Photo: Doug Anderson · CC BY 2.0Living in Oak Island, NC: what to set up and who to call
Power in Oak Island comes from Brunswick Electric Member, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. Fiber reaches 92% of addresses in Oak Island.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Oak Island, 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 Oak Island.
Power comes from Brunswick Electric Member
Brunswick Electric Member (Brunswick Electric Member Corp), a cooperative utility, serves 73.7% of Oak Island residents. Its homes paid an average of 13.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $144 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 Town of Oak Island water system
The Town of Oak Island water system supplies Oak Island: about 88% of residents live in its service area. Brunswick County Water System serves another 9%. About 3% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Brunswick County Water System as seller) and serves 26,924 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 2026–Dec 2028, 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. NC0410020.
5 home internet providers serve Oak Island
100% of 10,515 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 92% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 1,000/35 |
| Focus Broadband | Fiber, Cable | 96% | 5,000/5,000 |
| AT&T | Fiber, Fixed wireless, DSL | 59% | 5,000/5,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 80% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 37% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Oak Island’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Oak Island.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Oak Island is in Brunswick 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 Sep 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Oak Island spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Oak Island residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Oak Island | ZIP’s residents in Oak Island |
|---|---|---|---|
| 28465 | Oak Island, NC | 91% | 95% |
| 28461 | Southport, NC | 9% | 3% |
A few homes fall in 28422.
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 Oak Island
Who supplies Oak Island’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Town of Oak Island water system (EPA ID NC0410020). 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 0.0 ppb (Jan 2026–Dec 2028), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Oak Island?
Brunswick Electric Member (Brunswick Electric Member Corp), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 13.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Oak Island?
Spectrum, Focus Broadband, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Oak Island?
28465 (91%), 28461 (9%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Oak Island in?
Brunswick County Schools.
How do I register to vote in Oak Island?
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 Brunswick 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: OpenStreetMap, Geofabrik extract of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL).
- 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.