Area code 651

Area code 651 is the telephone numbering plan code for Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities. A dogleg portion also extends to the southeast along the Mississippi River to include cities such as Hastings. The region was the fifth area code created in the state in 1998, when it was carved out of area code 612.

From 1954 to 1996, 612 covered all of central Minnesota, stretching from border-to-border from Wisconsin to South Dakota. In 1996, nearly all of the 612 territory outside the Twin Cities became area code 320. This was intended as a long-term solution, but within a year, the proliferation of cell phones and pagers brought 612 back to the brink of exhaustion. It soon became apparent that the Twin Cities were growing far too quickly to stay in a single area code, forcing the creation of 651.

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