Photo: Hmil6 · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Columbia, TN: what to set up and who to call
Columbia runs its own electric utility, Columbia Power System; its homes paid 12.7¢ per kWh in 2025. Columbia has a train station, Columbia Union Station.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Columbia, 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 Columbia.
Power comes from Columbia Power System
Columbia Power System (Columbia Power System - (TN)), a municipal utility, serves 97.9% of Columbia residents. Its homes paid an average of 12.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $141 a month (its average across Tennessee).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Columbia Power and Water Systems
Columbia Power and Water Systems supplies almost all of Columbia. It draws surface water and serves 84,617 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 90% of the 597 systems serving 50,001–100,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s lower than 57% 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. TN0000128.
5 home internet providers serve Columbia
99% of 17,298 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 69% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Columbia Power and Water Systems | Cable, Fiber | 96% | 1,000/100 |
| Spectrum | Cable, Fiber | 95% | 1,000/50 |
| AT&T | Fiber, DSL, Fixed wireless | 94% | 5,000/5,000 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 72% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 60% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Columbia depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Columbia, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s day
- RecyclingEvery other week, same day as trashCheck which week on columbiatn.gov →
Holidays change the pickup schedule: check the town’s calendar for those weeks.
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
- Cardboard (must be flattened, clean and free of food debris)
- #1 and #2 Plastic Bottles & Jugs
- Paper (including junk mail, no shredded paper)
From columbiatn.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 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.
Columbia is in Maury County School District.
C−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 Jan 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Columbia is in ZIP code 38401
ZIP codes where Columbia residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Columbia | ZIP’s residents in Columbia |
|---|---|---|---|
| 38401 | Columbia, TN | 100% | 66% |
38402 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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Columbia
Who supplies Columbia’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Columbia Power and Water Systems (EPA ID TN0000128). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 90% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 1.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Columbia?
Columbia Power System (Columbia Power System - (TN)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 12.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Columbia?
Columbia Power and Water Systems, Spectrum, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Columbia?
38401. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Columbia in?
Maury County School District.
How do I register to vote in Columbia?
In Tennessee you can register online until 30 days before Election Day, in person until 30 days before Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 30 days before). Elections here are run by the Maury County Election Commission. Check your registration at tnmap.tn.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: Columbia’s own website (columbiatn.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 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.