Photo: Don Ramey Logan · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in San Clemente, CA: what to set up and who to call
The closest public drop-off to San Clemente is Prima Deshecha Landfill, 3 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it. San Clemente has its own train station.
I’m new in town
What to set up in San Clemente, 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 San Clemente.
Power comes from SDG&E
SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of San Clemente. Its homes paid an average of 45.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $168 a month (its average across California, for customers on its standard service). California lets you buy power from another supplier; 79% of SDG&E’s home customers do, and SDG&E still delivers it.
Start or move service: sempra.com
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from City of San Clemente water system
The City of San Clemente water system supplies San Clemente: about 79% of residents live in its service area. Santa Margarita Water District serves another 19%. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Metropolitan Water Dist. of So. Cal. and Santa Margarita Water District-Id9 and South Coast Water District as sellers) and serves 51,545 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 90% of the 597 systems serving 50,001–100,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 0.8 ppb. 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. CA3010036.
4 home internet providers serve San Clemente
98% of 19,481 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 25% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cox Communications | Cable, Fiber | 97% | 2,000/100 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless, Fiber, DSL | 48% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 52% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 50% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in San Clemente
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in San Clemente, from the town’s own site.
Accepted at the curb
- Glass bottles
- Metal cans
- Cardboard
- Newspaper
- Plastic bottles (Numbers 1 through 6)
- Clean food containers (Numbers 1 through 6)
We couldn’t find pickup days or drop-off hours. Check sanclemente.gov →
From sanclemente.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026. 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.
San Clemente is in Capistrano Unified School District.
ASchool 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.
San Clemente spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where San Clemente residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of San Clemente | ZIP’s residents in San Clemente |
|---|---|---|---|
| 92672 | San Clemente, CA | 54% | 84% |
| 92673 | San Clemente, CA | 46% | 100% |
92674 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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in San Clemente
Who supplies San Clemente’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The City of San Clemente water system (EPA ID CA3010036). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 90% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in San Clemente?
SDG&E (San Diego Gas & Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 45.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve San Clemente?
Cox Communications, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in San Clemente?
92672 (54%), 92673 (46%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is San Clemente in?
Capistrano Unified School District.
How do I register to vote in San Clemente?
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: San Clemente’s own website (sanclemente.gov), 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.