Reported (304) XXX-XXXX phone numbers lookup

Area Code 304 History and Coverage

West Virginia received 304 in 1947 as one of the original codes assigned under the North American Numbering Plan. It was an assignment that recognized a state whose settlements were defined in terms of the Appalachian topography, valley systems, coal regions and industrial centers. Inhabitants were distributed across many small communities as well as a number of larger cities.

For decades, one code had provided sufficient telephone numbers for the entire state. As the inventory tightened, however, an overlay rather than a geographic split was chosen to increase the supply. A second code, 681, began to cover the same area as the existing 304 code in 2009 without carving out any portion of the state for a separate geographic code. Both 304 and 681 currently cover the statewide service area.

The development of various regions within this area has been quite diverse. The western boundary is largely defined by the Ohio River, while the Eastern Panhandle borders on Maryland and Virginia. Coalfield communities make up southern portions of the state, and northern sections extend towards the Allegheny highlands and the border with Pennsylvania. Thus, the 304 assignment comes from West Virginia's inclusion in the national numbering plan in 1947.