501 Area Code: Little Rock, Arkansas
Area code 501 serves Little Rock, Hot Springs and Conway, Arkansas in the Central time zone, in service since 1947. Consumers have filed 3,972 unwanted-call complaints against 3,374 different 501 numbers, 515 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 501 at a glance
- State
- Arkansas
- Main cities
- Little Rock, Hot Springs, Conway, Benton, Searcy, Cabot + 53 more
- Counties
- Pulaski County, Faulkner County, Garland County, White County + 9 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- 1947
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 61 rate centers, 630 prefixes
Sources: NANPA area code and central office code records (refreshed weekly); cities and counties matched from US Census Bureau and USGS place names.
Most-reported 501 numbers
Ranked by FTC Do Not Call complaints this month, then all-time FTC and FCC complaints. Only numbers with enough complaints for a full report page are listed. Click one for what it was reported for and where.
What calls from 501 numbers are about
1,644 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 501 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 22% of complaints (90% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 78% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified72944%
- Debt reduction36022%
- Impostor (government, business, family)15810%
- Medical & prescriptions1318%
- Dropped call / no message815%
- No subject given785%
- Home improvement & cleaning352%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Live Voice10945%
- Prerecorded Voice10443%
- Text Message3113%
13% of recent FCC complaints about 501 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 501 spam calls come in
31% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 1pm and 4pm. 94% came Monday to Friday, most on Tuesdays, the pattern of call-center robocall campaigns that run on business hours. Times are as consumers reported them to the FTC.
By hour of the day
By day of the week
Is it getting worse?
513 FTC complaints about 501 numbers in the last four weeks, up 13% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 501 numbers peaked in 2017 (445); the FTC's daily Do Not Call data has carried most of the volume since mid-2026.
FTC complaints per week
FCC complaints per year
Years shown as '15 to '26; the current year is partial.
Who gets these calls
55% of the FTC complaints about 501 numbers came from Arkansas residents, but only 49% from people with 501 numbers themselves. The calls are mostly regional rather than aimed at 501 phones specifically.
Where complainants live
- Arkansas90255%
- Florida885%
- Texas563%
- Georgia563%
- California523%
What people with 501 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 501 filed 2,193 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 37% were about calls showing another 501 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 501 (same code)80437%
- 833 (toll-free)553%
- 870452%
- 866 (toll-free)442%
- 479321%
Likely campaigns using 501 numbers
Groups of numbers that drew the same FTC complaint in the same pattern over the last 60 days. The grouping is statistical and doesn't identify who is calling.
Busiest 501 prefixes this month
FTC complaints in the last 30 days, grouped by the first six digits. When one prefix collects complaints about many different numbers, a campaign is usually cycling through that block. The carrier is who NANPA assigned the prefix to, not who made the calls.
| Prefix | Complaints | Numbers | Carrier | Exchange |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (501) 560-xxxx | 27 | 27 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Jacksonville |
| (501) 559-xxxxcampaign | 19 | 19 | Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Benton |
| (501) 248-xxxx | 19 | 17 | T-Mobile USA | Little Rock |
| (501) 530-xxxx | 19 | 2 | Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Bald Knob |
| (501) 566-xxxxcampaign | 17 | 17 | Southwestern Bell (AT&T) | Jones Mills |
Carriers operating in 501
NANPA has assigned 630 501 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 61 rate centers: 32% to wireless carriers, 68% to landline and VoIP operators; 76% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 11 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-08-12). The carrier holding a prefix is who the number was issued through. It says nothing about who is calling, since caller ID is routinely spoofed.
| Carrier | Type | Prefixes | Rate centers | Newest assignment |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Southwestern Bell (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 160(25%) | 27 | 2007-03-08 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 86(14%) | 25 | 2025-04-16 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 54(9%) | 20 | 2023-12-20 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 48(8%) | 22 | 2023-10-09 |
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 42(7%) | 10 | 2025-12-05 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 39(6%) | 27 | 2026-08-12 |
| Windstream | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 34(5%) | 13 | 2015-10-01 |
| Windstream | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 20(3%) | 15 | 2011-11-14 |
| Brightspeed of Central Arkansas, LLC | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 18(3%) | 9 | 2001-12-27 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 12(2%) | 7 | — |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 11(2%) | 8 | 2024-10-16 |
| American Messaging Services, LLC | Wireless | 10(2%) | 5 | — |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Little Rock (252), Hot Springs (40), Conway (35), Benton (28), Searcy (21), Cabot (15), Malvern (12), Jacksonville (11), Morrilton (11). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 501 numbers
Before you call back
- Debt reduction is the top named complaint here. Don't pay upfront fees for debt relief; the FTC's Telemarketing Sales Rule bans them. Talk to your lender or a nonprofit credit counselor instead. Read about debt-relief robocalls.
- Look up the full number above. A missed call from 501 with no voicemail is usually a robocall; anyone who needs you will leave a message.
- Block repeat callers: iPhone, Android, or your carrier's free filter (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
Report it in Arkansas
- Unwanted sales calls and robocalls: donotcall.gov (FTC). Scams and fraud: ReportFraud.ftc.gov.
- Spoofing, texts and call-blocking problems: FCC consumer complaints.
- State complaints: Arkansas Attorney General.
- Arkansas formally adopted the FTC's National Do Not Call Registry as its own state list rather than running a separate one, so a single free registration at donotcall.gov covers you. State authorities can still enforce against telemarketers who ignore it, in addition to any federal penalty.
Your FTC and FCC reports are published (without your name or number) in the datasets this page is built from. How to report unwanted calls.
Area code 501: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 501?
Area code 501 serves Little Rock, Hot Springs and Conway, Arkansas, covering Pulaski County, Faulkner County and Garland County and 10 more counties. It has been in service since 1947.
What time zone is area code 501 in?
Area code 501 is in the Central time zone (UTC−6, or UTC−5 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
What are calls from 501 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,644 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 501 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 22% of complaints, 90% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 78% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 501 spam calls happen?
31% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 1pm and 4pm, and 94% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 501 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 55% of the FTC complaints about 501 numbers came from Arkansas residents, but only 49% from people with 501 numbers themselves. The calls are mostly regional rather than aimed at 501 phones specifically.
Are 501 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 513 FTC complaints about 501 numbers, 13% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 501 scam call in Arkansas?
Report unwanted sales calls and robocalls to the FTC at donotcall.gov, and scams to ReportFraud.ftc.gov. The FCC takes complaints at consumercomplaints.fcc.gov. In Arkansas, the Arkansas Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Arkansas area codes
Sources: FTC Do Not Call complaints (unverified consumer reports), published every weekday and available here from Jul 24; FCC Consumer Complaint Data, public record, imported nightly; NANPA numbering records. A number appearing here means consumers reported calls that displayed it. Caller ID can be spoofed.