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Rutherford-Main-Front-tnPhoto: Brian Stansberry · CC BY 4.0
The Rutherford handbook

Living in Rutherford, TN: what to set up and who to call

Power in Rutherford comes from Gibson Electric Members, a cooperative utility rather than a private company. For an emergency, Volunteer Community Hospital is the closest ER, 16.3 miles away.

I’m new in town

What to set up in Rutherford, and who provides it. Tap an answer for the details and where they come from.

Home services

Power, water and internet

Who to call to start service at a new address in Rutherford.

Electricity

Power comes from Gibson Electric Members

Gibson Electric Members (Gibson Electric Members Corp), a cooperative utility, serves all of Rutherford. Its homes paid an average of 13.7¢ per kWh in 2025, about $181 a month (its average across Tennessee).

Start or move service: gibsonemc.com · (901) 855-4740

Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.

Drinking water · reported to EPA

Water comes from Rutherford Water Works

Rutherford Water Works supplies Rutherford: about 92% of residents live in its service area. Gibson Co Muni Water Dist #1 serves another 5%. About 3% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It draws ground water and serves 1,404 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 7,966 systems serving 1,001–3,300 people.

Lead, 90th percentile2.3 ppb
015 ppb action level20

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 76% 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. TN0000599.

Internet

5 home internet providers serve Rutherford

100% of 594 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
Gibson ConnectFiber100%1,000/1,000
SpectrumCable, Fiber95%1,000/35
TEC, Bradford DivisionDSL, Fiber90%1,000/1,000
T-MobileFixed wireless30%100/20
AT&TFixed wireless10%25/3

FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.

Trash & recycling

We don’t have Rutherford’s trash rules yet

Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Rutherford.

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Rutherford kids go to
PK–8Rutherford ElementaryGibson County School District
9–122 high schoolsDepends on your address

Rutherford is in Gibson County School District.

ASchool gradeSee Schools →

U.S. Department of Education, NCES Common Core of Data, 2024–25. Enrollment rules and registration are the district’s.

Government & voting

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.

ZIP codes & area codes

Rutherford is in ZIP code 38369

ZIP codes where Rutherford residents live, with the share of the town in each.

ZIPPost office nameShare of RutherfordZIP’s residents in Rutherford
38369Rutherford, TN100%63%
Area code731Wikidata

Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas, by census block; post office names: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). ZIPs created since 2020 are missing.

Everyday places

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 Rutherford

Who supplies Rutherford’s drinking water, and has it had violations?

Rutherford Water Works (EPA ID TN0000599). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 78% 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 Rutherford?

Gibson Electric Members (Gibson Electric Members Corp), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 13.7¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Rutherford?

Gibson Connect, Spectrum, TEC, Bradford Division, T-Mobile, AT&T (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Rutherford?

38369. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Rutherford in?

Gibson County School District.

How do I register to vote in Rutherford?

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 Gibson 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.