Clay County Courthouse · Photo: Scott Romine · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Spencer, IA: what to set up and who to call
Spencer runs its own electric utility, City of Spencer. Spencer Municipal Hospital, 0.5 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Spencer, 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 Spencer.
Power comes from City of Spencer
City of Spencer (City of Spencer - (IA)), a municipal utility, serves 96.0% of Spencer residents.
Start or move service: smunet.net · (712) 580-5800
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Spencer Municipal Water Utility
Spencer Municipal Water Utility supplies almost all of Spencer. It draws ground water and serves 11,325 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 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. IA2171071.
8 home internet providers serve Spencer
100% of 4,815 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 94% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mediacom Xtream | Cable, Fiber | 97% | 1,000/50 |
| Spencer Municipal Utilities | Fiber | 92% | 1,000/1,000 |
| CenturyLink | DSL | 58% | 40/3 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 79% | 100/20 |
| Nextlink | Fixed wireless | 43% | 500/100 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 37% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Curbside recycling in Spencer: every week
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Spencer, from the town’s own site.
Transfer Station (Garbage and Recycling Center)
3101 West 18th Street, Spencer, IA
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Accepted at the curb
- Plastic bottles, detergent bottles, milk jugs and caps
- Newspaper, catalogs, junk mail and envelopes
- Flattened cardboard
- Cardstock and color paper
From spenceriowacity.com, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated December 1, 2020. 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.
Spencer is in Spencer Community School District.
B+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 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Spencer is in ZIP code 51301
ZIP codes where Spencer residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Spencer | ZIP’s residents in Spencer |
|---|---|---|---|
| 51301 | Spencer, IA | 100% | 90% |
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 Spencer
Who supplies Spencer’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Spencer Municipal Water Utility (EPA ID IA2171071). 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 0.0 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Spencer?
City of Spencer (City of Spencer - (IA)), a municipal utility.
What internet providers serve Spencer?
Mediacom Xtream, Spencer Municipal Utilities, CenturyLink, AT&T, Nextlink, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Spencer?
51301. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Spencer in?
Spencer Community School District.
How do I register to vote in Spencer?
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 Clay 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: Spencer’s own website (spenceriowacity.com), 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.