Living in Woods Hole, MA: what to set up and who to call
Woods Hole has no town government of its own, so Barnstable County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Falmouth School District. Most of Woods Hole has one wired internet choice: Xfinity.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Woods Hole, 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 Woods Hole.
Power comes from Eversource
Eversource (NSTAR Electric Co., doing business as Eversource), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Woods Hole. 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.
Water comes from Falmouth Water Dept
Falmouth Water Dept supplies almost all of Woods Hole. It draws surface water (EPA lists Mashpee Water District and Upper Cape Regional Water Cooperative as sellers) and serves 97,551 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–Dec 2025, was 1.1 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 3.7 ppb. That’s lower than 50% 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. MA4096000.
4 home internet providers serve Woods Hole
100% of 950 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 47% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 35% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 33% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Woods Hole’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Woods Hole.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Woods Hole is in Falmouth School District.
Test scores and every school: see 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
Woods Hole is unincorporated, so Barnstable County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Woods Hole spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Woods Hole residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Woods Hole | ZIP’s residents in Woods Hole |
|---|---|---|---|
| 02543 | Woods Hole, MA | 87% | 96% |
| 02540 | Falmouth, MA | 13% | 1% |
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 Woods Hole
Who supplies Woods Hole’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Falmouth Water Dept (EPA ID MA4096000). 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 1.1 ppb (Jan–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Woods Hole?
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 Woods Hole?
Xfinity, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Woods Hole?
02543 (87%), 02540 (13%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Woods Hole in?
Falmouth School District.
How do I register to vote in Woods Hole?
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 Falmouth 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: 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.