Bidwell Mansion · Photo: Frank Schulenburg · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Chico, CA: what to set up and who to call
Chico has its own drop-off, Butte Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility. Chico has its own train station.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Chico, 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 Chico.
Power comes from PG&E
PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Chico. Its homes paid an average of 37.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $174 a month (its average across California, for customers on its standard service). California lets you buy power from another supplier; 66% of PG&E’s home customers do, and PG&E still delivers it.
Start or move service: pgecorp.com
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico
Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico supplies almost all of Chico. It draws ground water and serves 114,925 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 332 systems serving 100,001–250,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, 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. CA0410002.
7 home internet providers serve Chico
100% of 29,636 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 27% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless, Fiber, DSL | 45% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Race Communications | Fiber | 15% | 1,000/1,000 |
| DigitalPath | Fixed wireless | 90% | 400/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 54% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 52% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Chico
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Chico, from the town’s own site.
Butte Regional Household Hazardous Waste Facility
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Accepted at the curb
- Metal
- Clean paper and cardboard
- Glass
- Empty Glass Bottles & Jars
- Empty Metal Food Containers
- Empty Plastic Bottles, Rigid Plastic Containers
- Empty Aluminum Beverage Containers
- Clean Paper, Magazines, Newspaper, Cardboard, Junk Mail
Neal Road Recycling & Waste Facility
1023 Neal Road, Paradise, CA 95969
From chicoca.gov, d16k74nzx9emoe.cloudfront.net, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2023, 7/1/2025. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Chico is in Chico Unified School District.
B+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 Aug 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Chico spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Chico residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Chico | ZIP’s residents in Chico |
|---|---|---|---|
| 95926 | Chico, CA | 38% | 94% |
| 95973 | Chico, CA | 31% | 79% |
| 95928 | Chico, CA | 31% | 82% |
95927, 95929, 95976 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.
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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Chico
Who supplies Chico’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Cal-Water Service Co.-Chico (EPA ID CA0410002). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Chico?
PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 37.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Chico?
Xfinity, AT&T, Race Communications, DigitalPath, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Chico?
95926 (38%), 95973 (31%), 95928 (31%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Chico in?
Chico Unified School District.
How do I register to vote in Chico?
In California you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Butte County Elections. Check your registration at voterstatus.sos.ca.gov.
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: Chico’s own website (chicoca.gov, d16k74nzx9emoe.cloudfront.net), 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.