The Milwaukee suburbs contain a set of corporate headquarters that would be remarkable for a city twice the size — Kohl's in Menomonee Falls, SC Johnson in Racine, Snap-on in Kenosha, and GE Healthcare in Waukesha. Below is where 262 reaches, how it was created in 1999, and how to get a local number in minutes.
Introduction
The 262 area code covers southeastern Wisconsin, a region home to some of America's most recognizable corporate headquarters and manufacturing operations. Kohl's Department Stores, SC Johnson (makers of Raid, Windex, and Ziploc), Snap-on Tools, and GE Healthcare are all headquartered in the 262 footprint, concentrated in Racine, Kenosha, and Waukesha counties. The code was split from 414 in 1999 as the Milwaukee suburbs expanded and number demand outpaced supply. Businesses serving the Kohl's vendor network, SC Johnson supply chain, Snap-on dealer network, or GE Healthcare procurement channels all benefit from a local 262 number that signals a Wisconsin address.
This guide covers where 262 reaches, the corporate headquarters that define its economy, its history and time zone, and the practical steps to provision a number with STIR/SHAKEN attestation that reaches Kohl's vendor networks and GE Healthcare procurement teams.
- Split from 414 on September 25, 1999 — a geographic split, not an overlay
- Six counties: Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth
- No overlay as of 2026, though the region isn't projected to need one until around 2031
Where the 262 area code reaches
262 covers the six-county suburban and exurban ring around Milwaukee — the communities that grew from mid-century bedroom suburbs into a self-sufficient economic corridor with its own Fortune 500 base.
- Waukesha County — Waukesha, Brookfield, Menomonee Falls, Oconomowoc, Pewaukee, and the western Milwaukee suburbs with a dense professional and corporate office economy
- Ozaukee County — Mequon, Port Washington, Grafton, and Cedarburg along the northern Lake Michigan shore
- Washington County — West Bend, Germantown, and Hartford northwest of Milwaukee
- Racine County — Racine, Burlington, and Sturtevant along the Lake Michigan shoreline south of Milwaukee
- Kenosha County — Kenosha, Pleasant Prairie, and the communities along the Illinois border and Lake Michigan waterfront
- Walworth County — Lake Geneva, Elkhorn, and Delavan in the resort and agricultural southwest corner of the 262 footprint
262 is a standalone geographic code with no overlay — every number in Southeastern Wisconsin's suburban ring carries the 262 prefix, with no competing code sharing the map. More detail sits on our letsdial page.
Corporate headquarters: Kohl's, SC Johnson, Snap-on, and Uline
Few suburban rings this size carry four Fortune 500-caliber headquarters. Kohl's, SC Johnson, Snap-on, and Uline anchor a corporate and industrial base that spans retail, consumer products, professional tools, and logistics.
Kohl's Corporation in Menomonee Falls
Kohl's Corporation is headquartered in Menomonee Falls, Waukesha County — running approximately 1,100 department stores across 49 states from a campus that employs thousands of corporate buyers, supply chain specialists, and marketing staff.
SC Johnson in Racine
SC Johnson is headquartered in Racine — a fifth-generation family-owned company that manufactures household brands including Windex, Pledge, Raid, OFF!, and Ziploc, distributing them across 170 countries. The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed SC Johnson Research Tower is a landmark of the 262 footprint.
Snap-on Incorporated in Kenosha
Snap-on Incorporated is headquartered in Kenosha — a global manufacturer and marketer of premium tools, equipment, diagnostics, and software for professional mechanics, aerospace technicians, and industrial engineers. Snap-on's franchised dealer van network is one of the most recognizable sales models in the professional trades, and its Kenosha headquarters directs global operations for a company with revenues exceeding $4 billion annually.
Uline and the Pleasant Prairie logistics corridor
Uline operates a major distribution campus in Pleasant Prairie, Kenosha County — one of the company's largest fulfillment facilities in the country, processing millions of orders for boxes, tape, safety equipment, and warehouse supplies. The I-94 corridor there has attracted additional distribution and light manufacturing at the Wisconsin-Illinois border.
Kenosha's manufacturing identity runs deeper than Snap-on and Uline — the city was an automaking center for 108 years. The Thomas B. Jeffery Company began building the Rambler there in 1902, and the same plant became American Motors Corporation's primary assembly site after AMC's 1954 formation, producing the Rambler, Gremlin, and Pacer before Chrysler acquired AMC in 1987. The last engine rolled off a Kenosha line in October 2010, closing out more than a century of continuous automobile production in the city. More detail sits on our STIR/SHAKEN page.
GE Healthcare and the Waukesha medical technology corridor
GE Healthcare's Waukesha campus
GE Healthcare, spun off from GE as an independent public company in January 2023, maintains a major engineering and manufacturing presence in Waukesha — developing MRI systems, CT scanners, and ultrasound equipment shipped to hospitals worldwide.
