Area code 651

src: stemfest.us

Area code 651 is the telephone numbering plan code for Saint Paul, Minnesota, and the eastern suburbs of the Twin Cities. A dogleg portion also extends to the southeast along the Mississippi River to include cities such as Red Wing. The region was the fifth area code created in the state in 1998, when it was carved out of area code 612. The dividing line largely follows the Mississippi River; generally, all of the metropolitan area east of the river transferred to 651. An exception is the eastern half of the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities' campus, located in Falcon Heights. Due to an integrated telephone system serving both the Falcon Heights campus and the main campus in Minneapolis, the entire U of M remained in 612 after the 1998 split.

The area code splits in the Twin Cities are unusual because they split along municipal, rather than central office, boundaries. This led to a sizeable number of exchanges being divided between two area codes, and a few being divided among three.

The four Twin Cities area codes (612, 651, 763 and 952) comprise one of the largest local calling areas in the United States; with a few exceptions, no long-distance charges are applied from one part of the Twin Cities to another. Portions of area codes 320 and 507 are local calls from the Twin Cities as well.