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Phone area codes for Nanaimo, BC

2 active area codes · Pacific Time (PST/PDT, UTC-8/-7) · population 99,863.

Nanaimo is the second-largest urban area on Vancouver Island and a major BC Ferries terminal serving the Lower Mainland.

Area codes serving Nanaimo

Dialling from and to Nanaimo

Because Nanaimo sits inside an overlay region with 2 overlapping area codes, callers must always dial 10 digits — even for calls between two phones on the same street. From outside Canada and the United States, dial your international access prefix, then +1, then the 10-digit number.

Mobile carriers in Nanaimo typically issue numbers from whichever overlay code is currently being released by the NANP relief plan. As a result, two members of the same household frequently carry numbers from two different area codes — for example a long-time resident with an original-assignment number and a newer subscriber with an overlay number.

Major carriers serving Nanaimo

About Nanaimo, British Columbia

Nanaimo is located in British Columbia, Canada. Nanaimo is the second-largest urban area on Vancouver Island and a major BC Ferries terminal serving the Lower Mainland. The city falls within the Pacific Time (PST/PDT, UTC-8/-7) time zone.

Numbers issued to subscribers in Nanaimo can come from any of the area codes assigned to the surrounding numbering plan area: 250, 257. With number portability now standard across all Canadian carriers, the area code attached to a Nanaimo number tells you only where that number was first issued — not who currently carries it or where the device is physically located.

If you are trying to identify a recent call from 250 or 257, the caller is most likely either based in Nanaimo or another community within the same NPA, has previously held a number issued in this area, or — in the case of telemarketing and scam calls — is spoofing a local prefix to increase the chance you pick up.