Portsmouth Village · Photo: National Park Service · Public domainLiving in Ocracoke, NC: what to set up and who to call
Ocracoke has no town government of its own, so Hyde County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Hyde County Schools. Tap water in Ocracoke comes from Ocracoke Sanitary District, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result below detection.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Ocracoke, 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 Ocracoke.
Power comes from Tideland Electric Member
Tideland Electric Member (Tideland Electric Member Corp), a cooperative utility, serves all of Ocracoke. Its homes paid an average of 16.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $161 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 Ocracoke Sanitary District
Ocracoke Sanitary District supplies almost all of Ocracoke. It draws ground water and serves 900 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 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. NC0448020.
3 home internet providers serve Ocracoke
1% of 1,033 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocracoke Cable TV | Cable | 100% | 10/1 |
| Brightspeed | DSL | 45% | 80/10 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 54% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Ocracoke’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Ocracoke.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Ocracoke is in Hyde 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.
No town hall: the county runs things
Ocracoke is unincorporated, so Hyde County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated May 2019; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ocracoke is in ZIP code 27960
ZIP codes where Ocracoke residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Ocracoke | ZIP’s residents in Ocracoke |
|---|---|---|---|
| 27960 | Ocracoke, 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 Ocracoke
Who supplies Ocracoke’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Ocracoke Sanitary District (EPA ID NC0448020). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% 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 Ocracoke?
Tideland Electric Member (Tideland Electric Member Corp), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 16.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Ocracoke?
Ocracoke Cable TV, Brightspeed, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Ocracoke?
27960. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Ocracoke in?
Hyde County Schools.
How do I register to vote in Ocracoke?
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 Hyde 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.