Area code 276 — Bristol, Virginia

Where is area code 276?

Area code 276 is in Bristol, Virginia, covering Bristol and surrounding communities in Virginia. All 276 numbers are on Eastern Time.

Is area code 276 a scam?

No. Area code 276 is a legitimate area code serving Bristol since 2001. Scammers spoof caller ID to display 276 numbers, which is why complaints exist against a code that is itself genuine.

Neighbour spoofing is the reason a local-looking number is not a guarantee. A caller anywhere in the world can display a 276 number, and the number they display may belong to a real business in Bristol that has nothing to do with the call.

• ·Area code 276 had 274 different numbers reported for spam calls in the 30 days to 28 July 2026.
• ·Area code 276 ranks 233rd of 331 US geographic area codes by spam complaint volume.
• ·Of the 300 complaints about area code 276 in the 30 days to 28 July 2026, 61% were reported as a recorded message or robocall.
• ·The most reported subject on area code 276 is calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends, appearing in 27% of its complaints in the 30 days to 28 July 2026.

What these calls were about

Each figure is that subject’s share of every 276 complaint in the 30 days to 28 July 2026, as categorised by the consumer who reported it.

Businesses can prevent their own numbers from being mistaken for calls like these.

Why am I getting text messages from area code 276?

Texts from 276 numbers follow the same pattern as calls — mostly local businesses and services. Treat any text asking for payment or credentials as suspect regardless of the code.

The common patterns are a wrong-number opener that turns into conversation, an unsolicited job offer, and a crypto or investment tip. Do not reply, do not follow the link, and forward the message to 7726 (SPAM) to report it to your carrier.

Who works in the Bristol area?

Area code 276 serves far southwest Virginia, and Bristol is its best-known commercial address. The city is an oddity: the Tennessee state line runs down the middle of State Street, splitting Bristol, Virginia from its twin in Tennessee, and business flows across that line all day without noticing it. Bristol anchors the Virginia side of the Kingsport-Bristol metro, home to 307,614 people at the 2020 census. The economy runs on healthcare through the Ballad Health system, retail and hospitality drawing on the Birthplace of Country Music museum and the Bristol Motor Speedway crowds across the line, and the Hard Rock casino that opened on the Virginia side as one of the state's first.

Who lives in the 276 region

Bristol, Virginia proper is small and settled. The population was 17,219 at the 2020 census and 16,849 in 2024 per DataUSA, with a median age of 43.4 and a median household income of $50,404. Residents are overwhelmingly white non-Hispanic at roughly 14,200 people, nearly 99% are U.S. citizens, and no non-English language reaches a meaningful share of the population. English is the only working language of commerce here, and that is stated as fact, not assumption.

What a 276 number signals to a caller

Business in the 276 is personal and slow to warm. Callers describe first conversations as friendly but noncommittal, with decisions coming after a person has been sized up, often across more than one call. A 276 number reads as local across a mountainous region where distance from the state's population centers breeds a certain self-reliance about who gets hired. Callers from outside are generally expected to be patient with talk that circles before it lands. Rushing an Appalachian conversation is the fastest way to end it.

Questions