Photo: Sanfranman59 · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Palo Alto, CA: what to set up and who to call
Palo Alto runs its own electric utility, City of Palo Alto; its homes paid 21.4¢ per kWh in 2025. The closest public drop-off to Palo Alto is Stanford Recycling Center, 1 mile out; the town decides whether residents may use it.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Palo Alto, 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 Palo Alto.
Power comes from City of Palo Alto
City of Palo Alto (City of Palo Alto - (CA)), a municipal utility, serves all of Palo Alto. Its homes paid an average of 21.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $110 a month (its average across California).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Santa Clara Valley Water District
Santa Clara Valley Water District supplies Palo Alto: about 50% of residents live in its service area. About 50% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water (EPA lists San Francisco Regional Water System as seller) and serves 0 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people.
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. CA4310027.
7 home internet providers serve Palo Alto
100% of 18,117 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 69% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| AT&T | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 97% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 88% | 300/20 |
| Etheric Networks | Fixed wireless | 79% | 250/100 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 47% | 100/20 |
| Ridge Wireless | Fixed wireless | 15% | 85/40 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
GreenWaste of Palo Alto picks up trash in Palo Alto
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Palo Alto, from the town’s own site.
We couldn’t find pickup days or drop-off hours. Check paloalto.gov →
From paloalto.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 23, 2026; pages dated 2026-10-20. 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.
Most of Palo Alto (73%) is in Palo Alto Unified School District; parts are in Fremont Union High School District (49%) and Mountain View-Los Altos Union School District (41%) and Cupertino Union Elementary School District (13%) and Los Altos Elementary School District (11%) and Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union School District (10%) and Saratoga Union Elementary School District (3%).
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 Jul 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Palo Alto spans 4 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Palo Alto residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Palo Alto | ZIP’s residents in Palo Alto |
|---|---|---|---|
| 94306 | Palo Alto, CA | 42% | 100% |
| 94303 | Palo Alto, CA | 27% | 38% |
| 94301 | Palo Alto, CA | 25% | 100% |
| 94304 | Palo Alto, CA | 6% | 93% |
A few homes fall in 94022, 94028, 95033, 94305. 94302, 94309 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 Palo Alto
Who supplies Palo Alto’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Santa Clara Valley Water District (EPA ID CA4310027). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none.
Who provides electricity in Palo Alto?
City of Palo Alto (City of Palo Alto - (CA)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 21.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Palo Alto?
Xfinity, AT&T, Verizon, Etheric Networks, T-Mobile, Ridge Wireless (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Palo Alto?
94306 (42%), 94303 (27%), 94301 (25%), 94304 (6%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Palo Alto in?
Palo Alto Unified School District. Parts of the city are in Fremont Union High School District and Mountain View-Los Altos Union School District and Cupertino Union Elementary School District and Los Altos Elementary School District and Los Gatos-Saratoga Joint Union School District and Saratoga Union Elementary School District.
How do I register to vote in Palo Alto?
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 Santa Clara 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: Palo Alto’s own website (paloalto.gov), read Oct 23, 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.