Photo: (User:Wgreaves) · CC BY 3.0Living in Chapel Hill, NC: what to set up and who to call
The closest public drop-off to Chapel Hill is Food waste drop-off bin, 3 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it. UNC Hospitals, 1.8 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Chapel Hill, 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 Chapel Hill.
Power comes from Duke Energy
Duke Energy (Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Chapel Hill. 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 Chapel Hill. 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 Chapel Hill
98% of 12,604 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 79% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 98% | 1,000/35 |
| AT&T | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 92% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Google Fiber | Fiber | 80% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Frontier | DSL | 3% | 10/1 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 74% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 63% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Chapel Hill
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Chapel Hill, from the town’s own site.
We couldn’t find pickup days or drop-off hours. Check chapelhillnc.gov →
From chapelhillnc.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 23, 2026; pages dated 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 Chapel Hill (93%) is in Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools; parts are in Durham Public Schools (7%).
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.
Chapel Hill spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Chapel Hill residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Chapel Hill | ZIP’s residents in Chapel Hill |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27514 | Chapel Hill, NC | 50% | 92% |
| 27516 | Chapel Hill, NC | 31% | 42% |
| 27517 | Chapel Hill, NC | 18% | 38% |
A few homes fall in 27707, 27599. 27515 is P.O. box or single-organization ZIP 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 Chapel Hill
Who supplies Chapel Hill’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 Chapel Hill?
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 Chapel Hill?
Spectrum, AT&T, Google Fiber, Frontier, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Chapel Hill?
27514 (50%), 27516 (31%), 27517 (18%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Chapel Hill in?
Chapel Hill-Carrboro Schools. Parts of the city are in Durham Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in Chapel Hill?
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: Chapel Hill’s own website (chapelhillnc.gov), 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.