Fulton Opera House · Photo: Scanlan · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Lancaster, PA: what to set up and who to call
The City of Lancaster water system reported one health-based violation to EPA in the last five years: disinfection byproducts (TTHM), beginning Apr 2024. The closest public drop-off to Lancaster is Lancaster County Solid Waste, 2 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Lancaster, 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 Lancaster.
Power comes from PPL Electric Utilities
PPL Electric Utilities (PPL Electric Utilities Corp), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Lancaster. Its homes paid an average of 18.6¢ per kWh in 2025, about $164 a month (its average across Pennsylvania, for customers on its standard service). Pennsylvania lets you buy power from another supplier; 36% of PPL Electric Utilities’ home customers do, and PPL Electric Utilities still delivers it.
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from City of Lancaster water system
The City of Lancaster water system supplies almost all of Lancaster. It draws surface water and serves 120,000 people in all.
1 health-based violation reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026: disinfection byproducts (TTHM), beginning Apr 2024. 86% of the 332 systems serving 100,001–250,000 people had none.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jun–Sep 2025, was 7.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 9.9 ppb. That’s higher than 94% 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. PA7360058.
5 home internet providers serve Lancaster
100% of 17,091 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 19% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 100% | 2,000/250 |
| Glo Fiber | Fiber | 19% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 79% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 52% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 52% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Lancaster depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Lancaster, from the town’s own site and the hauler or county pages it links to.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s day
- RecyclingEvery week, same day as trash
- Bulky itemsOnce a month, Fri
Recycling Drop Off Center
850 New Holland Ave., Lancaster, PA 17602
- Mon7 am–11 am, 7 am–4 pm
- Tue7 am–4 pm
- Wed7 am–4 pm
- Thu7 am–4 pm
- Fri7 am–4 pm
- Sat7 am–11 am
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
- Corrugated cardboard
- Metal food and beverage cans
- Plastic bottles and jugs WITH a neck
- Glass bottles and jars
- Mixed office paper
- Newspaper
- Magazines
- Chipboard
- Soft cover and hard cover books
- Shredded paper
- Steel/tin/aluminum cans
From cityoflancasterpa.gov, the town’s official site; pennwaste.com, which cityoflancasterpa.com links to for trash, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2024-10-08, 2025-04-22, 2025-09-24. 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.
Most of Lancaster (98%) is in Lancaster School District; parts are in Lampeter-Strasburg School District (2%).
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 Jan 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Lancaster spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Lancaster residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Lancaster | ZIP’s residents in Lancaster |
|---|---|---|---|
| 17603 | Lancaster, PA | 52% | 45% |
| 17602 | Lancaster, PA | 48% | 52% |
A few homes fall in 17601. 17573, 17604, 17605, 17607, 17608, 17611, 17622, 17699 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs 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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Lancaster
Who supplies Lancaster’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The City of Lancaster water system (EPA ID PA7360058). It reported 1 health-based violation to EPA in the five years to October 2026: disinfection byproducts (TTHM). 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 7.0 ppb (Jun–Sep 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Lancaster?
PPL Electric Utilities (PPL Electric Utilities Corp), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 18.6¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Lancaster?
Xfinity, Glo Fiber, Verizon, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Lancaster?
17603 (52%), 17602 (48%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Lancaster in?
Lancaster School District. Parts of the city are in Lampeter-Strasburg School District.
How do I register to vote in Lancaster?
In Pennsylvania you can register online until 15 days before Election Day, in person until 15 days before Election Day, or by mail (received 15 days before). Elections here are run by the Lancaster County Board of Elections. Check your registration at pavoterservices.pa.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: Lancaster’s own website (cityoflancasterpa.gov) and the hauler or county pages it links to (pennwaste.com), 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 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.