978 area code: location, overlays and numbers
Telephone area code 978 serves Boston, Massachusetts in the US. It has operated since 1997 and shares an overlay with 351.
- Location
- Boston, Massachusetts
- Service start date
- 1997
- Zone for local time
- Time zone: Eastern
- Overlay
- 351
- Calls within the area
- Full 10-digit dialling
- Local calling areas
- 58
- Projected exhaustion
- More than 100 years from now
- Code for the country
- +1 (United States)
Source: NANPA public reports, the area code report and the rate-centre report, file dated 11/01/2026. The exhaust year comes from the NANPA projections file 2026-1, dated April 2026. We are not an official NANPA site.
Get a number with area code 978
There are two routes to a 978 number. When you sign up for a provider plan, it assigns a new number chosen from the provider's numbers in the code at sign-up. Numbers a seller already holds, often ones with a pattern, are listed at a one-time price; after that, you move the number to a provider.
Providers, ordered by first-year cost
| Provider | Cheapest plan | First year | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
 Free app | Basic (Just for me), free | $0 | Open Google Voice |
 Free app | Free plan, free | $0 | Open TextNow |
 Developer API | Pay-as-you-go local number, $1.15 a month | $13.80 | Open Twilio |
 Second-number app | Standard, $3.99 a month billed yearly | $47.99 | Open Burner |
 Toll-free specialist | Solo, $6.99 a month billed yearly | $84 | Open UniTel Voice |
 Second-number app | Deluxe (local number), $6.99 a month billed yearly | $102.88 | Open GoDaddy Conversations (formerly Smartline) |
Sellers listing local numbers
| Seller | What it sells | Listed price | Monthly fee | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Marketplace | Local numbers | From $9 one-time | None stated | Search at Exclusive Digits |
 Marketplace | Local and toll-free | From $9.95 one-time | $2.99 a month | Search at NumberBarn |
 Number broker | Local and toll-free | From $99 one-time | None stated | Search at RingBoost |
 Number broker | Local and toll-free | From $100 one-time | None stated | Search at PhoneNumberExpert |
| 212areacode.comNumber broker | Local numbers | From $150 one-time | None stated | Search at 212areacode.com |
Some sellers and providers may pay us a referral fee. That never affects the order, which ranks by first-year cost. How we earn money
Places in the 978 area code
The NANPA list includes 58 rate centres for 978. Each one is a local calling area where numbers are assigned:
Winchendon, Wilmington, Westminster, Westford, West Newbury, Tyngsboro, Townsend, Topsfield, Templeton, Sudbury, Sterling, Shirley, Salem, Rowley, Rockport, Princeton, Petersham, Pepperell, Peabody, Orange, North Reading, Newburyport, Merrimac, Maynard, Manchester, Lunenburg, Lowell, Littleton, Leominster, Lawrence, Ipswich, Hudson, Hubbardston, Haverhill, Harvard, Hamilton, Groton, Gloucester, Georgetown, Gardner, Fitchburg, Essex, Danvers, Concord, Clinton, Bolton, Billerica, Beverly, Berlin, Barre, Ayer, Athol Franklin County, Athol, Ashby, Ashburnham, Andover, Amesbury, Acton.
Other related area codes
351 shares the same area and number pool. Any of these codes can supply a new number for this area, so ask for the one you want.
Massachusetts also has area codes 413, 617 and 508. Codes 781, 339, 774 and 857 also serve the state.
978 area code questions
What area does 978 cover?
Calls to 978 ring in Boston, Massachusetts, around Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH.
Which country code applies to 978 numbers?
+1. As part of the North American Numbering Plan, 978 uses +1 978 plus the 7-digit number when dialing from abroad.
What time is it in the 978 area code?
Eastern time applies to 978.
Which callers use 978?
Anyone holding a number in this code may call, whether a home, a mobile or a local business. People who fake a local number can call as well. What a 978 number on your screen shows is where it was assigned, not who is calling.