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Downtown Duluth, Minnesota Skyline (25406820466) (cropped)Photo: Tony Webster from San Francisco, California · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Duluth handbook

Living in Duluth, MN: what to set up and who to call

The Duluth water system has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 8.0 ppb, was higher than 97% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15). Trains stop in Duluth, at Duluth Union Depot.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Duluth, 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 Duluth.

Electricity

Power comes from Minnesota Power

Minnesota Power (ALLETE, Inc.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Duluth. Its homes paid an average of 15.9¢ per kWh in 2025, about $107 a month (its average across Minnesota).

Start or move service: mnpower.com · (218) 722-2625

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 Duluth water system

The Duluth water system supplies almost all of Duluth. It draws surface water and serves 86,859 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.

Lead, 90th percentile8.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 8.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 10.0 ppb. That’s higher than 97% 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. MN1690011.

Internet

6 home internet providers serve Duluth

96% of 30,550 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 1% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
SpectrumCable, Fiber95%1,000/35
CenturyLinkDSL, Fiber33%60/5
VerizonFixed wireless57%300/20
AT&TFixed wireless46%100/20
T-MobileFixed wireless32%100/20
AirfiberFixed wireless22%100/20

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

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Duluth’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Duluth.

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Duluth kids go to
PK–58 elementary schoolsDepends on your address
6–82 middle schoolsDepends on your address
9–122 high schoolsDepends on your address

Most of Duluth (90%) is in Duluth Public School District; parts are in Proctor Public School District (10%).

B−School 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 Sep 2017; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Duluth spans 10 ZIP codes

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of DuluthZIP’s residents in Duluth
55811Duluth, MN20%61%
55804Duluth, MN13%73%
55812Duluth, MN12%100%
55806Duluth, MN11%100%
55805Duluth, MN11%100%
55807Duluth, MN11%100%
55803Duluth, MN10%48%
55808Duluth, MN7%100%
55802Duluth, MN3%100%
55810Duluth, MN2%21%

55801, 55815, 55816 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.

Area code218Wikidata

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 Duluth

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

The Duluth water system (EPA ID MN1690011). 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 8.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Duluth?

Minnesota Power (ALLETE, Inc.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 15.9¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Duluth?

Spectrum, CenturyLink, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile, Airfiber (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Duluth?

55811 (20%), 55804 (13%), 55812 (12%), 55806 (11%), 55805 (11%), 55807 (11%), 55803 (10%), 55808 (7%), 55802 (3%), 55810 (2%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Duluth in?

Duluth Public School District. Parts of the city are in Proctor Public School District.

How do I register to vote in Duluth?

In Minnesota you can register online until 21 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 21 days before). Elections here are run by the St. Louis County Auditor. Check your registration at mnvotes.sos.state.mn.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.