Photo: DiscoA340 · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Emerald Isle, NC: what to set up and who to call
Power in Emerald Isle comes from Carteret-Craven El Member, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. The ER is a drive from Emerald Isle: the closest is Carteret General Hospital, 16.2 miles away.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Emerald Isle, 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 Emerald Isle.
Power comes from Carteret-Craven El Member
Carteret-Craven El Member (Carteret-Craven El Member Corp), a cooperative utility, serves 92.2% of Emerald Isle residents. Its homes paid an average of 12.5¢ per kWh in 2025, about $131 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 Bogue Banks Water Corporation
Bogue Banks Water Corporation supplies almost all of Emerald Isle. It draws ground water (EPA lists Pine Knoll Shores as seller) and serves 4,995 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 Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 4.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 87% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. NC0416028.
5 home internet providers serve Emerald Isle
98% of 5,611 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 25% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 97% | 1,000/35 |
| Brightspeed | Fiber, DSL | 32% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 28% | 300/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 21% | 25/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 11% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Emerald Isle depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Emerald Isle, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayFind your street’s day on emeraldisle-nc.org →
- Bulky itemsOnce a month, Fri
Accepted at the curb
- Newspaper
- Cardboard boxes
- Number 1 through Number 7 plastic containers
- Clear, brown and green glass containers
- Aluminum and steel cans
From emeraldisle-nc.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2026-09-27, July 1, 2008. 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.
Emerald Isle is in Carteret County Schools.
B+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 May 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Emerald Isle is in ZIP code 28594
ZIP codes where Emerald Isle residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Emerald Isle | ZIP’s residents in Emerald Isle |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28594 | Emerald Isle, NC | 100% | 100% |
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 Emerald Isle
Who supplies Emerald Isle’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Bogue Banks Water Corporation (EPA ID NC0416028). 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 4.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Emerald Isle?
Carteret-Craven El Member (Carteret-Craven El Member Corp), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 12.5¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Emerald Isle?
Spectrum, Brightspeed, Verizon, AT&T, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Emerald Isle?
28594. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Emerald Isle in?
Carteret County Schools.
How do I register to vote in Emerald Isle?
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 Carteret 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: Emerald Isle’s own website (emeraldisle-nc.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.