC−6) in winter and Central Daylight Time (UTC−5) in summer, the same clock as New Orleans. At noon in Houma it is 1 PM in New York, 11 AM in Denver, and 10 AM in Los Angeles. Just across the state line, the 601 area covers Jackson and southern Mississippi on the same Central Time schedule.

Why choose a 985 number

A 985 number puts a business inside one of the Gulf Coast's busiest offshore energy service corridors without requiring an office in Houma or Thibodaux. Local numbers earn higher answer rates than unfamiliar out-of-state codes, and a 985 prefix immediately signals a southeast Louisiana presence to customers across the bayou region, River Parishes, and North Shore alike.

That local read matters for oilfield service companies working the Houma corridor, vendors serving Nicholls State and Southeastern Louisiana University communities, and remote teams supporting North Shore commuter families without relocating.

A virtual provider issues the number and routes calls to whatever device is already in use — a mobile phone, a desk line, or a softphone app. My Country Mobile can activate a 985 number the same day, letting a business start answering as a local southeast Louisiana line immediately.

Staying safe from 985 scam calls

A widely recognized regional code like 985 is a common spoofing target, since residents across such a varied region tend to answer calls that look local. Common scams include fake offshore-employment or oilfield-job offers targeting workers in the Houma area, fraudulent hurricane-relief or insurance-claim calls following Gulf Coast storms, and "neighbor spoofing" robocalls designed to look familiar.

Carriers increasingly rely on the FCC's STIR/SHAKEN framework to flag calls with spoofed caller ID, which is why some incoming 985 numbers now show up automatically labeled "Spam Risk." Still, the safest habit is manual verification: if an unexpected 985 caller demands payment, gift cards, or personal information, hang up and contact the organization directly using a number you already trust.

Conclusion

The 985 area code exists because southeast Louisiana outside New Orleans — the bayou country, the River Parishes, and the North Shore — grew into its own distinct economic region. Split from 504 in 1999, it has stayed a single, undivided code ever since, covering everything from Houma's offshore energy corridor to Covington's North Shore suburbs.

For businesses, that stability is an advantage: a 985 number puts you inside one of the Gulf Coast's most distinctive regional economies instantly, with no office lease required. Whether the goal is an energy-industry presence near Houma, a university-town footprint in Thibodaux or Hammond, or simply a southeast Louisiana identity, a provider like My Country Mobile can have that number live the same day.

Key takeaways

• The 985 area code covers southeast Louisiana outside New Orleans, including Houma, Thibodaux, Hammond, and Covington.
• It has served the region as a single, undivided code since 1999, when it split from 504.
• Houma anchors a major offshore oil and gas service hub for the Gulf of Mexico.
• 985 runs on Central Time, matching New Orleans.
• A local 985 number builds instant southeast Louisiana credibility and can be activated from anywhere.
• Scammers spoof 985 numbers, so verify unexpected callers before sharing money or personal details.

Frequently asked questions