585 Area Code: Location, Cities, Time Zone & Scam Guide

The 585 area code is the signature of Rochester, New York — the Flower City on the southern shore of Lake Ontario — and its surrounding communities. If you have seen 585 pop up on your phone, the call almost certainly traces back to western New York’s Rochester metro area. Unlike newer codes that overlay existing ones, 585 was born from a classic geographic split in 2001, when Rochester separated from Buffalo’s 716 territory.

Below you will find everything worth knowing about the 585 area code: its location, the cities and counties it covers, its time zone, its history, how to dial it, and how to handle suspicious calls that use it.

585 Area Code at a Glance

Feature	Detail
Area code	585
Location	New York, USA — Rochester and western New York (nine counties)
Major cities	Rochester, Batavia, Canandaigua, Geneva, Geneseo, Albion, Medina, Victor
Time zone	Eastern Time (ET) — UTC−5 standard, UTC−4 daylight saving
Country	United States
Dialing format	+1 585 XXX XXXX (from outside North America)
In service since	November 15, 2001
Parent code	716 (created by geographic split)
Overlay	None — 585 is a standalone geographic code
Neighboring codes	716 (Buffalo), 315/680 (Syracuse), 607 (Elmira/Binghamton)

Where Is the 585 Area Code Located?

The 585 area code is located in western New York State, anchored by the city of Rochester and reaching across the Finger Lakes region to the south and east. It covers Rochester and eight surrounding counties — essentially the Rochester metropolitan statistical area plus the rural counties between Rochester, Buffalo, and the Pennsylvania border.

Rochester itself sits at the falls of the Genesee River where it meets Lake Ontario. The 585 territory fans out from there: west toward Batavia and the Buffalo suburbs’ doorstep, east toward Canandaigua and Geneva in the heart of Finger Lakes wine country, and south through Geneseo, Warsaw, and Wellsville into the rolling hills of Allegany County. The boundary with Buffalo’s 716 roughly follows county lines, while the eastern edge meets the 315/680 territory around Syracuse and Utica.

Cities and Counties Covered by Area Code 585

The 585 area code covers nine counties: Monroe, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Wyoming, Allegany, plus small portions of Wayne (around Macedon, Walworth, and Ontario) and Steuben (the northwest corner, including Cohocton and Wayland). Major communities include:

• Rochester — New York’s fourth-largest city, famed for the Lilac Festival, the Strong National Museum of Play, the George Eastman Museum, and the Eastman School of Music
• Batavia — county seat of Genesee County, midway between Rochester and Buffalo
• Canandaigua — on the north shore of Canandaigua Lake, a gateway to Finger Lakes wine country
• Geneva — at the northern tip of Seneca Lake, home to Hobart and William Smith Colleges and Cornell’s agricultural research station
• Geneseo — a classic college town, home to SUNY Geneseo, in the scenic Genesee Valley
• Albion — county seat of Orleans County on the Erie Canal
• Medina — an Erie Canal village known for its sandstone architecture
• Victor — a fast-growing suburb and retail hub east of Rochester
• Wellsville, Warsaw, Dansville, Le Roy, Avon, Pittsford, Fairport, Greece, Irondequoit — additional towns and suburbs throughout the territory

One local quirk: because the 716/585 boundary roughly follows county lines rather than ZIP codes, some ZIP codes have telephone numbers in two area codes — a leftover of the split.

History of the 585 Area Code

Before November 2001, all of western New York — from Buffalo to Rochester — operated under a single area code, 716, one of the original codes assigned in the 1947 NANP rollout. For decades that worked fine, but the internet era changed everything: fax machines, pagers, dial-up modems, and then mobile phones drove demand for new numbers far beyond what 716 could supply.

NANPA and New York State regulators faced a choice: overlay or split. An overlay would have preserved every existing number but forced mandatory 10-digit dialing on everyone. Instead, they chose a geographic split — logical because Rochester and Buffalo had always been separate economic and cultural centers despite sharing a code. On November 15, 2001, Monroe County and eight surrounding counties transitioned to the new 585 area code, while Erie and Niagara counties kept 716.

585 was only the second new area code in New York State since 1954 (outside New York City and Long Island), following 845 in 2000. Unlike the overlay codes that followed elsewhere, every Rochester-area number changed from 716 to 585 on the transition date — a one-time disruption that bought the region decades of number supply. As of recent NANPA projections, the 585 area code is not expected to need relief until at least 2029, and it remains the sole code for the Rochester region.

