The Mississippi River bends around Davenport, Iowa, and every barge pilot, riverfront business, and Quad Cities commuter crossing into Illinois shares a common telephone signature: 563.
The 563 area code is eastern Iowa’s river corridor — from the Quad Cities to Dubuque, down to the Missouri border. If a 563 number just called you, or you’re establishing a business presence in the Iowa-Illinois border region, this guide gives you the complete picture: exactly which cities and counties 563 covers, its time zone, its 2001 history, how to dial, and how to spot the scams that sometimes spoof the code.
563 Area Code at a Glance
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| State | Iowa |
| Region | Eastern Iowa along the Mississippi River corridor |
| Anchor cities | Davenport, Dubuque, Bettendorf |
| Created | March 25, 2001 |
| Split from | 319 area code |
| Time zone | Central Time (UTC−6 standard / UTC−5 daylight) |
| Overlay codes | None — Iowa has no overlay codes |
| Dialing | 10-digit dialing standard |
| Population served | Approximately 790,000 |
Where Is the 563 Area Code Located?
The 563 area code covers northeastern and east-central Iowa, following the Mississippi River along the state’s eastern border and reaching north toward Minnesota and south toward Missouri. It spans roughly 7,300 square miles and 16 counties.
Cities in the 563 Area Code
Major communities include:
- Davenport — the largest city in the code, part of the Quad Cities (with Bettendorf, Iowa and Moline and Rock Island, Illinois) and a major river-port and logistics hub.
- Dubuque — Iowa’s oldest city, built on bluffs above the Mississippi, now a center for healthcare, manufacturing, and riverboat tourism.
- Bettendorf — Davenport’s fast-growing Quad Cities neighbor with a strong commercial base.
- Clinton — a historic lumber and manufacturing city on the river.
- Muscatine — once the pearl-button capital of the world, still a Mississippi River industrial town.
- Burlington — southern river city near the Missouri border.
- Keokuk — Iowa’s southernmost river city, at the confluence with the Des Moines River.
- Decorah — a college town (Luther College) in the driftless region’s rolling hills.
- Maquoketa, De Witt, Eldridge, and Manchester — smaller communities rounding out the territory.
Counties in the 563 Area Code
The code serves 16 counties: Scott, Clinton, Dubuque, Muscatine, Winneshiek, Jackson, Fayette, Clayton, Delaware, Cedar, Allamakee, Jones, Howard, Chickasaw, Bremer, and Buchanan. ZIP codes in the region generally run from 50606 through 52809. Across the river, Illinois callers use 309/861 (Peoria), 779/815 (Rockford), and neighboring Iowa codes 319 and 641 border the territory to the west.
History of the 563 Area Code
When the North American Numbering Plan launched in 1947, all of eastern Iowa carried the 319 area code — one of the original 86 codes. For over 50 years, 319 served the entire eastern half of the state.
By the late 1990s, mobile phones, fax machines, and pagers were draining the 319 number supply. Regulators considered an overlay, but in 2001 the concept was still new and unpopular with residents who preferred to keep their existing numbers unchanged. So they chose a geographic split.
On March 25, 2001, the 563 area code went into service for the northeastern portion of the old 319 territory, centered on Davenport and Dubuque. Residents in the new 563 region had until December 2, 2001, to switch. The remaining 319 territory kept Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Waterloo.
Iowa remains one of the few states that has never implemented an overlay in any of its numbering plan areas — 563, like its neighbors, is still a single-code region today.
What Time Zone Is the 563 Area Code?
The entire 563 area code operates in the Central Time Zone (CT):
- Winter (early November – mid-March): Central Standard Time (CST), UTC−6
- Summer (mid-March – early November): Central Daylight Time (CDT), UTC−5
Practical offsets:
| Your time zone | 563 (Central) is… |
|---|---|
| Eastern (ET) | 1 hour behind |
| Mountain (MT) | 1 hour ahead |
| Pacific (PT) | 2 hours ahead |
The Quad Cities sit right on the Iowa–Illinois border, and both states share Central Time, so cross-river business calls stay on one clock. If you’re calling from the East Coast, a 9 a.m. Eastern call reaches Davenport at 8 a.m. — fine for most businesses.
How to Dial a 563 Number
- Local calls within 563: Dial all 10 digits — 563 + the 7-digit number.
- Long-distance calls from elsewhere in the U.S. and Canada: Dial 1 + 563 + the 7-digit number.
- International calls: Dial your country’s exit code, then 1 + 563 + the 7-digit number. From most countries:
+1 563 XXX XXXX. - Toll-free: 563 is not a toll-free code. It’s a standard geographic area code for Iowa; normal long-distance or plan rates apply.
Virtual phone providers can assign a 563 number to anyone, anywhere — popular with businesses targeting Quad Cities customers or the Dubuque market without opening an Iowa office.
Is the 563 Area Code a Scam?
No — 563 is a legitimate area code serving nearly 800,000 Iowans. However, scammers frequently spoof 563 numbers to look like local calls, especially targeting Quad Cities homeowners, Dubuque business owners, and rural farming communities.
Scams reported from spoofed 563 numbers include:
- Utility and “MidAmerican Energy” impersonation threatening shutoffs.
- Farm equipment and agricultural supply scams targeting rural buyers with fake listings.
- Grandparent scams — callers pretending to be a grandchild in trouble.
- Medicare and health insurance scams aimed at seniors in the river towns.
- Fake debt collection demanding immediate payment.
Stay safe:
- Never trust caller ID alone — it can be faked to show 563.
- Don’t share personal or financial details with unexpected callers.
- Hang up and call back using the organization’s official number.
- Verify urgent claims independently — real utilities send written notices before shutoffs.
- Report scams to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and to the Iowa Attorney General.
563 Area Code FAQs
What cities are in the 563 area code?
Davenport, Dubuque, Bettendorf, Clinton, Muscatine, Burlington, Keokuk, Decorah, Maquoketa, De Witt, Eldridge, and Manchester — spanning the Mississippi River corridor of eastern Iowa across 16 counties.
What time zone is the 563 area code in?
Central Time. The region observes Central Standard Time (UTC−6) in winter and Central Daylight Time (UTC−5) during daylight saving — one hour behind Eastern Time.
When was the 563 area code created?
Area code 563 went into service on March 25, 2001, in a split from the 319 area code, which had served eastern Iowa since the original 1947 NANP rollout. Residents had until December 2, 2001, to transition.
Is Cedar Rapids in the 563 area code?
No. Cedar Rapids stayed in 319 after the 2001 split. The 563 territory covers the northeast — Davenport, Dubuque, and the river corridor — while 319 kept Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, and Waterloo.
Does the 563 area code have an overlay?
No. Iowa is one of the few states with no overlay codes at all. 563 is the sole code for its territory.
Can I get a 563 phone number if I don’t live in Iowa?
Yes. Virtual phone and VoIP providers can assign a 563 number from anywhere in the world — no Iowa address or physical office required.
Conclusion
The 563 area code has been eastern Iowa’s telephone identity since March 2001, when it split from the original 319 code to serve the Mississippi River corridor. From the Quad Cities’ riverfront to Dubuque’s bluffs, it runs on Central Time and remains a single-code region — no overlay, no confusion.
Whether you’re screening a 563 call, setting up a local line for an Iowa business, or mapping the state’s area codes, you now know where 563 reaches, how it was created, and how to dial it safely. For businesses, the 563 prefix carries genuine local credibility across the Mississippi River corridor — a region where cross-border commerce with Illinois keeps Quad Cities lines busy around the clock. Save this guide for the next time an unfamiliar 563 number lights up your phone.