Area code 773 — Chicago, Illinois

Where is area code 773?

Area code 773 is in Chicago, Illinois, covering Chicago and surrounding communities in Illinois. All 773 numbers are on Central Time.

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.

• ·Area code 773 had 320 different numbers reported for spam calls in the 30 days to 28 July 2026.
• ·Area code 773 ranks 214th of 331 US geographic area codes by spam complaint volume.
• ·Of the 371 complaints about area code 773 in the 30 days to 28 July 2026, 57% were reported as a recorded message or robocall.
• ·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 28 July 2026.

What these calls were about

Each figure is that subject’s share of every 773 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 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.

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.

Questions