253 Area Code 🌍☎️

The most populous cities in area code 253 are: Tacoma, Auburn, Kent, Milton, and Puyallup.

Other cities in the 253 area code include: Seattle, Fife, Sumner, Gig Harbor, Graham, Lakewood, Roy, Lakebay, Eatonville, Fox Island, and Olalla.

Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, 32 miles (51 km) southwest of Seattle, 31 miles (50 km) northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and 58 miles (93 km) northwest of Mount Rainier National Park. The population was 198,397, according to the 2010 census. Tacoma is the second-largest city in the Puget Sound area and the third largest in the state. Tacoma also serves as the center of business activity for the South Sound region, which has a population of around 1 million people.Tacoma adopted its name after the nearby Mount Rainier, originally called Takhoma or Tahoma. It is locally known as the "City of Destiny" because the area was chosen to be the western terminus of the Northern Pacific Railroad in the late 19th century. The decision of the railroad was influenced by Tacoma's neighboring deep-water harbor, Commencement Bay. By connecting the bay with the railroad, Tacoma's motto became "When rails meet sails." Today, Commencement Bay serves the Port of Tacoma, a center of international trade on the Pacific Coast and Washington State's largest port.Like most central cities, Tacoma suffered a prolonged decline in the mid-20th century as a result of suburbanization and divestment. Since the 1990s, developments in the downtown core include the University of Washington Tacoma ; Tacoma Link, the first modern electric light rail service in the state; the state's highest density of art and history museums; and a restored urban waterfront, the Thea Foss Waterway. Neighborhoods such as the 6th Avenue District have become revitalized.Tacoma-Pierce County has been named one of the most livable areas in the United States. In 2006, Tacoma was listed as one of the "most walkable" cities in the country. That same year, the women's magazine Self named Tacoma the "Most Sexually Healthy City" in the United States. In contrast, Tacoma was also ranked as the "most stressed-out" city in the country in a 2004 survey. Tacoma gained notoriety in 1940 for the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, which earned the nickname "Galloping Gertie".

Auburn is a city in King County and additionally Pierce County, Washington, United States ; with the majority of spatial land area within King County. The population was 70,180 at the 2010 United States Census. Auburn is a suburb in the Seattle metropolitan area. Auburn is currently ranked the fourteenth largest city in the state of Washington. Auburn is bordered by the cities of Federal Way, Pacific, and Algona to the west, Sumner to the south, Kent to the north, and unincorporated King County to the east. The Muckleshoot Indian Reservation is in or near the southern city limits.

Kent is a city located in King County, Washington, United States. It is the sixth largest city in the state and third largest in the county. Kent is in the heart of the Seattle–Tacoma metroplex, located 19 miles south of Seattle and 19 miles northeast of Tacoma. Incorporated in 1890, it is the second oldest incorporated city in King County, after Seattle. Kent's population as of April, 2010 was 92,411 according to the 2010 census. The total grew to an estimated 126,952 as of July 1, 2015, owing primarily to annexation.Once a thriving agricultural area, Kent is now home to hundreds of companies. Among the many corporations headquartered in Kent are REI (Recreational Equipment Inc.), Oberto Sausage Company, Blue Origin, and the two largest waterjet companies in the United States: Flow International Corporation and Omax Corporation.

The 253 area code lies within the Pacific Daylight Time Zone (or PDT). The current time in Pacific Daylight Time is 04:20 AM on Mar 10, 2026.