Bakersfield, CA Area Code

Area code serving Bakersfield

Bakersfield sits in California, part of the West region and the Pacific Time zone. Its area code is 661, which covers Kern County and the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys of northern Los Angeles County. 661 has no overlay today, so every Bakersfield landline and mobile number with a local code starts with 661.

661 has served the area since 1999. If the region runs low on numbers, regulators will most likely add an overlay code on top rather than split the area, which would make 10-digit dialing mandatory.

Code	Area served	In service
661	Kern County and the Antelope and Santa Clarita valleys of northern Los Angeles County	February 13, 1999

Nearby cities sharing this area code

• Lancaster
• Palmdale
• Santa Clarita
• Delano
• Tehachapi
• Wasco
• Shafter
• Arvin
• Taft
• McFarland

Getting a Bakersfield phone number

Any new landline, mobile or VoIP number from a local carrier in Bakersfield gets the 661 area code. Numbers come from the blocks each carrier holds in the area; a number ported in from elsewhere keeps its original area code, so you may also see out-of-state codes locally.

Dialing in Bakersfield

Bakersfield is covered by the single area code 661 with no overlay, so some local calls may still connect with seven digits. Dialing all 10 digits (area code + seven-digit number) always works and is the safest habit. From outside the US, dial +1, then the area code and number. See 10-digit dialing and overlay area codes for the background. For every code in California, visit the California area codes page.