Healthcare services across the suburban ring
ProHealth Care and Advocate Aurora Health — one of the 10 largest nonprofit health systems in the country — both operate significant facilities throughout the 262 footprint, making healthcare one of the largest employment sectors across the suburban ring.
That density of hospital systems, medical device engineering, and corporate procurement offices means the 262 region fields an unusually high volume of business-to-business calls for its size — vendors reaching GE Healthcare's supply chain, staffing agencies working ProHealth Care's rotation, or benefits brokers calling into Kohl's or Snap-on HR departments. A recognizable local prefix matters more in that kind of repeat-vendor environment than it would in a purely consumer-facing market.
Lake Geneva, the lakefront, and the tourism economy
Lake Geneva's resort economy
Lake Geneva in Walworth County is one of the premier resort destinations in the Midwest — a Victorian-era lakefront community with a historic walking path around Geneva Lake and a year-round events calendar drawing visitors from Chicago and Milwaukee. Grand Geneva Resort, Abbey Resort, and several boutique lakefront properties sustain the hospitality and dining economy.
Walworth County's resort economy runs on a different rhythm than the corporate and manufacturing base further north — weekend and seasonal booking volume that spikes hard around summer weekends and holiday periods, when short-term rental hosts, event venues, and restaurants field a surge of reservation calls in a compressed window. A 262 number that's easy to recognize and quick to answer matters most exactly during those peak windows, when a missed call is a lost booking rather than just a delayed callback.
Racine and Kenosha on the Lake Michigan waterfront
Racine and Kenosha both occupy Lake Michigan shoreline positions central to their industrial histories. The Racine Art Museum and Kenosha's Civil War Museum add a cultural tourism layer alongside the manufacturing and corporate employment base along the eastern 262 corridor.
Kenosha's shoreline identity has shifted over the past few decades from an auto-manufacturing town toward a mixed logistics, tourism, and lakefront-residential economy, a transition that tracks the broader story of the 262 region: heavy industry giving way to a blend of corporate headquarters, healthcare, and service businesses without ever losing the Lake Michigan waterfront as a civic anchor.
262 history, time zone, and getting a number
262 history: split from 414 in 1999
On September 25, 1999, the 262 area code was created as a geographic split from 414. Milwaukee proper retained 414, while the surrounding suburban and exurban counties — Waukesha, Ozaukee, Washington, Racine, Kenosha, and Walworth — were assigned to 262. The split gave the suburban ring a distinct area code identity for the first time, and 262 has operated as a standalone geographic code ever since, with no overlay currently in place — projections put its number pool lasting until roughly 2031.
Time zone and calling hours
The entire 262 area code observes Central Time — UTC-6 in winter (CST) and UTC-5 during Daylight Saving (CDT), one hour behind Eastern and one hour ahead of Mountain. West Coast teams should open outbound campaigns no later than 7 a.m. Pacific to reach the full Wisconsin business day.
How to get a 262 number
- Cloud phone platform — search available 262 numbers in real time and activate a line the same day. letsdial provisions a Southeastern Wisconsin number in under three minutes on a free trial, no credit card required.
- Port your existing number — already have a 262 line on another carrier? Port it in without downtime. letsdial handles the transfer at no charge and keeps the number active through the full transition.
- Wireless SIM or landline carrier — valid for a physical handset, but slower to provision and harder to scale without additional hardware per seat.
Call trust: STIR/SHAKEN for corporate and healthcare markets
The 262 footprint's corporate base — Kohl's, SC Johnson, Snap-on, and GE Healthcare procurement channels — filters aggressively. Apply STIR/SHAKEN A-level attestation through your carrier so every outbound 262 call arrives verified with your registered business name on the screen, and register text campaigns for 10DLC compliance before scaling volume.
> [TIP] Note: letsdial applies STIR/SHAKEN attestation automatically and files your 10DLC registration for text messaging — your 262 number is protected from the first call with no extra configuration.
North American Numbering Plan records govern how 262 and every other area code in the US, Canada, and the Caribbean are assigned. That record is published in full as North American Numbering Plan.
Conclusion
The 262 area code defines southeastern Wisconsin's corporate identity — Kohl's, SC Johnson, Snap-on, and GE Healthcare all operate from this footprint, alongside a deep manufacturing and healthcare sector stretching from Racine south to Kenosha and west into Waukesha County.
letsdial provisions 262 numbers in minutes on a free trial, with STIR/SHAKEN attestation applied automatically so your calls reach corporate procurement teams without being filtered. Activate a southeastern Wisconsin number today.
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Written by Aryan Khan · June 20, 2026
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