Photo: AppalachianCentrist · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Rutledge, TN: what to set up and who to call
Tap water in Rutledge comes from Rutledge Water System, which has a clean five-year EPA record (about 22% of systems its size had a health-based violation) and a latest lead result of 1.0 ppb. Power in Rutledge comes from Appalachian Electric Coop, a cooperative utility rather than a private company.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Rutledge, 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 Rutledge.
Power comes from Appalachian Electric Coop
Appalachian Electric Coop (Appalachian Electric Coop), a cooperative utility, serves 96.4% of Rutledge residents. Its homes paid an average of 13.6¢ per kWh in 2025, about $171 a month (its average across Tennessee).
Start or move service: aecoop.org · (865) 475-2032
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Rutledge Water System
Rutledge Water System supplies Rutledge: about 97% of residents live in its service area. About 3% of homes are outside any mapped community water system, most likely on private wells, which EPA doesn’t regulate. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Bean Station Utility District as seller) and serves 2,102 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.
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. That’s lower than 52% 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. TN0000600.
6 home internet providers serve Rutledge
100% of 590 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 100% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Trilight | Fiber | 98% | 8,000/8,000 |
| Spectrum | Cable | 79% | 1,000/1,000 |
| Frontier | DSL | 63% | 45/3 |
| KUB | Fiber | 4% | 10,000/10,000 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 69% | 25/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 65% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Rutledge’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Rutledge.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Rutledge is in Grainger 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 Sep 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Rutledge is in ZIP code 37861
ZIP codes where Rutledge residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Rutledge | ZIP’s residents in Rutledge |
|---|---|---|---|
| 37861 | Rutledge, TN | 100% | 15% |
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 Rutledge
Who supplies Rutledge’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Rutledge Water System (EPA ID TN0000600). 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 1.0 ppb (Jan 2026–Dec 2028), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Rutledge?
Appalachian Electric Coop (Appalachian Electric Coop), a cooperative utility. Its homes paid about 13.6¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Rutledge?
Trilight, Spectrum, Frontier, KUB, AT&T, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Rutledge?
37861. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Rutledge in?
Grainger County School District.
How do I register to vote in Rutledge?
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 Grainger 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.