Living in Houghton Lake, MI: what to set up and who to call
Houghton Lake has no town government of its own, so Roscommon County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Houghton Lake Community School District. The ER is a drive from Houghton Lake: the closest is Mymichigan Medical Center West Branch, 25.4 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Houghton Lake, 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 Houghton Lake.
Power comes from DTE
DTE (DTE Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Houghton Lake. Its homes paid an average of 20.2¢ per kWh in 2025, about $126 a month (its average across Michigan, for customers on its standard service). Michigan lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of DTE’s home customers do, and DTE still delivers it.
Start or move service: www.dteenergy.com · (800) 477-4747
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Houghton Lake Timber Apts. water system
The Houghton Lake Timber Apts. water system supplies Houghton Lake: about 16% of residents live in its service area. King Nursing & Rehabilitation Community serves another 10%. Houghton Heights Manor serves another 7%. Sandhill Manor serves another 6%. About 61% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 48 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 11,392 systems serving <=100 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2008–Dec 2010, was 69.0 ppb, above the 15 ppb action level that applied. It’s from 2010: EPA has no newer result for this system.
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. MI0003238.
5 home internet providers serve Houghton Lake
95% of 4,176 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 1% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 95% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Frontier | DSL | 38% | 10/1 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 63% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 34% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 10% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Houghton Lake’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Houghton Lake.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Houghton Lake is in Houghton Lake Community 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
Houghton Lake is unincorporated, so Roscommon County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Nov 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Houghton Lake spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Houghton Lake residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Houghton Lake | ZIP’s residents in Houghton Lake |
|---|---|---|---|
| 48629 | Houghton Lake, MI | 76% | 54% |
| 48651 | Prudenville, MI | 20% | 24% |
| 48630 | Houghton Lake Heights, MI | 4% | 100% |
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 Houghton Lake
Who supplies Houghton Lake’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Houghton Lake Timber Apts. water system (EPA ID MI0003238). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 69.0 ppb (Jan 2008–Dec 2010), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Houghton Lake?
DTE (DTE Electric Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 20.2¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Houghton Lake?
Spectrum, Frontier, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Houghton Lake?
48629 (76%), 48651 (20%), 48630 (4%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Houghton Lake in?
Houghton Lake Community School District.
How do I register to vote in Houghton Lake?
In Michigan 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 Roscommon Township Clerk. Check your registration at mvic.sos.state.mi.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 Sep 12, 2025 (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.