North American area coe 916 is a state of California telephone area code which was one of the first three original area codes established in California in October, 1947. It covered the far north portion of the state. It was split in a flash-cut sometime during 1958, creating area code 209. 916 was again split on November 1, 1997 creating Area code 530. Today, 916 covers only the state capital of Sacramento and its immediate area.