Salem Common Historic District · Photo: Magicpiano · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Salem, NH: what to set up and who to call
There is no curbside pickup in Salem: residents take trash to Salem Transfer Station. Elections in Salem are run by Salem itself; register with the town clerk of Salem.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Salem, 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 Salem.
Power comes from Unitil
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems), an investor-owned utility, serves 99.1% of Salem residents. 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 Salem Water Dept
Salem Water Dept supplies Salem: about 82% 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 (EPA lists Derry Water Dept as seller) and serves 21,000 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–Dec 2024, was 2.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 3.0 ppb. 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. NH2051010.
6 home internet providers serve Salem
100% of 10,205 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 75% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| Fidium Fiber | Fiber | 78% | 2,000/2,000 |
| Consolidated Communications | DSL | 5% | 10/1 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 59% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 50% | 300/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 20% | 25/3 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
No curbside pickup in Salem: trash goes to the transfer station
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Salem, from the town’s own site.
Salem Transfer Station
101 to 109 Shannon Road, Salem, NH 03079
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Accepted at the curb
- Cardboard pizza boxes (with no food, oil is OK)
- Newspapers
- Magazines
- Catalogs
- Telephone/Soft Cover Books
- Junk Mail Envelopes (all types)
- Paper (all colors, staples/paperclips are okay)
- Paperboard (cereal/shoe boxes)
- Milk/Juice Cartons
- Cardboard
- Brown Paper Bags
- Plastic Bottles and plastic containers number 1 to 7
- Soda/Juice/Water Bottles (glass or plastic)
- Milk Jugs
- Bleach and Detergent Bottles
From salemnh.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.
Salem is in Salem School District.
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 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 19, 2024.
Salem is in ZIP code 03079
ZIP codes where Salem residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Salem | ZIP’s residents in Salem |
|---|---|---|---|
| 03079 | Salem, 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.
ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Salem
Who supplies Salem’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Salem Water Dept (EPA ID NH2051010). 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 2.0 ppb (Jan–Dec 2024), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Salem?
Unitil (Unitil Energy Systems), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 21.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Salem?
Xfinity, Fidium Fiber, Consolidated Communications, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Salem?
03079. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Salem in?
Salem School District.
How do I register to vote in Salem?
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 Salem. 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: Salem’s own website (salemnh.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.