Photo: Jon Platek · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Rochester, NH: what to set up and who to call
Rochester Water Dept reported one health-based violation to EPA in the last five years: disinfection byproducts (HAA5), beginning Jan 2022. Voting is local here: the City Clerk of Rochester registers voters and runs elections, not the county.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Rochester, 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 Rochester.
Power comes from Unitil
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Rochester. 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 Rochester Water Dept
Rochester Water Dept supplies Rochester: about 85% of residents live in its service area. About 12% 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 25,000 people in all.
1 health-based violation reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026: disinfection byproducts (HAA5), beginning Jan 2022. 83% of the 3,525 systems serving 10,001–50,000 people had none.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2021–Dec 2023, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 65% 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. Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. NH2001010.
7 home internet providers serve Rochester
100% of 11,187 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 75% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Breezeline | Cable, Fiber | 97% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 96% | 2,000/250 |
| Fidium Fiber | Fiber | 71% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Consolidated Communications | DSL | 9% | 10/1 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 34% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 28% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Rochester’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Rochester.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Rochester is in Rochester School District.
DSchool 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.
Rochester spans 3 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Rochester residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Rochester | ZIP’s residents in Rochester |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03867 | Rochester, NH | 69% | 100% |
| 03868 | Rochester, NH | 19% | 100% |
| 03839 | Rochester, NH | 12% | 100% |
03866 is P.O. box or single-organization ZIP 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.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Rochester
Who supplies Rochester’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Rochester Water Dept (EPA ID NH2001010). It reported 1 health-based violation to EPA in the five years to October 2026: disinfection byproducts (HAA5). 83% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 2.0 ppb (Jan 2021–Dec 2023), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Rochester?
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 21.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Rochester?
Breezeline, Xfinity, Fidium Fiber, Consolidated Communications, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Rochester?
03867 (69%), 03868 (19%), 03839 (12%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Rochester in?
Rochester School District.
How do I register to vote in Rochester?
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 City Clerk of Rochester. 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: 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 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.