Photo: Maria Miracoli · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Durham, NC: what to set up and who to call
Durham has its own drop-off, Liberty Waste Solutions (Durham Transfer Station), on 1017 South Hoover Road. Durham has its own train station.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Durham, 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 Durham.
Power comes from Duke Energy
Duke Energy (Duke Energy Carolinas, LLC), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Durham. 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 City of Durham water system
The City of Durham water system supplies almost all of Durham. It draws surface water (EPA lists Chatham Co-North and Orange Water & Sewer Authority and Town of Hillsborough and City of Raleigh and Town of Cary as sellers) and serves 333,490 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 84 systems serving 250,001–500,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. 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. NC0332010.
6 home internet providers serve Durham
97% of 83,959 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 78% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 98% | 1,000/35 |
| AT&T | Fiber, Fixed wireless, DSL | 77% | 5,000/5,000 |
| Frontier | Fiber, DSL | 66% | 7,000/7,000 |
| Google Fiber | Fiber | 61% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 79% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 77% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Durham depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Durham, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayFind your street’s day on durhamnc.gov →
- RecyclingEvery other weekCheck which week on durhamnc.gov →
City of Durham Waste Disposal and Recycling Center
2115 East Club Blvd, Durham, NC
- Mon7:30 am–4 pm
- Tue7:30 am–4 pm
- Wed7:30 am–4 pm
- Thu7:30 am–4 pm
- Fri7:30 am–4 pm
- Sat7:30 am–noon
Accepted at the curb
- Glass bottles and jugs
- Aluminum cans
- Steel cans
- Newspaper
- Plastic bottles
From durhamnc.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated July 1, 1994, Oct. 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.
Durham is in Durham Public Schools.
C+School 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 Sep 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Durham spans 10 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Durham residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Durham | ZIP’s residents in Durham |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27703 | Durham, NC | 19% | 86% |
| 27713 | Durham, NC | 18% | 95% |
| 27707 | Durham, NC | 17% | 97% |
| 27705 | Durham, NC | 16% | 89% |
| 27704 | Durham, NC | 12% | 85% |
| 27701 | Durham, NC | 9% | 100% |
| 27712 | Durham, NC | 4% | 57% |
| 27560 | Morrisville, NC | 2% | 15% |
| 27517 | Chapel Hill, NC | 2% | 17% |
| 27708 | Durham, NC | 1% | 100% |
A few homes fall in 27617. 27702, 27706, 27710, 27711, 27715, 27717, 27722 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs 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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Durham
Who supplies Durham’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The City of Durham water system (EPA ID NC0332010). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Durham?
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 Durham?
Spectrum, AT&T, Frontier, Google Fiber, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Durham?
27703 (19%), 27713 (18%), 27707 (17%), 27705 (16%), 27704 (12%), 27701 (9%), 27712 (4%), 27560 (2%), 27517 (2%), 27708 (1%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Durham in?
Durham Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in Durham?
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 Durham 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: Durham’s own website (durhamnc.gov), 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.