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Charles H. Budd HouseCharles H. Budd House · Photo: McGhiever · CC BY-SA 3.0
The Montevideo handbook

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

Tap water in Montevideo comes from the Montevideo water system, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 20% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 1.0 ppb. Montevideo Public School District runs the public schools in Montevideo.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Montevideo, 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 Montevideo.

Electricity

Power comes from Xcel Energy

Xcel Energy (Northern States Power Co. (Minnesota)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Montevideo. Its homes paid an average of 17.1¢ per kWh in 2025, about $105 a month (its average across Minnesota).

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 Montevideo water system

The Montevideo water system supplies almost all of Montevideo. It draws ground water and serves 5,337 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.

Lead, 90th percentile1.0 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 57% 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. MN1120004.

Internet

7 home internet providers serve Montevideo

100% of 2,282 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 1% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
SpectrumCable, Fiber93%1,000/35
CenturyLinkDSL68%10/1
MidcoFixed wireless100%100/20
GigFireFixed wireless99%150/130
AT&TFixed wireless71%25/3
VerizonFixed wireless19%300/20

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

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Montevideo’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Montevideo.

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Montevideo kids go to
K–2Ramsey ElementaryMontevideo Public School District
3–4Sanford Elementary SchoolMontevideo Public School District
5–8Montevideo MiddleMontevideo Public School District
9–12Montevideo Senior HighMontevideo Public School District

Montevideo is in Montevideo Public School District.

BSchool 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 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Montevideo is in ZIP code 56265

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of MontevideoZIP’s residents in Montevideo
56265Montevideo, MN100%71%
Area code320Wikidata

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.

ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

Questions about living in Montevideo

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

The Montevideo water system (EPA ID MN1120004). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Montevideo?

Xcel Energy (Northern States Power Co. (Minnesota)), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.1¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Montevideo?

Spectrum, CenturyLink, Midco, GigFire, AT&T, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Montevideo?

56265. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Montevideo in?

Montevideo Public School District.

How do I register to vote in Montevideo?

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 Chippewa County Courthouse. 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.