Photo: USDA NRCS Montana · Public domainLiving in Chester, MT: what to set up and who to call
Two school districts split the grades in Chester: Chester-Joplin-Inverness Elementary School District and Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School District. Fiber reaches 100% of addresses in Chester.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Chester, 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 Chester.
Power comes from NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Chester. Its homes paid an average of 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $102 a month (its average across Montana, for customers on its standard service). Montana lets you buy power from another supplier; 0% of NorthWestern Energy’s home customers do, and NorthWestern Energy still delivers it.
Start or move service: northwesternenergy.com · (888) 467-2669
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Town of Chester water system
The Town of Chester water system supplies Chester: about 92% of residents live in its service area. About 8% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 870 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2026–Dec 2028, was 3.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 5.0 ppb. That’s higher than 81% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. MT0000173.
1 home internet providers serve Chester
100% of 456 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Triangle Communications | Fiber | 100% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Chester’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Chester.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Chester is in two districts that split the grades: Chester-Joplin-Inverness Elementary School District and Chester-Joplin-Inverness High 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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jul 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Chester is in ZIP code 59522
ZIP codes where Chester residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Chester | ZIP’s residents in Chester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59522 | Chester, MT | 100% | 62% |
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 Chester
Who supplies Chester’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Town of Chester water system (EPA ID MT0000173). 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 3.0 ppb (Jan 2026–Dec 2028), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Chester?
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 14.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Chester?
Triangle Communications (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Chester?
59522. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Chester in?
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Elementary School District and Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School District.
How do I register to vote in Chester?
Montana has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Liberty County Election Administrator. Check your registration at prodvoterportal.mt.gov.
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.