Photo: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 3.0Living in Oak Ridge, TN: what to set up and who to call
Oak Ridge runs its own electric utility, City of Oak Ridge; its homes paid 13.4¢ per kWh in 2025. The closest public drop-off to Oak Ridge is Waste Connections of Tennessee, 3 miles out; the town decides whether residents may use it.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Oak Ridge, 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 Oak Ridge.
Power comes from City of Oak Ridge
City of Oak Ridge (City of Oak Ridge), a municipal utility, serves 93.5% of Oak Ridge residents. Its homes paid an average of 13.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $126 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 Anderson County W.a. water system
The Anderson County W.a. water system supplies Oak Ridge: about 6% of residents live in its service area. About 90% 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 Hallsdale-Powell U.d. and Norris Water Commission and Oliver Springs Water Board as sellers) and serves 25,700 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 2023–Dec 2025, was 2.3 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 73% 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. TN0000514.
4 home internet providers serve Oak Ridge
100% of 12,173 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 8% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| AT&T | DSL, Fixed wireless, Fiber | 87% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 66% | 300/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 23% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash day in Oak Ridge depends on your street
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Oak Ridge, from the town’s own site.
Your pickup week
- TrashEvery week, on your street’s dayLook up your day on oakridgetn.gov
- RecyclingEvery week
- Bulky itemsOn set dates
Waste Connections Convenience Center
400 Warehouse Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
- Wed7:30 am–6 pm
- Thu7:30 am–6 pm
- Fri7:30 am–6 pm
- Sat7:30 am–6 pm
- Sun1 pm–6 pm
Accepted at the curb
- Office paper
- Magazines
- File folders
- Phone books
- Newspaper
- Junk mail
- Coated paper items
- Corrugated cardboard
- Boxboard
- Rigid plastic containers
Waste Connections Convenience Center
400 Warehouse Road, Oak Ridge, TN 37830
Blockhouse Valley Recycle Center
1480 Blockhouse Valley Rd, Clinton, TN 37716
Food City
1199 Oak Ridge Turnpike, Oak Ridge, TN
From oakridgetn.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated September 16, 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.
Oak Ridge is in Oak Ridge City School District.
A−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 18, 2024.
Oak Ridge is in ZIP code 37830
ZIP codes where Oak Ridge residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Oak Ridge | ZIP’s residents in Oak Ridge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37830 | Oak Ridge, TN | 100% | 99% |
A few homes fall in 37763. 37831 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 Oak Ridge
Who supplies Oak Ridge’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
The Anderson County W.a. water system (EPA ID TN0000514). 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 2.3 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Oak Ridge?
City of Oak Ridge (City of Oak Ridge), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 13.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Oak Ridge?
Xfinity, AT&T, Verizon, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Oak Ridge?
37830. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Oak Ridge in?
Oak Ridge City School District.
How do I register to vote in Oak Ridge?
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 Anderson 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: Oak Ridge’s own website (oakridgetn.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.