Living in Joplin, MT: what to set up and who to call
Joplin has no town government of its own, so Liberty County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Chester-Joplin-Inverness Elementary School District. Tap water in Joplin comes from Hill County Water Districts, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 1.0 ppb.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Joplin, 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 Joplin.
Power comes from NorthWestern Energy
NorthWestern Energy (NorthWestern Energy LLC - (MT)), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Joplin. 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 Hill County Water Districts
Hill County Water Districts supplies Joplin: about 96% of residents live in its service area. About 4% 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 1,720 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2022–Dec 2024, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 3.0 ppb. That’s lower than 52% 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. MT0000249.
1 home internet providers serve Joplin
100% of 123 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 Joplin’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Joplin.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Joplin 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.
No town hall: the county runs things
Joplin is unincorporated, so Liberty County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jul 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Joplin is in ZIP code 59531
ZIP codes where Joplin residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Joplin | ZIP’s residents in Joplin |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59531 | Joplin, MT | 100% | 57% |
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 Joplin
Who supplies Joplin’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Hill County Water Districts (EPA ID MT0000249). 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 1.0 ppb (Jan 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Joplin?
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 Joplin?
Triangle Communications (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Joplin?
59531. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Joplin in?
Chester-Joplin-Inverness Elementary School District and Chester-Joplin-Inverness High School District.
How do I register to vote in Joplin?
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.