Charles J. Thompson House · Photo: Chuckmor · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Forest City, IA: what to set up and who to call
Forest City runs its own electric utility, City of Forest City. Forest City Water Supply has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 5.0 ppb, was higher than 91% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15).
I’m new in town
What to set up in Forest City, 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 Forest City.
Power comes from City of Forest City
City of Forest City (City of Forest City- (IA)), a municipal utility, serves 95.7% of Forest City residents.
Start or move service: cityofforestcity.com · (641) 585-3574
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Forest City Water Supply
Forest City Water Supply supplies almost all of Forest City. It draws ground water and serves 4,285 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 5.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 91% 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. IA9525047.
7 home internet providers serve Forest City
100% of 1,724 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association | Fiber | 100% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Mediacom Xtream | Cable | 97% | 1,000/50 |
| Kinetic | DSL, Fiber | 50% | 2,000/2,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 87% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 86% | 300/20 |
| GigFire | Fixed wireless | 70% | 150/130 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Forest City’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Forest City.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Forest City is in Forest City Community 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 Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Forest City is in ZIP code 50436
ZIP codes where Forest City residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Forest City | ZIP’s residents in Forest City |
|---|---|---|---|
| 50436 | Forest City, IA | 100% | 74% |
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 Forest City
Who supplies Forest City’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Forest City Water Supply (EPA ID IA9525047). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 5.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Forest City?
City of Forest City (City of Forest City- (IA)), a municipal utility.
What internet providers serve Forest City?
Winnebago Cooperative Telecom Association, Mediacom Xtream, Kinetic, T-Mobile, Verizon, GigFire (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Forest City?
50436. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Forest City in?
Forest City Community School District.
How do I register to vote in Forest City?
In Iowa 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 Winnebago County Auditor. Check your registration at sos.iowa.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.