Chicago · Central Timesince 1996 · no overlay436 reported · 30 daysrank 193 of 331updated 8 Oct 2026
Area code 773 — Chicago, Illinois
Area code
773
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Location
Chicago, Illinois
Status
Active since 1996
Spam reports · 30 days
436 numbers
Area code 773 covers Chicago and surrounding communities in Illinois.
Updated 8 October 2026
Area code 773 is in Illinois, shown here with Chicago marked.
Now in Chicago
Central Time · UTC−6, UTC−5 in summer
––:––
Central Time
Where you are—
Offset—
Callback window
Typical business hours, 9 to 5 Monday to Friday.
Typical business hours, 9 to 5 Monday to Friday, shown as the blue arc. A guide to when a real Chicago office is likely to answer. It says nothing about who called you.
Source: North American Numbering Plan Administrator, retrieved 8 October 2026.
02
Is area code 773 a scam?
No. Area code 773 is a legitimate area code serving Chicago since 1996. Scammers spoof caller ID to display 773 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 773 number, and the number they display may belong to a real business in Chicago that has nothing to do with the call.
The callerAnywhere in the worldSets the caller ID their equipment sends.
What is displayed(773) 992-1498May belong to a real Chicago business.
Your phoneLooks localA nearby code and prefix make you likelier to answer.
436Area code 773 had 436 different numbers reported for spam calls in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
193rdArea code 773 ranks 193rd of 331 US geographic area codes by spam complaint volume.
61%Of the 463 complaints about area code 773 in the 30 days to 8 October 2026, 61% were reported as a recorded message or robocall.
16%The most reported subject on area code 773 is calls pretending to be government, businesses, or family and friends, appearing in 16% of its complaints in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
Why am I getting text messages from area code 773?
Texts from 773 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.
Pattern 1Wrong-number openerTurns into conversation.
Pattern 2Unsolicited job offerDo not reply, do not follow the link.
Pattern 3Crypto or investment tipTreat any payment ask as suspect.
Report it7726Forward the message. It spells SPAM on a keypad.
04 · The human layer
Who works in the Chicago area?
Area code 773 covers Chicago, Illinois, outside the downtown core, created in 1996 when the city split its neighborhoods off from 312. This is the Chicago of manufacturing corridors, O'Hare-adjacent logistics, hospital systems, and universities. The University of Chicago on the South Side and its medical center are major employers, as are Advocate Health Care sites and the food manufacturers that still operate along the city's industrial belts. Neighborhood commercial strips from Pilsen to Devon Avenue hold tens of thousands of small businesses, many family-run.
Who lives in the 773 region
The city's 2.71 million residents reported a median household income of $77,902 in 2024, with a poverty rate of 16.8 percent, per DataUSA. Those citywide figures average out sharp differences between neighborhoods, and businesses in 773 territory serve everything from bungalow-belt households to gentrified lakefront wards. Spanish is widely spoken in many of these neighborhoods, and Polish and other languages have long histories here, so multilingual service is a practical advantage rather than a courtesy.
What a 773 number signals to a caller
To a Chicagoan, a 773 number reads as a neighborhood number, the code of the city beyond the Loop, and it has held that identity for nearly three decades. Callers describe residents as direct on the phone and quick to screen unfamiliar numbers, so a local caller ID materially changes answer rates. An outside caller should know that 773 is Chicago proper, not the suburbs, and that anyone dialing within Illinois has treated ten-digit dialing as routine for years.
Area code 773 serves Chicago and surrounding communities in Illinois. It is in the Central Time zone.
What state is area code 773 in?
Area code 773 is in Illinois. It is not in Austin — those are area code 737.
Is area code 773 toll free?
No. Area code 773 is a geographic area code serving Chicago, Illinois. The toll-free codes are 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888, and a call to a 773 number is charged at your normal rate.
Why am I getting calls from 773?
Calls displaying a 773 number come from businesses and individuals in the Chicago area, and from anywhere at all when caller ID is spoofed to look local. 436 773 numbers were reported to the FTC in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
How do I block calls from area code 773?
Both iOS and Android can silence calls from unknown numbers, and every major US carrier offers free call-blocking. Blocking the whole of area code 773 is rarely worth it, because spoofed numbers change constantly and you would lose legitimate calls from Chicago.