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Franklin County Courthouse, Charleston, ARPhoto: Brandonrush · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Charleston handbook

Living in Charleston, AR: what to set up and who to call

Tap water in Charleston comes from Charleston Waterworks, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 20% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 1.0 ppb. Charleston School District runs the public schools in Charleston.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Charleston, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Charleston.

Electricity

Power comes from OG&E

OG&E (Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Charleston. Its homes paid an average of 11.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $121 a month (its average across Arkansas).

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Charleston Waterworks

Charleston Waterworks supplies almost all of Charleston. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Franklin-Sebastian Pwa as seller) and serves 3,386 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.

Lead, 90th percentile1.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 57% of similar systems’ latest results.

The system’s full record: EPA ECHO report

EPA SDWIS via Envirofacts (violations pulled Oct 9, 2026) and ECHO (lead samples, 2026Q3); service area: EPA Community Water System Service Area Boundaries v3.0. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. AR0000200.

Internet

6 home internet providers serve Charleston

93% of 1,153 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 93% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
Wave Rural ConnectFiber90%1,000/1,000
OptimumCable84%500/20
BrightspeedDSL, Fixed wireless45%60/5
AT&TFixed wireless74%25/3
T-MobileFixed wireless62%100/20
VerizonFixed wireless3%25/6

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

Trash day in Charleston depends on your street

Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Charleston, from the town’s own site.

How trash works hereTown pickupTown crews pick up at the curbcharlestonar.gov
Trash dayBy addressDepends on your address
Pickup

Your pickup week

Drop-off center

Charleston Recycling Center

We couldn’t find its opening hours.

What goes in the recycling bin

Accepted at the curb

  • Cardboard
  • Paper
  • Plastic bottles
  • Aluminum and tin cans
Furniture, appliances and bulky itemsCity dumpsters open first Saturday of the month 8:00 am to 12:00 noon; $20 per pickup load, $30 per trailer load; larger loads priced on site

From charlestonar.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Charleston kids go to
PK–6Charleston Elementary SchoolCharleston School District
7–12Charleston High SchoolCharleston School District

Charleston is in Charleston School District.

A−School gradeSee Schools →

U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.

Government & voting

Town hall and registering to vote

Who to call, and how to register.

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Charleston is in ZIP code 72933

ZIP codes where Charleston residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of CharlestonZIP’s residents in Charleston
72933Charleston, AR100%52%
Area code479Wikidata

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

Getting around, the ER and the library

One line each; the subject pages have the rest.

ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

Questions about living in Charleston

Who supplies Charleston’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Charleston Waterworks (EPA ID AR0000200). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Charleston?

OG&E (Oklahoma Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 11.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Charleston?

Wave Rural Connect, Optimum, Brightspeed, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Charleston?

72933. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Charleston in?

Charleston School District.

How do I register to vote in Charleston?

Arkansas has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Franklin County Clerk. Check your registration at voterview.ar-nova.org.

Sources & dates

Every answer above names its source. Here they are with their dates.

  • Water: EPA SDWIS (Envirofacts, pulled Oct 9, 2026), ECHO SDWA 2026Q3, EPA CWS Service Area Boundaries v3.0.
  • Power: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map Aug 2023); EIA-861 final 2025.
  • Trash: Charleston’s own website (charlestonar.gov), read Oct 21, 2026, pickup and drop-off facts extracted and checked against the page they came from.
  • ZIP codes: Census 2020 ZCTA relationship files; GeoNames postal codes (CC BY 4.0).
  • Schools: NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25.
  • Registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024 (read Oct 10, 2026). Official sites and area codes: Wikidata.
  • Election office: FVAP local election office directory (fetched Oct 10, 2026; each record dated), EAC EAVS 2024 jurisdictions; registration and lookup links from vote.gov’s state data, checked Oct 10, 2026.
  • Internet: FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025.