Photo: Doug Kerr from Albany, NY, United States · CC BY-SA 2.0Living in Dorset, VT: what to set up and who to call
New voters sign up with the Dorset Town Clerk, which runs Dorset’s elections. Two school districts split the grades in Dorset: Taconic and Green Region School District and Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Dorset, 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 Dorset.
Power comes from Green Mountain Power
Green Mountain Power (Green Mountain Power Corp), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Dorset. Its homes paid an average of 23.3¢ per kWh in 2025, about $140 a month (its average across Vermont).
Start or move service: greenmountainpower.com · (888) 836-4672
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Dorset Fire District 1
Dorset Fire District 1 supplies Dorset: about 39% of residents live in its service area. East Dorset Fire District 1 serves another 16%. About 43% 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 530 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 78% of the 5,327 systems serving 501–1,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 2.1 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. That’s higher than 74% 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. VT0005020.
6 home internet providers serve Dorset
97% of 1,326 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 86% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable | 89% | 1,200/35 |
| Fidium Fiber | Fiber | 86% | 2,000/2,000 |
| VTel Wireless | Fixed wireless | 58% | 25/3 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 43% | 100/20 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 18% | 25/3 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 7% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Dorset
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Dorset, from the town’s own site.
Dorset / Northshire Transfer Station
310 Tennis Way off Route 7A in East Dorset
- Mon8 am–2 pm
- Tue8 am–2 pm
- Wed8 am–2 pm
- Thu8 am–2 pm
- Fri8 am–2 pm
The town’s page also lists “Sat 8:00am-12:00am”, which we couldn’t read as opening hours: check the town’s page for those days.
From dorsetvt.org, the town’s official site, checked Oct 22, 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.
Dorset is in two districts that split the grades: Taconic and Green Region School District and Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union.
BSchool 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 2026; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Aug 3, 2026.
Dorset spans 2 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Dorset residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Dorset | ZIP’s residents in Dorset |
|---|---|---|---|
| 05251 | Dorset, VT | 70% | 95% |
| 05253 | East Dorset, VT | 29% | 98% |
A few homes fall in 05255.
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 Dorset
Who supplies Dorset’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Dorset Fire District 1 (EPA ID VT0005020). 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 2.1 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Dorset?
Green Mountain Power (Green Mountain Power Corp), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 23.3¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Dorset?
Xfinity, Fidium Fiber, VTel Wireless, T-Mobile, AT&T, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Dorset?
05251 (70%), 05253 (29%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Dorset in?
Taconic and Green Region School District and Bennington Rutland Supervisory Union.
How do I register to vote in Dorset?
In Vermont you can register online up to and including Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received by Election Day). Elections here are run by the Dorset Town Clerk. Check your registration at mvp.vermont.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: Dorset’s own website (dorsetvt.org), read Oct 22, 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 Aug 3, 2026 (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.