573 Area Code: Columbia, Missouri
Area code 573 serves Columbia, Jefferson City and Cape Girardeau, Missouri in the Central time zone, in service since 1996. Consumers have filed 3,400 unwanted-call complaints against 3,019 different 573 numbers, 696 of them with the FTC in the last 30 days. Look up the exact number that called you below.
Area code 573 at a glance
- State
- Missouri
- Main cities
- Columbia, Jefferson City, Cape Girardeau, Farmington, Poplar Bluff + 208 more
- Counties
- Boone County, Cole County, Cape Girardeau County, St. Francois County + 44 more
- Local time
- —Central
- In service since
- January 7, 1996
- Split from
- 314
- Overlay code
- 235 (2024)
- Local dialing
- 10 digits (area code + number)
- Exchanges
- 216 rate centers, 786 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 573 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 573 numbers are about
1,862 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 573 numbers since Jul 24. The most common named subject is debt-relief pitches, at 17% of complaints (91% of those were recorded messages). Overall, 80% of callers who answered said the call was a robocall.
FTC complaint subjects
- Other / unspecified78742%
- Debt reduction32517%
- Impostor (government, business, family)29116%
- Medical & prescriptions21111%
- No subject given1066%
- Dropped call / no message643%
- Warranties & protection plans171%
FCC complaints by call type, last 2 years
- Prerecorded Voice9648%
- Live Voice8140%
- Text Message2512%
12% of recent FCC complaints about 573 numbers are about text messages, not calls.
When 573 spam calls come in
30% of complaints that give a call time describe calls between 1pm and 4pm. 95% 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?
694 FTC complaints about 573 numbers in the last four weeks, up 23% on the four weeks before. FCC complaints about 573 numbers peaked in 2018 (208); 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
58% of the FTC complaints about 573 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 573, and 61% from Missouri. Calls that look local to the person receiving them are the signature of neighbor spoofing: robocallers display a number from your own area code because you're more likely to answer.
Where complainants live
- Missouri1,14561%
- California845%
- Florida513%
- New York432%
- Texas432%
What people with 573 numbers report
People whose own number starts with 573 filed 1,611 FTC complaints since Jul 24. 67% were about calls showing another 573 number. The most common named subject was impostor calls (people pretending to be a government agency, a business or family).
Area codes on the calls they reported
- 573 (same code)1,07467%
- 833 (toll-free)523%
- 314352%
- 816181%
- 877 (toll-free)161%
Likely campaigns using 573 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 573 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| (573) 327-xxxx | 24 | 22 | Southwestern Bell (AT&T) | Flat River |
| (573) 328-xxxx | 24 | 20 | Southwestern Bell (AT&T) | Qulin |
| (573) 210-xxxx | 18 | 1 | Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Potosi |
| (573) 371-xxxxcampaign | 12 | 11 | Peerless Network | Holcomb |
| (573) 800-xxxx | 10 | 8 | Fractel, LLC | Center |
Carriers operating in 573
NANPA has assigned 786 573 prefixes (NPA-NXX central-office codes) across 216 rate centers: 28% to wireless carriers, 70% to landline and VoIP operators; 88% are pooled blocks shared by several carriers. The newest assignment was 2025-09-05. 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) | 128(16%) | 83 | 2010-11-11 |
| AT&T Mobility (New Cingular Wireless PCS) | Wireless | 113(14%) | 43 | 2025-09-05 |
| Onvoy (Sinch) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 86(11%) | 78 | 2024-09-12 |
| Level 3 (Lumen) | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 64(8%) | 59 | 2017-11-02 |
| T-Mobile USA | Wireless | 44(6%) | 22 | 2022-12-15 |
| Brightspeed of Missouri, LLC | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 42(5%) | 19 | 2001-05-24 |
| Brightspeed of East Missouri, LLC | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 38(5%) | 37 | — |
| Verizon Wireless (Cellco Partnership) | Wireless | 38(5%) | 25 | 2025-09-03 |
| CenturyLink (Lumen) | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 38(5%) | 17 | 2001-05-24 |
| Windstream | Incumbent landline (ILEC) | 36(5%) | 26 | 2023-05-05 |
| Bandwidth.com | Competitive / VoIP (CLEC) | 17(2%) | 17 | 2021-09-10 |
| UScellular | Wireless | 17(2%) | 10 | 2020-04-03 |
Largest rate centers (exchanges) by prefixes: Columbia (59), Jefferson City (39), Cape Girardeau (34), Farmington (16), Poplar Bluff (16), Lake Ozark–Osage Beach (15), Rolla (15), Birch Tree (13), Hannibal (13), Sikeston (13). Source: NANPA Central Office Code Utilized Assignments (public, refreshed weekly).
What to do about calls from 573 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 573 with no voicemail is usually a robocall; anyone who needs you will leave a message.
- If it looks like a neighbor's number, it may be spoofed. See calls from your own area code.
- Block repeat callers: iPhone, Android, or your carrier's free filter (Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile).
Report it in Missouri
- 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: Missouri Attorney General.
- Missouri is one of the states that maintains its own Do Not Call registry alongside the federal National Do Not Call Registry, so telemarketers calling Missouri numbers are expected to check both lists. Registering on the federal list at donotcall.gov is free and never expires; the state list is administered separately and may have its own registration process and renewal period.
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 573: questions answered from the data
Where is area code 573?
Area code 573 serves Columbia, Jefferson City and Cape Girardeau, Missouri, covering Boone County, Cole County and Cape Girardeau County and 45 more counties. It has been in service since January 7, 1996. It was split from area code 314.
What time zone is area code 573 in?
Area code 573 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.
Which area codes overlay 573?
235 (in service 2024) serves the same area as 573. New numbers there can be issued with any of these codes, and local calls need all 10 digits. A spoofed call can display any of them.
What are calls from 573 numbers usually about?
Since Jul 24, consumers filed 1,862 FTC Do Not Call complaints about 573 numbers. The most common named subject was debt-relief pitches: 17% of complaints, 91% of them recorded messages. Across all subjects, 80% of callers who answered the question said the call was a robocall.
When do 573 spam calls happen?
30% of the complaints that give a call time describe calls between 1pm and 4pm, and 95% came on weekdays, most often on Tuesday. Times are as consumers reported them.
Are calls from 573 numbers really local?
Not necessarily. 58% of the FTC complaints about 573 numbers came from people whose own phone number also starts with 573, and 61% from Missouri. Calls that look local to the person receiving them are the signature of neighbor spoofing: robocallers display a number from your own area code because you're more likely to answer.
Are 573 robocalls increasing?
In the four weeks to Oct 20, consumers filed 694 FTC complaints about 573 numbers, 23% more than the four weeks before.
How do I report a 573 scam call in Missouri?
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 Missouri, the Missouri Attorney General also handles consumer complaints about scam calls. Reports feed the public data this page is built from.
Other Missouri 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.