Therefore, the lowest and most quickly dialed code was 212; the highest and slowest 909. The Bell System, in developing the original area codes, assigned the lowest codes to the areas where they would be most used: the large cities. 212, the lowest number, was New York City. The next to lowest, 213 and 312, were Los Angeles and Chicago. 214 was Dallas, 313 Detroit, and 412 was Pittsburgh. A high number like 919 was assigned to North Carolina. An even higher number, 907 (higher because the 0 counts as 10), was Alaska.