Area code 818

The 818 telephone area code consists largely of the San Fernando Valley, in the greater Los Angeles area.

After the standardization of American telephone area codes, the entire Los Angeles metropolitan area had fallen within the 213 area code. (Note the similarity to New York City's 212 and Washington, DC's 202 area codes.) Because the population and phone usage of the LA metropolitan area greatly increased during the 1980s and 1990s, the 213 area code was split into several new area codes including the 818 and 310 area codes.

During the pop-culture heyday of the San Fernando Valley (typified by the Frank Zappa single "Valley Girl") in the 1980s, the term "818" actually acquired some currency in American popular lingo. This was mostly because several Hollywood movies of the period that attempted to portray the absurdity of American suburban teen culture, by dramatizing teen life in the suburbia that was geographically nearest to Hollywood (note: the movie studios in the Burbank area are located within the San Fernando Valley/818 area code). Thus, characters in these movies would make reference to living in, or communicating with friends who lived in, the "818".

See also

• Valley Girl
• List of North American area codes

	North: 661
West: 805	area code 818	East: 626
	South: 310, 323