Bristol · Eastern Timesince 2001 · no overlay256 reported · 30 daysrank 274 of 331updated 8 Oct 2026
Area code 276 — Bristol, Virginia
Area code
276
Location
Bristol, Virginia
Location
Bristol, Virginia
Status
Active since 2001
Spam reports · 30 days
256 numbers
Area code 276 covers Bristol and surrounding communities in Virginia.
Updated 8 October 2026
Area code 276 is in Virginia, shown here with Bristol marked.
Now in Bristol
Eastern Time · UTC−5, UTC−4 in summer
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Eastern 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 Bristol 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 276 a scam?
No. Area code 276 is a legitimate area code serving Bristol since 2001. Scammers spoof caller ID to display 276 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 276 number, and the number they display may belong to a real business in Bristol that has nothing to do with the call.
The callerAnywhere in the worldSets the caller ID their equipment sends.
What is displayed(276) 356-0284May belong to a real Bristol business.
Your phoneLooks localA nearby code and prefix make you likelier to answer.
256Area code 276 had 256 different numbers reported for spam calls in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
274thArea code 276 ranks 274th of 331 US geographic area codes by spam complaint volume.
68%Of the 267 complaints about area code 276 in the 30 days to 8 October 2026, 68% were reported as a recorded message or robocall.
31%The most reported subject on area code 276 is reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans), appearing in 31% of its complaints in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
Why am I getting text messages from area code 276?
Texts from 276 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 Bristol area?
Area code 276 serves far southwest Virginia, and Bristol is its best-known commercial address. The city is an oddity: the Tennessee state line runs down the middle of State Street, splitting Bristol, Virginia from its twin in Tennessee, and business flows across that line all day without noticing it. Bristol anchors the Virginia side of the Kingsport-Bristol metro, home to 307,614 people at the 2020 census. The economy runs on healthcare through the Ballad Health system, retail and hospitality drawing on the Birthplace of Country Music museum and the Bristol Motor Speedway crowds across the line, and the Hard Rock casino that opened on the Virginia side as one of the state's first.
Who lives in the 276 region
Bristol, Virginia proper is small and settled. The population was 17,219 at the 2020 census and 16,849 in 2024 per DataUSA, with a median age of 43.4 and a median household income of $50,404. Residents are overwhelmingly white non-Hispanic at roughly 14,200 people, nearly 99% are U.S. citizens, and no non-English language reaches a meaningful share of the population. English is the only working language of commerce here, and that is stated as fact, not assumption.
What a 276 number signals to a caller
Business in the 276 is personal and slow to warm. Callers describe first conversations as friendly but noncommittal, with decisions coming after a person has been sized up, often across more than one call. A 276 number reads as local across a mountainous region where distance from the state's population centers breeds a certain self-reliance about who gets hired. Callers from outside are generally expected to be patient with talk that circles before it lands. Rushing an Appalachian conversation is the fastest way to end it.
Area code 276 serves Bristol and surrounding communities in Virginia. It is in the Eastern Time zone.
What state is area code 276 in?
Area code 276 is in Virginia. It is not in Philadelphia or San Antonio or Augusta — those are area codes 267 and 726 and 762.
Is area code 276 toll free?
No. Area code 276 is a geographic area code serving Bristol, Virginia. The toll-free codes are 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888, and a call to a 276 number is charged at your normal rate.
Why am I getting calls from 276?
Calls displaying a 276 number come from businesses and individuals in the Bristol area, and from anywhere at all when caller ID is spoofed to look local. 256 276 numbers were reported to the FTC in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
How do I block calls from area code 276?
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 276 is rarely worth it, because spoofed numbers change constantly and you would lose legitimate calls from Bristol.