585 Area Code Time Zone

The 585 area code is entirely in the Eastern Time Zone (ET):

• Standard time: UTC−5 (Eastern Standard Time, EST)
• Daylight saving time: UTC−4 (Eastern Daylight Time, EDT), observed from the second Sunday in March to the first Sunday in November

The whole state of New York observes daylight saving time, so Rochester, Buffalo, and New York City always share the same clock. Calling from Chicago? Subtract one hour. From Denver, subtract two; from Los Angeles, subtract three. From London, Rochester is five hours behind year-round (EST vs. GMT in winter, EDT vs. BST in summer).

How to Dial a 585 Area Code Number

Because 585 is a standalone geographic code with no overlay, dialing follows the classic rules:

• Local call within the 585 area: seven-digit dialing historically worked here, but saving and dialing ten digits is the safe modern habit (e.g., 585-555-0168).
• Long-distance call from elsewhere in the U.S. or Canada: dial 1 + 585 + the seven-digit number (e.g., 1-585-555-0168).
• International call: dial your country’s exit code, then 1 + 585 + the seven-digit number (e.g., from the U.K., 00-1-585-555-0168; universally, +1 585 555 0168).
• Texting: include the area code — 585 — in every contact entry.

Note: unlike overlay regions, 585 never required mandatory ten-digit dialing, since no second code shares its territory. Still, most modern phones and carriers handle ten-digit local dialing without issue.

Is the 585 Area Code a Scam? Phone Scam Safety

585 is a legitimate, long-established area code for Rochester and western New York — but as with any code, scammers can spoof it so their calls appear local. Rochester-area residents commonly report these schemes:

• IRS and tax scams: callers impersonating the IRS, demanding payment for supposed back taxes and threatening arrest.
• Utility scams: callers claiming to be from RG&E or National Grid, threatening immediate shutoff unless you pay by gift card or wire transfer.
• Medicare and health-insurance scams: targeting the region’s large senior population with fake plan “updates” that harvest personal data.
• Tech-support scams: callers claiming to be from Microsoft or a cable provider, requesting remote access to “fix” a nonexistent problem.
• Lottery and sweepstakes scams: callers announcing a prize win that requires an upfront “processing fee.”

How to stay safe:

1. Do not trust caller ID. A 585 number on your screen does not prove the call comes from Rochester.
2. Never pay with gift cards, wire transfers, or cryptocurrency on an unsolicited call — that is always a scam.
3. Hang up and call back using the official number from the organization’s website or your bill.
4. Do not give out personal details (Social Security number, Medicare number, bank logins) to incoming callers.
5. Report scams to the FTC at reportfraud.ftc.gov and the New York Attorney General’s office.

Frequently Asked Questions

Where is the 585 area code?

The 585 area code is in western New York, centered on Rochester. It covers nine counties including Monroe, Genesee, Livingston, Ontario, Orleans, Wyoming, and Allegany, plus parts of Wayne and Steuben counties.

What time zone is the 585 area code in?

The 585 area code is in the Eastern Time Zone (UTC−5 standard, UTC−4 during daylight saving), the same as New York City and Toronto.

What was the Rochester area code before 585?

Before November 15, 2001, Rochester and the surrounding region shared area code 716 with Buffalo. The 2001 split gave Rochester its own code, 585, while Buffalo kept 716.

Is 585 an overlay area code?

No. 585 was created by a geographic split of 716, not an overlay. It is the sole area code for its territory, which is why mandatory ten-digit dialing was never imposed there.

Is the 585 area code toll-free?

No. 585 is a geographic area code for New York, not a toll-free code. North American toll-free codes are 800, 888, 877, 866, 855, 844, and 833.

What cities use the 585 area code?

Major 585 cities include Rochester, Batavia, Canandaigua, Geneva, Geneseo, Albion, Medina, Victor, Wellsville, and Warsaw, along with dozens of surrounding towns and villages.

Conclusion

The 585 area code is Rochester’s telephonic identity — born in a 2001 split from Buffalo’s 716, covering the Flower City and the Finger Lakes counties around it, and running on Eastern Time. Because it has no overlay, dialing is straightforward, and the region’s number supply is expected to last well into the future. Just remember that no caller ID — 585 included — proves a call is genuine. Keep this guide handy, save contacts with the area code, and explore our other New York area code guides for the full statewide picture.