Photo: pelle68 · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Costa Mesa, CA: what to set up and who to call
Costa Mesa has its own drop-off, Orange Coast College Recycling Center. Two school districts split the grades in Costa Mesa: Huntington Beach Union High School District and Newport-Mesa Unified School District.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Costa Mesa, 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 Costa Mesa.
Power comes from Southern California Edison
Southern California Edison (Southern California Edison Co), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Costa Mesa. Its homes paid an average of 31.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $149 a month (its average across California, for customers on its standard service). California lets you buy power from another supplier; 30% of Southern California Edison’s home customers do, and Southern California Edison still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Mesa Water District
Mesa Water District supplies Costa Mesa: about 93% of residents live in its service area. Irvine Ranch Water District serves another 7%. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. and City of Newport Beach and City of Santa Ana and Irvine Ranch Water District as sellers) and serves 110,000 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. CA3010004.
6 home internet providers serve Costa Mesa
98% of 23,930 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 41% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 96% | 1,000/1,000 |
| AT&T | DSL, Fiber, Fixed wireless | 85% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 58% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 57% | 100/20 |
| Cosmo Network Solutions | Fixed wireless | 52% | 250/100 |
| GeoLinks | Fixed wireless | 3% | 1,000/1,000 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Costa Mesa has its own drop-off: Orange Coast College Recycling Center
Where to take trash and recycling in Costa Mesa, and where the rules are.
Orange Coast College Recycling Center
Before you go, check the rules on costamesaca.gov.
OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026 (last edited May 2026). © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Costa Mesa is in two districts that split the grades: Huntington Beach Union High School District and Newport-Mesa Unified 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.
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 Nov 18, 2024.
Costa Mesa spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Costa Mesa residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Costa Mesa | ZIP’s residents in Costa Mesa |
|---|---|---|---|
| 92627 | Costa Mesa, CA | 54% | 99% |
| 92626 | Costa Mesa, CA | 45% | 100% |
A few homes fall in 92660, 92704. 92628 is P.O. box or single-organization ZIP 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.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Costa Mesa
Who supplies Costa Mesa’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Mesa Water District (EPA ID CA3010004). 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 Costa Mesa?
Southern California Edison (Southern California Edison Co), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 31.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Costa Mesa?
Spectrum, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile, Cosmo Network Solutions, GeoLinks (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Costa Mesa?
92627 (54%), 92626 (45%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Costa Mesa in?
Huntington Beach Union High School District and Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Parts of the city are in Santa Ana Unified School District.
How do I register to vote in Costa Mesa?
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 Orange County Registrar of Voters. 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: 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 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.