502 Area Code: Louisville, Kentucky
Area code 502 serves Louisville, Frankfort and Bardstown, Kentucky in the Eastern time zone, in service since 1947. Consumers have filed 11,225 unwanted-call complaints against 9,356 different 502 numbers, 1,620 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 502 at a glance
- State
- Kentucky
- Main cities
- Louisville, Frankfort, Bardstown, La Grange, Rose Terrace, Shelbyville + 29 more
- Counties
- Jefferson County, Nelson County, Shelby County, Franklin County + 10 more
- Local time
- —Eastern
- In service since
- 1947
- Codes split off
- 270 (1999)
- Local dialing
- 7 digits allowed
- Exchanges
- 36 rate centers, 735 prefixes
- Relief planning
- Under way: NANPA is planning a new code for this area
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 502 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 502 numbers are about
5,478 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 502 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 21% of complaints (92% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 75% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified2,36543%
- Debt reduction1,14921%
- Impostor (government, business, family)85716%
- No subject given58311%
- Medical & prescriptions2144%
- Dropped call / no message1373%
- Warranties & protection plans832%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice67270%
- Live Voice25627%
- Text Message323%
Live-voice calls are from a person; prerecorded calls are robocalls.
When 502 spam calls come in
35% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm. 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?
1,598 FTC complaints about 502 numbers in the last four weeks, down 22% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 502 numbers peaked in 2017 (706); 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
Only 30% of the FTC complaints about 502 numbers came from Kentucky residents; the most came from California, Florida and Texas. 502 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Where complainants live
- Kentucky1,64330%
- California60011%
- Florida4628%
- Texas3446%
- Ohio1613%
What people with 502 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 502 filed 3,811 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 43% were about calls showing another 502 number. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches.
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 502 (same code)1,62443%
- 833 (toll-free)1454%
- 877 (toll-free)1273%
- 855 (toll-free)963%
- 888 (toll-free)952%
Likely campaigns using 502 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 502 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (502) 862-xxxx | 259 | 246 | Eon Telecom, INC. | Bagdad |
| (502) 879-xxxx | 134 | 127 | Eon Telecom, INC. | Chaplin |
| (502) 334-xxxx | 122 | 118 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Lawrenceburg |
| (502) 469-xxxx | 95 | 89 | Onvoy (Sinch) | Taylorsville |
| (502) 453-xxxx | 93 | 89 | Coretel Kentucky, INC. | Campbellsburg |
Carriers operating in 502
NANPA has assigned 735 502 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 36 rate centers: 34% to wireless carriers, 65% to landline and VoIP operators; 69% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. 9 prefixes were assigned in the last 12 months (newest 2026-09-18). 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BellSouth (AT&T) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 191(26%) | 33 | 2013-02-20 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 87(12%) | 18 | 2025-08-07 |
| Powertel Kentucky Licenses, INC. | Wireless | 55(7%) | 8 | 2025-10-17 |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 53(7%) | 10 | 2026-02-18 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 50(7%) | 26 | 2026-09-14 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 36(5%) | 16 | 2016-08-01 |
| Metro by T-Mobile (MetroPCS) | Wireless | 33(4%) | 8 | 2021-09-24 |
| PAETEC (Windstream) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 29(4%) | 16 | 2021-08-16 |
| Teleport Communications America, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 26(4%) | 6 | 2023-09-08 |
| Twc Ip Enabled Services, LLC | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 23(3%) | 18 | 2022-11-04 |
| Win.Net Telecommunications, INC. | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 21(3%) | 21 | 2002-08-12 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 15(2%) | 10 | 2022-12-16 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Louisville (400), Frankfort (41), Bardstown (28), La Grange (24), Rose Terrace (22), Georgetown (18), Shelbyville (18), Lawrenceburg (16), Carrollton (12), Taylorsville (11). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 502 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 502 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 Kentucky
- 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: Kentucky Attorney General.
- Kentucky 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 502: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 502?
Area code 502 serves Louisville, Frankfort and Bardstown, Kentucky, covering Jefferson County, Nelson County and Shelby County and 11 more counties. It has been in service since 1947.
What time zone is area code 502 in?
Area code 502 is in the Eastern time zone (UTC−5, or UTC−4 during daylight saving time). The current local time is shown at the top of this page.
What are calls from 502 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 5,478 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 502 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 21% of complaints, 92% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 75% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 502 spam calls happen?
35% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 10am and 1pm, and 94% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 502 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. Only 30% of the FTC complaints about 502 numbers came from Kentucky residents; the most came from California, Florida and Texas. 502 numbers are being used for nationwide campaigns, so the area code says little about where the caller is.
Are 502 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 1,598 FTC complaints about 502 numbers, 22% fewer than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 502 scam call in Kentucky?
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 Kentucky, the Kentucky Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Kentucky 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.