Photo: AcrossTheAtlantic · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Durham, NH: what to set up and who to call
Durham has its own drop-off, Durham Tranfer Station & Recycling Center. Elections in Durham are run by Durham itself; register with the town clerk of Durham.
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 Unitil
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Durham. Its homes paid an average of 21.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $131 a month (its average across New Hampshire, for customers on its standard service). New Hampshire lets you buy power from another supplier; 65% of Unitil’s home customers do, and Unitil still delivers it.
Start or move service: unitil.com · (800) 582-7276
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Unh/Durham Water Sys
Unh/Durham Water Sys supplies Durham: about 82% of residents live in its service area. About 14% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws surface water and serves 16,000 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 2022–Dec 2024, 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. NH0691010.
6 home internet providers serve Durham
100% of 2,279 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 81% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| Breezeline | Fiber, Cable | 79% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Fidium Fiber | Fiber | 76% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Consolidated Communications | DSL | 9% | 10/1 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 49% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 14% | 25/3 |
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 durhamnh.gov →
Raymond A. Laroche, Sr. Transfer Station and Recycling Center
100 Durham Point Road, Durham, NH 03824
- Tue7:30 am–3 pm
- Sat7:30 am–3 pm
Cost: No charge for the Durham Resident/Taxpayer permit sticker
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
From durhamnh.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 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 Oyster River Cooperative School District.
ASchool 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 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 19, 2024.
Durham is in ZIP code 03824
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03824 | Durham, NH | 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.
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?
Unh/Durham Water Sys (EPA ID NH0691010). 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 2022–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Durham?
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 21.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Durham?
Xfinity, Breezeline, Fidium Fiber, Consolidated Communications, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Durham?
03824. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Durham in?
Oyster River Cooperative School District.
How do I register to vote in Durham?
New Hampshire has no online registration; you can register in person up to and including Election Day or by mail only in special circumstances (received 13 days before). Elections here are run by the Town Clerk of Durham. Check your registration at app.sos.nh.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 (durhamnh.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 19, 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.