Photo: Elizabeth B. Thomsen Ethomsen · CC BY 2.5Living in Carrboro, NC: what to set up and who to call
Carrboro has its own drop-off, Food waste drop-off bin. Spectrum and AT&T both wire most of Carrboro; 69% of addresses can get fiber.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Carrboro, 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 Carrboro.
Power comes from Duke Energy
Duke Energy (Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Carrboro. Its homes paid an average of 13.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $134 a month (its average across North Carolina).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Orange Water & Sewer Authority
Orange Water & Sewer Authority supplies almost all of Carrboro. It draws surface water (EPA lists Chatham Co-North and City of Durham and Town of Hillsborough as sellers) and serves 86,500 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 90% of the 597 systems serving 50,001–100,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2026–Dec 2028, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 0.7 ppb. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. NC0368010.
6 home internet providers serve Carrboro
99% of 5,071 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 69% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 98% | 1,000/35 |
| AT&T | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 95% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Google Fiber | Fiber | 77% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Lumos | Fiber | 3% | 5,000/5,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 87% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 87% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Carrboro depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Carrboro, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayFind your street’s day on townofcarrboro.org →
- Bulky itemsTwice a month
Food waste drop-off bin
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Accepted at the curb
- Aerosol spray cans (empty)
- Drink cartons
- Metal cans
- Mixed paper
- Phonebooks
From townofcarrboro.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2026-09-27. 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.
Carrboro is in Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools.
ASchool 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 May 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Carrboro spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Carrboro residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Carrboro | ZIP’s residents in Carrboro |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27510 | Carrboro, NC | 70% | 100% |
| 27516 | Chapel Hill, NC | 30% | 14% |
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 Carrboro
Who supplies Carrboro’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Orange Water & Sewer Authority (EPA ID NC0368010). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 90% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2026–Dec 2028), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Carrboro?
Duke Energy (Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 13.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Carrboro?
Spectrum, AT&T, Google Fiber, Lumos, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Carrboro?
27510 (70%), 27516 (30%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Carrboro in?
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools.
How do I register to vote in Carrboro?
In North Carolina you can register online until 25 days before Election Day, in person with same-day registration during the early voting period, or by mail (postmarked 25 days before). Elections here are run by the Orange County Board of Elections. Check your registration at vt.ncsbe.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: Carrboro’s own website (townofcarrboro.org), read Oct 21, 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.