Photo: Yordanpopovbg · CC BY-SA 4.0Living in Covington, WA: what to set up and who to call
All of Covington gets its mail under one ZIP code, 98042. Multicare Covington Medical Center, 0.5 miles away, is the nearest emergency room.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Covington, 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 Covington.
Power comes from Puget Sound Energy
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility, serves all of Covington. Its homes paid an average of 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025, about $147 a month (its average across Washington).
Start or move service: pse.com · (888) 225-5773
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from Covington Water District
Covington Water District supplies almost all of Covington. It buys treated surface water (EPA lists Cedar River Water & Sewer District and Lake Meridian Water District and City of Tacoma Water Division as sellers) and serves 56,172 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 2023–Dec 2025, was 1.4 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 3.2 ppb. That’s higher than 56% 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. WA5341650.
6 home internet providers serve Covington
100% of 6,733 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 8% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| CenturyLink | DSL, Fiber | 67% | 140/20 |
| Quantum Fiber | Fiber | 5% | 2,000/1,000 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 43% | 100/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 33% | 100/20 |
| Verizon | Fixed wireless | 33% | 300/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
We don’t have Covington’s trash rules yet
Pickup rules, the dump and recycling in Covington.
Where your child goes to school
Public school districts and the school path by grade.
Covington is in Kent School District.
B−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 2021; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Covington is in ZIP code 98042
ZIP codes where Covington residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Covington | ZIP’s residents in Covington |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98042 | Kent, WA | 100% | 42% |
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 Covington
Who supplies Covington’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
Covington Water District (EPA ID WA5341650). 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 1.4 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Covington?
Puget Sound Energy (Puget Sound Energy Inc), an investor-owned utility. Its homes paid about 17.0¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Covington?
Xfinity, CenturyLink, Quantum Fiber, AT&T, T-Mobile, Verizon (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Covington?
98042. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Covington in?
Kent School District.
How do I register to vote in Covington?
In Washington you can register online until 8 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (received 8 days before). Elections here are run by the King County Elections. Check your registration at voter.votewa.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 Sep 30, 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.