Photo: I, the copyright holder of this work, hereby publish it under the following license: · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Shelby, MT: what to set up and who to call
Power in Shelby comes from Marias River Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. Two school districts split the grades in Shelby: Shelby Elementary School District and Shelby High School District.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Shelby, 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 Shelby.
Power comes from Marias River Electric Coop
Marias River Electric Coop (Marias River Electric Coop Inc), a cooperative utility, serves all of Shelby.
Start or move service: mariasriverec.com · (406) 434-5575
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from City of Shelby water system
The City of Shelby water system supplies almost all of Shelby. It draws ground water and serves 3,970 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.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jul–Dec 2025, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 67% 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. MT0000328.
3 home internet providers serve Shelby
7% of 1,238 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| 3 Rivers Communications | DSL, Fiber | 97% | 25/3 |
| CenturyLink | DSL | 92% | 60/5 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 10% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Shelby’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Shelby.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Shelby is in two districts that split the grades: Shelby Elementary School District and Shelby High 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.
Town hall and registering to vote
Who to call, and how to register.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Aug 2015; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Shelby is in ZIP code 59474
ZIP codes where Shelby residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Shelby | ZIP’s residents in Shelby |
|---|---|---|---|
| 59474 | Shelby, MT | 100% | 91% |
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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Shelby
Who supplies Shelby’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The City of Shelby water system (EPA ID MT0000328). 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 2.0 ppb (Jul–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Shelby?
Marias River Electric Coop (Marias River Electric Coop Inc), a cooperative utility.
What internet providers serve Shelby?
3 Rivers Communications, CenturyLink, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Shelby?
59474. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Shelby in?
Shelby Elementary School District and Shelby High School District.
How do I register to vote in Shelby?
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 Toole 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.