Fireboat No.1 · Photo: Mike Lane · CC BY-SA 3.0Living in Tacoma, WA: what to set up and who to call
Tacoma runs its own electric utility, City of Tacoma; its homes paid 11.4¢ per kWh in 2025. Trains stop in Tacoma, at South Tacoma.
I’m new in town
What to set up in Tacoma, 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 Tacoma.
Power comes from City of Tacoma
City of Tacoma (City of Tacoma - (WA)), a municipal utility, serves all of Tacoma. Its homes paid an average of 11.4¢ per kWh in 2025, about $105 a month (its average across Washington).
Service territory: HIFLD Electric Retail Service Territories (map dated Aug 2023). Prices and customers: EIA-861, 2025.
Water comes from City of Tacoma Water Division
City of Tacoma Water Division supplies almost all of Tacoma. It draws surface water and serves 446,170 people in all.
No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 86% of the 84 systems serving 250,001–500,000 people.
The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jan 2023–Dec 2025, was 0.0 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 1.0 ppb. Results below detection are reported as 0, so 0 doesn’t mean no lead at any tap.
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. WA5386800.
7 home internet providers serve Tacoma
99% of 63,641 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 45% can get fiber.
| Provider | Technology | Addresses | Fastest (Mbps) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Xfinity | Cable, Fiber | 99% | 2,000/250 |
| Lightcurve | Cable, Fiber | 89% | 1,000/12 |
| Quantum Fiber | Fiber | 54% | 2,000/1,000 |
| CenturyLink | DSL, Fiber | 22% | 940/940 |
| AT&T | Fixed wireless | 68% | 100/20 |
| T-Mobile | Fixed wireless | 55% | 100/20 |
FCC National Broadband Map, as of December 2025. Availability as providers report it, not speeds people get.
Trash and recycling in Tacoma
Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Tacoma, from the town’s own site.
Tacoma Recovery & Transfer Center
3510 S. Mullen Street, Tacoma, WA 98409
We couldn’t find its opening hours.
Single-stream recycling
All your recyclables go in one bin, no sorting.
- Clean metal
- Paper
- Cardboard
Recycle Center
3510 S. Mullen Street, Tacoma, WA 98409
From tacoma.gov, cms.tacoma.gov, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 05/04/26, 05/19/26, 2026-05-19, 2026-08-11, 2026-10-08. 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.
Most of Tacoma (96%) is in Tacoma Public Schools; parts are in Fife Public Schools (3%).
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 2024; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Sep 30, 2026.
Tacoma spans 13 ZIP codes
ZIP codes where Tacoma residents live, with the share of the town in each.
| ZIP | Post office name | Share of Tacoma | ZIP’s residents in Tacoma |
|---|---|---|---|
| 98404 | Tacoma, WA | 14% | 89% |
| 98409 | Tacoma, WA | 13% | 99% |
| 98405 | Tacoma, WA | 11% | 100% |
| 98406 | Tacoma, WA | 10% | 100% |
| 98407 | Tacoma, WA | 10% | 95% |
| 98408 | Tacoma, WA | 9% | 100% |
| 98422 | Tacoma, WA | 8% | 84% |
| 98444 | Tacoma, WA | 5% | 30% |
| 98418 | Tacoma, WA | 5% | 100% |
| 98403 | Tacoma, WA | 4% | 100% |
| 98402 | Tacoma, WA | 4% | 100% |
| 98465 | Tacoma, WA | 3% | 100% |
| 98466 | Tacoma, WA | 1% | 9% |
A few homes fall in 98445, 98416, 98421, 98467, 98424. 98401, 98411, 98412, 98413, 98415, 98417, 98419, 98431, 98448, 98464, 98471, 98481, 98490, 98493 are P.O. box or single-organization ZIPs 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.
Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.
Questions about living in Tacoma
Who supplies Tacoma’s drinking water, and has it had violations?
City of Tacoma Water Division (EPA ID WA5386800). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 86% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 0.0 ppb (Jan 2023–Dec 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.
Who provides electricity in Tacoma?
City of Tacoma (City of Tacoma - (WA)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 11.4¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).
What internet providers serve Tacoma?
Xfinity, Lightcurve, Quantum Fiber, CenturyLink, AT&T, T-Mobile (FCC, as of December 2025).
What ZIP codes are in Tacoma?
98404 (14%), 98409 (13%), 98405 (11%), 98406 (10%), 98407 (10%), 98408 (9%), 98422 (8%), 98444 (5%), 98418 (5%), 98403 (4%), 98402 (4%), 98465 (3%), 98466 (1%), by share of residents. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What school district is Tacoma in?
Tacoma Public Schools. Parts of the city are in Fife Public Schools.
How do I register to vote in Tacoma?
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 Pierce County Auditor. 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: Tacoma’s own website (tacoma.gov, cms.tacoma.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 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.