Photo: Townofduck · Public domainLiving in Duck, NC: what to set up and who to call
Every home in Duck is in ZIP code 27949. For an emergency, The Outer Banks Hospital is the closest ER, 18.6 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Duck, 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 Duck.
Power comes from Dominion Energy
Dominion Energy (Virginia Electric & Power Co.), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Duck. Its homes paid an average of 12.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $164 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 Dare County Water System
Dare County Water System supplies Duck: about 58% of residents live in its service area. About 42% 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 28,732 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 3.9 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 4.0 ppb. That’s higher than 86% 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. NC0428030.
6 home internet providers serve Duck
99% of 2,408 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 75% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 1,000/35 |
| Ripple Fiber | Fiber | 70% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Brightspeed | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 24% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 76% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 32% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 26% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Waste Management, Inc. picks up trash in Duck
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Duck, from the town’s own site.
Kitty Hawk/Dare County Recycling Center
4190 Bob Perry Road, Kitty Hawk, NC
- Mon8 am–3 pm
- Tue8 am–3 pm
- Thu8 am–3 pm
- Fri8 am–3 pm
- Sat8 am–noon
Accepted at the curb
- Plastic bottles and jugs, screw tops can stay on
- All metal cans
- Glass bottles and jars, remove lids
- Paper, cartons, and cardboard: flatten all cardboard boxes
From ducknc.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 22, 2026; pages dated 2022-02-14T16:13:24+00:00, 2026-09-03T16:51:35+00:00, 2026-09-16, 2026-09-16T18:06:50+00:00, 2026-10-05T17:51:57+00:00. 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.
Duck is in Dare County Schools.
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 Jun 2023; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Duck is in ZIP code 27949
ZIP codes where Duck residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Duck | ZIP’s residents in Duck |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27949 | Kitty Hawk, NC | 100% | 9% |
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 Duck
Who supplies Duck’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Dare County Water System (EPA ID NC0428030). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 3.9 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Duck?
Dominion Energy (Virginia Electric & Power Co.), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 12.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Duck?
Spectrum, Ripple Fiber, Brightspeed, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Duck?
27949. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Duck in?
Dare County Schools.
How do I register to vote in Duck?
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 Dare 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: Duck’s own website (ducknc.gov), read Oct 22, 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.