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Columbus City Hall, Dickason Boulevard and James Street, Columbus, WI - 52808020136Photo: w_lemay · CC BY-SA 2.0
The Columbus handbook

Living in Columbus, WI: what to set up and who to call

Columbus runs its own electric utility, City of Columbus; its homes paid 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025. Columbus Utilities has a clean five-year EPA record, but its latest lead result, 8.9 ppb, was higher than 98% of similar systems’ (the action level is 15).

I’m new in town

What to set up in Columbus, 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 Columbus.

Electricity

Power comes from City of Columbus

City of Columbus (City of Columbus - (WI)), a municipal utility, serves 95.4% of Columbus residents. Its homes paid an average of 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025, about $84 a month (its average across Wisconsin).

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 Columbus Utilities

Columbus Utilities supplies almost all of Columbus. It draws ground water and serves 5,173 people in all.

No health-based violations reported to EPA in the five years to October 2026, like 80% of the 5,012 systems serving 3,301–10,000 people.

Lead, 90th percentile8.9 ppb
015 ppb action level20

The latest lead result on file, the 90th percentile of homes sampled in Jun–Sep 2025, was 8.9 ppb, below the 15 ppb action level that applied. The highest in five years was 10.2 ppb. That’s higher than 98% 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 (EPA’s estimate). Violations are counted by the start of their compliance period. WI1110038.

Internet

6 home internet providers serve Columbus

97% of 1,958 addresses can get 100/20 Mbps; 0% can get fiber.

ProviderTechnologyAddressesFastest (Mbps)
SpectrumCable, Fiber96%1,000/35
AT&TDSL, Fixed wireless9%25/3
Bertram CommunicationsFixed wireless99%100/20
VerizonFixed wireless87%300/20
T-MobileFixed wireless80%100/20
UpNetWIFixed wireless13%60/20

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

Trash & recycling

GFL (Green For Life) picks up trash in Columbus

Pickup days, the drop-off and recycling in Columbus, from the town’s own site.

Trash haulerGFL (Green For Life)Picks up trash in Columbuscityofcolumbuswi.com
Curbside recyclingEvery weekRecycling picked up at the curbcityofcolumbuswi.com
Drop-off center

City of Columbus Landscape Recycling Center

N3642 River Road, Columbus, WI 53925

Permit needed

We couldn’t find its opening hours.

What goes in the recycling bin

Accepted at the curb

  • Aluminum containers, glass containers, steel containers (tin/aluminum cans)
  • Bi-metal containers
  • Magazines and other similar printed materials
  • Newspaper and other newsprint or mixed paper
Furniture, appliances and bulky itemsOnce a month
What can be recycledThe town’s recycling pagecityofcolumbuswi.com →
Get the permit from the Town Clerk(920) 623-5900Mon-Thu 8:00 am-4:30 pm; Fri 8:00 am-12:00 pm

From cityofcolumbuswi.com, the town’s official site, checked Oct 21, 2026; pages dated 2025. Rules change: the town’s page is the last word. .

Schools

Where your child goes to school

Public school districts and the school path by grade.

Columbus kids go to
PK–5Columbus ElementaryColumbus School District
6–8Columbus MiddleColumbus School District
9–12Columbus HighColumbus School District

Columbus is in Columbus 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.

Government & voting

Town hall and registering to vote

Who to call, and how to register.

Election office: FVAP local election office directory, updated Jun 2025; jurisdictions: EAC EAVS 2024. Registration rules and links: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.

ZIP codes & area codes

Columbus is in ZIP code 53925

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

ZIPPost office nameShare of ColumbusZIP’s residents in Columbus
53925Columbus, WI100%65%
Area code920Wikidata

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.

Train: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors). ER: CMS hospital data. Library: IMLS Public Libraries Survey, FY2024.

Questions about living in Columbus

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

Columbus Utilities (EPA ID WI1110038). It reported no health-based violations to EPA in the five years to October 2026; 80% of systems its size had none. Its latest lead 90th percentile was 8.9 ppb (Jun–Sep 2025), against a 15 ppb action level.

Who provides electricity in Columbus?

City of Columbus (City of Columbus - (WI)), a municipal utility. Its homes paid about 12.8¢ per kWh in 2025 (EIA).

What internet providers serve Columbus?

Spectrum, AT&T, Bertram Communications, Verizon, T-Mobile, UpNetWI (FCC, as of December 2025).

What ZIP codes are in Columbus?

53925. Census 2020 ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.

What school district is Columbus in?

Columbus School District.

How do I register to vote in Columbus?

In Wisconsin you can register online until 20 days before Election Day, in person up to and including Election Day, or by mail (postmarked 20 days before). Elections here are run by the City of Columbus Clerk. Check your registration at myvote.wi.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: Columbus’ own website (cityofcolumbuswi.com), 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 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.