Area code 346 covers Houston and surrounding communities in Texas.
Updated 8 October 2026
Area code 346 is in Texas, shown here with Houston marked.
Now in Houston
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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 Houston office is likely to answer. It says nothing about who called you.
Source: North American Numbering Plan Administrator, retrieved 8 October 2026.
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Is area code 346 a scam?
No. Area code 346 is a legitimate area code serving Houston since 2014. Scammers spoof caller ID to display 346 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 346 number, and the number they display may belong to a real business in Houston that has nothing to do with the call.
The callerAnywhere in the worldSets the caller ID their equipment sends.
What is displayed(346) 501-4601May belong to a real Houston business.
Your phoneLooks localA nearby code and prefix make you likelier to answer.
608Area code 346 had 608 different numbers reported for spam calls in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
111thArea code 346 ranks 111th of 331 US geographic area codes by spam complaint volume.
62%Of the 655 complaints about area code 346 in the 30 days to 8 October 2026, 62% were reported as a recorded message or robocall.
19%The most reported subject on area code 346 is reducing your debt (credit cards, mortgage, student loans), appearing in 19% of its complaints in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
Why am I getting text messages from area code 346?
Texts from 346 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.
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Area codes that overlay 346
Area code 346 shares its geographic footprint with 2 other codes: 713, 832. Overlays are laid over an existing area rather than splitting it, so all local calls require the full ten-digit number.
Houston is the energy capital of the western hemisphere, and area code 346 covers all of it. The code arrived in 2014 as the third overlay on the 713 territory, added because the city's growth kept exhausting numbers. The industries doing that growing are oil and gas majors and the engineering firms that serve them, the Texas Medical Center, which is the largest medical complex in the world, the Port of Houston, and NASA's Johnson Space Center. ExxonMobil, Chevron's relocated headquarters, and dozens of midstream and oilfield services companies run their operations from the metro.
Who lives in the 346 region
The city's 2.3 million residents (2020 census) form one of the most diverse markets in the country. No racial or ethnic group holds a majority: 44.2 percent of residents are Hispanic, and the Black and non-Hispanic white populations are nearly equal at roughly half a million each (Census ACS via Data USA, 2024). About 29.2 percent of Houstonians were born abroad. Spanish is by far the most common language after English, with Vietnamese and Chinese also spoken in large communities.
What a 346 number signals to a caller
Because 346 is the newest code in the stack, callers describe it as the number of a newer business, a mobile line, or a recent arrival, while legacy firms tend to hold 713 numbers. That carries no stigma in a city built on newcomers. Business culture in Houston, Texas is more formal than outsiders expect from Texas: callers describe scheduled calls, punctuality, and follow-up in writing as the norm in energy and medicine alike.
Area code 346 serves Houston and surrounding communities in Texas. It is in the Central Time zone.
What state is area code 346 in?
Area code 346 is in Texas. It is not in Bowling Green or Indianapolis — those are area codes 364 and 463.
Is area code 346 toll free?
No. Area code 346 is a geographic area code serving Houston, Texas. The toll-free codes are 800, 833, 844, 855, 866, 877, 888, and a call to a 346 number is charged at your normal rate.
Why am I getting calls from 346?
Calls displaying a 346 number come from businesses and individuals in the Houston area, and from anywhere at all when caller ID is spoofed to look local. 608 346 numbers were reported to the FTC in the 30 days to 8 October 2026.
How do I block calls from area code 346?
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 346 is rarely worth it, because spoofed numbers change constantly and you would lose legitimate calls from Houston.