Photo: Harrison Keely · CC BY 4.0Living in McDonald, TN: what to set up and who to call
McDonald has no town government of its own, so Bradley County runs its elections and most services, and its children attend Bradley County School District. Power in McDonald comes from City of Chattanooga, a municipal utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in McDonald, 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 McDonald.
Power comes from City of Chattanooga
City of Chattanooga (City of Chattanooga - (TN)), a municipal utility, serves all of McDonald. Its homes paid an average of 12.9¢ per kWh in 2025, about $144 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 Cleveland Utilities
Cleveland Utilities supplies almost all of McDonald. It draws surface water (EPA lists Eastside Utility District and Savannah Valley U.d. and Hiwassee Utility Commission as sellers) and serves 95,087 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 2026–Dec 2028, was 1.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 2.0 ppb. 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. TN0000117.
6 home internet providers serve McDonald
100% of 243 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 93% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Spectrum | Cable | 93% | 1,000/1,000 |
| EPB | Fiber | 87% | 100,000/100,000 |
| AT&T | DSL, Fixed wireless | 72% | 25/5 |
| Twin Lakes | Fiber | 8% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 83% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 65% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
The nearest public drop-off is 3 miles away
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in McDonald.
Landfill Recycling Center
282 SW Natures Trail · run by Bradley County
This isn’t McDonald’s own facility. Whether McDonald residents may use it is the town’s rule: check the town’s office.
OpenStreetMap, as of Oct 9, 2026. © OpenStreetMap contributors.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
McDonald is in Bradley County School District.
Test scores and every school: see Schools →U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.
No town hall: the county runs things
McDonald is unincorporated, so Bradley County is the local government.
Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
McDonald is in ZIP code 37353
ZIP codes where McDonald residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of McDonald | ZIP’s residents in McDonald |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37353 | Mc Donald, TN | 100% | 11% |
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 McDonald
Who supplies McDonald’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Cleveland Utilities (EPA ID TN0000117). 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 2026–Dec 2028), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in McDonald?
City of Chattanooga (City of Chattanooga - (TN)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 12.9¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve McDonald?
Spectrum, EPB, AT&T, Twin Lakes, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in McDonald?
37353. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is McDonald in?
Bradley County School District.
How do I register to vote in McDonald?
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 Bradley 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: 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 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.