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Capt. Josiah Locke HouseCapt. Josiah Locke House · Photo: User:Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 4.0
The Winchester handbook

Living in Winchester, MA: what to set up and who to call

There is no curbside pickup in Winchester: residents take trash to Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center. New voters sign up with the Winchester Town Clerk, which runs Winchester’s elections.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Winchester, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Winchester.

Electricity

Power comes from Eversource

Eversource (NSTAR Electric Co., doing business as Eversource), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Winchester. Its homes paid an average of 21.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Massachusetts, for customers on its standard service). Massachusetts lets you buy power from another supplier; 76% of Eversource’s home customers do, and Eversource still delivers it.

Start or move service: nstar.com · (800) 592-2000

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Winchester Water Dept

Winchester Water Dept supplies almost all of Winchester. It draws surface water (EPA lists Mwra as seller) and serves 22,970 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.

Lead, 90th percentile2.9 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2024–Dec 2026, was 2.9 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 4.2 ppb. That’s higher than 78% 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. MA3344000.

Internet

4 home internet providers serve Winchester

100% of 6,665 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 96% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
XfinityCable100%2,000/250
VerizonFiber, Fixed wireless98%980/880
T-MobileFixed wireless40%100/20
AT&TFixed wireless13%25/3

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

No curbside pickup in Winchester: trash goes to the transfer station

Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Winchester, from the town’s own site.

How trash works hereDrop-off onlyNo curbside pickup: you take it to the drop-offwinchester.us
Transfer station · where your trash goes

Winchester Transfer Station / Recycling Center

15 McKay Ave., Rear, Winchester, MA 01890

Permit needed

We couldn’t find its opening hours.

Cost: First resident permit $330; 2nd regular permit $30; replacement $15; low-income $30; one-day permit $50

What goes in the recycling bin

Single-stream recycling

All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.

Furniture, appliances and bulky itemsLarge appliances, mattresses, couches and other bulky items accepted at the Transfer Station for fees (e.g., appliances $15, residential mattresses $30 each, couch/upholstered chair $20, TVs $10-$25)
What can be recycledThe town’s recycling pagewinchester.us →
Get the permit from the Town Clerk(781) 721-7130Mon 8:00am-7:00pm; Tue-Thu 8:00am-4:00pm; Fri 8:00am-noon

From winchester.us, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Winchester kids go to
K–55 elementary schoolsDepends on your address
6–8McCall MiddleWinchester School District
9–12Winchester High SchoolWinchester School District

Winchester is in Winchester 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.

Government & voting

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.

ZIP codes & area codes

Winchester is in ZIP code 01890

ZIP codes where Winchester residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of WinchesterZIP’s residents in Winchester
01890Winchester, MA100%100%

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

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 Winchester

Who supplies Winchester’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Winchester Water Dept (EPA ID MA3344000). 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 2.9 ppb (Jan 2024–Dec 2026), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Winchester?

Eversource (NSTAR Electric Co., doing business as Eversource), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 21.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Winchester?

Xfinity, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Winchester?

01890. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Winchester in?

Winchester School District.

How do I register to vote in Winchester?

In Massachusetts you can register online until 10 days before Election Day, in person until 10 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 10 days before). Elections here are run by the Winchester Town Clerk. Check your registration at sec.state.ma.us.

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: Winchester’s own website (winchester.us), 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.