Photo: Marine 69-71 · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Carefree, AZ: what to set up and who to call
Tap water in most of Carefree comes from Carefree Water Company, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 20% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result below detection. The closest public drop-off to Carefree is Cave Creek Transfer Station, 5 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Carefree, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.
Power, water and internet
Who to call to start service at a new address in Carefree.
Power comes from APS
APS (Arizona Public Service Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Carefree. Its homes paid an average of 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $165 a month (its average across Arizona).
Start or move service: aps.com
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Carefree Water Company
Carefree Water Company supplies Carefree: about 68% of residents live in its service area. Cave Creek Water serves another 23%. City of Scottsdale serves another 9%. About 7% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Cave Creek Water and City of Scottsdale as sellers) and serves 3,894 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.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. AZ0407015.
8 home internet providers serve Carefree
94% of 2,468 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Communications | Cable | 90% | 2,000/100 |
| CenturyLink | DSL | 41% | 100/10 |
| AirFiber WISP | Fixed wireless | 95% | 1,000/500 |
| Mojo Broadband | Fixed wireless | 87% | 500/100 |
| BAM Broadband | Fixed wireless | 78% | 1,000/100 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 68% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
The nearest public drop-off is 5 miles away
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Carefree.
Cave Creek Transfer Station
3955 East Carefree Highway, Cave Creek, AZ, 85331
This isn’t Carefree’s own facility. Whether Carefree residents may use it is the town’s rule: check carefree.org.
OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Carefree is in Cave Creek Unified 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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Carefree spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Carefree residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Carefree | ZIP’s residents in Carefree |
|---|---|---|---|
| 85377 | Carefree, AZ | 95% | 100% |
| 85331 | Cave Creek, AZ | 5% | 1% |
Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.
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 Carefree
Who supplies Carefree’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Carefree Water Company (EPA ID AZ0407015). 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 0.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Carefree?
APS (Arizona Public Service Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Carefree?
Cox Communications, CenturyLink, AirFiber WISP, Mojo Broadband, BAM Broadband, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Carefree?
85377 (95%), 85331 (5%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Carefree in?
Cave Creek Unified District.
How do I register to vote in Carefree?
In Arizona you can register online until 29 days before Election Day, in person until 29 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 29 days before). Elections here are run by the Maricopa County Recorder. Check your registration at my.arizona.vote.
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: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- 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 Sep 12, 2025 (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.