Living in Palo Cedro, CA: what to set up and who to call
Palo Cedro has no town government of its own, so Shasta County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Shasta Union High School District. Spectrum is the only wired internet provider that reaches most of Palo Cedro.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Palo Cedro, 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 Cedro.
Power comes from PG&E
PG&E (Pacific Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Palo Cedro. 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 Bella Vista Water District
Bella Vista Water District supplies Palo Cedro: about 70% of residents live in its service area. Mel Mar Mutual Water Co serves another 16%. Shasta Co Csa # 8 Palo Cedro serves another 6%. About 8% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 18,612 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.8 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 63% 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. CA4510014.
8 home internet providers serve Palo Cedro
90% of 1,205 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 55% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 61% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 43% | 7,000/7,000 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless, DSL | 34% | 25/3 |
| Com-Pair Services | Fixed wireless | 97% | 100/25 |
| ShastaBeam | Fixed wireless | 83% | 100/6 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 75% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Palo Cedro’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Palo Cedro.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Palo Cedro is in two districts that split the grades: Shasta Union High School District and Junction Elementary 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.
No town hall: the county runs things
Palo Cedro is unincorporated, so Shasta County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Palo Cedro spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Palo Cedro residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Palo Cedro | ZIP’s residents in Palo Cedro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 96073 | Palo Cedro, CA | 95% | 61% |
| 96003 | Redding, CA | 5% | 0% |
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 Palo Cedro
Who supplies Palo Cedro’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Bella Vista Water District (EPA ID CA4510014). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.8 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Palo Cedro?
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 Palo Cedro?
Spectrum, Frontier, AT&T, Com-Pair Services, ShastaBeam, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Palo Cedro?
96073 (95%), 96003 (5%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Palo Cedro in?
Shasta Union High School District and Junction Elementary School District. Parts of the city are in North Cow Creek Elementary School District and Millville Elementary School District.
How do I register to vote in Palo Cedro?
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 Shasta County Clerk-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: 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.