Charles McLaran House · Photo: Jack Boucher · Public domainLiving in Columbus, MS: what to set up and who to call
Columbus runs its own electric utility, City of Columbus; its homes paid 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025. For emergencies, Columbus is closest to BMH-Golden Triangle, 1.7 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Columbus, 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 Columbus.
Power comes from City of Columbus
City of Columbus (City of Columbus - (MS)), a municipal utility, serves 75.2% of Columbus residents. Its homes paid an average of 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $144 a month (its average across Mississippi).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Columbus Light & Water
Columbus Light & Water supplies Columbus: about 86% of residents live in its service area. East Lowndes W/A #2-Huckleberry serves another 7%. About 7% 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 23,616 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.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 0.5 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 0.6 ppb. That’s lower than 65% 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. MS0440003.
6 home internet providers serve Columbus
100% of 9,468 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 73% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sparklight | Cable | 100% | 1,000/50 |
| AT&T | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 90% | 5,000/5,000 |
| 4-County Fiber | Fiber | 2% | 1,000/1,000 |
| C Spire | Fixed wireless | 98% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 67% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 30% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Golden Triangle Waste Services picks up trash in Columbus
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Columbus, from the town’s own site.
We couldn’t find pickup days or drop-off hours. Check thecityofcolumbusms.org →
From thecityofcolumbusms.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 23, 2026. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Most of Columbus (90%) is in Columbus Municipal School District; parts are in Lowndes County School District (10%).
DSchool gradeSee Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Columbus spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Columbus residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Columbus | ZIP’s residents in Columbus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 39701 | Columbus, MS | 43% | 83% |
| 39702 | Columbus, MS | 35% | 37% |
| 39705 | Columbus, MS | 22% | 39% |
39703, 39704, 39710 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs with no homes.
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 Columbus
Who supplies Columbus’ drinking water, and has it had violations?
Columbus Light & Water (EPA ID MS0440003). 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 0.5 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Columbus?
City of Columbus (City of Columbus - (MS)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Columbus?
Sparklight, AT&T, 4-County Fiber, C Spire, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Columbus?
39701 (43%), 39702 (35%), 39705 (22%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Columbus in?
Columbus Municipal School District. Parts of the city are in Lowndes County School District.
How do I register to vote in Columbus?
Mississippi has no online registration; you can register in person until 30 days before Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Lowndes County Registrar. Check your registration at msegov.com.
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: Columbus’ own website (thecityofcolumbusms.org), read Oct 23, 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.