# Rusk, Texas electricity: Oncor wires, 1 split ZIP code to check

_Updated October 19, 2026. Data: ERCOT Oct 5, 2026; Power to Choose Oct 19, 2026, 7:59 AM CT._

**In short:** ERCOT counts 1,840 active residential meters with a Rusk address, all on Oncor's wires (October 5, 2026). 1 of Rusk's ZIP codes is split, so most addresses can shop, but yours needs a check.

## Moving to Rusk

Local numbers for setting up a home in Rusk, each checked on the official source. More contacts: https://powerhopper.energy/texas-electricity/rusk/move-in-information

- **Water and utility billing:** City of Rusk: City Hall and utility billing (water, sewer, trash), 903-683-2213.
- **Trash pickup:** Republic Services: trash and recycling, 903-586-1449.
- **Natural gas:** CenterPoint Energy: gas customer service (Beaumont/East Texas), 800-376-9663.
- **Public schools:** Rusk ISD.
- **Driver license:** Texas DPS Driver License Office: Jacksonville, 512-424-2600.

## Who delivers electricity in Rusk?
ERCOT counts 1,840 active residential meters with a Rusk address, all on Oncor's wires (October 5, 2026).

## Can every address in Rusk choose?
Split ZIP codes holding Rusk homes: 75785. They carry 1,839 of the 1,839 competitive homes with a Rusk address (100%); on those streets a neighbor's utility can differ from yours.

## What is different about Rusk?
- Population: 5,398 (2020 base) to 5,568 (July 2025), +3.1%, per Census Vintage 2025 estimates. The largest one-year change was +105 people, from July 2022 to July 2023. July 1 estimates in between: 5,499 (2021), 5,415 (2022), 5,520 (2023), 5,549 (2024). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Rusk covers 7.2 square miles of land (Census 2025 Gazetteer). That works out to about 770 residents and 144 occupied households per square mile of land, with roughly 5.4 residents for every Rusk household. (Source: https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- The Rusk mailing area is bigger than the city: ERCOT lists 1,840 competitive homes under the Rusk postal city, 1.77 for each of the city's 1,039 Census households. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Oncor delivers to 3,564,530 competitive homes in all; the 1,840 with a Rusk address are 0.05 percent of them, roughly one in 1,937. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Vacancy signal: 14.7 percent of residential meters in Rusk's core ZIP codes were de-energized on October 5, 2026 (343 off, 1,991 on), per ERCOT. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- One ZIP code, 75785, holds almost every Rusk-addressed competitive home (1,839); it also carries 106 Gallatin addresses and 44 Jacksonville addresses. Taken whole, 75785 has 0.65 competitive meters per Census household: 1,991 meters, 3,082 households. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Among the 9 cities and towns that reach into Cherokee County, Rusk places 3 for competitive homes on its postal city; the next one up is Bullard, at 3,151. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- By the Census Bureau's 2025 estimates, Rusk is the number 2 city or town by population among the 10 that reach into Cherokee County, one place ahead of Bullard (5,301 residents). (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv)
- Mailing cities on the 1,991 competitive home meters in 75785, Rusk's main ZIP code: Rusk 1,839, Gallatin 106, Jacksonville 44. A mailing city is not a city limit, so the service address, not the postal name, settles which utility serves a home. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203)
- Coverage gap: 75785, home to 1,839 Rusk-addressed meters, has 0.65 ERCOT meters for each household the Census counts there. That fits co-op service: EIA's 2024 lists for the counties tied to the ZIP include 2 co-ops, such as the Houston County and Cherokee County co-ops. Co-op homes stay off the competitive market unless their co-op opts in. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/, https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/)
- Electric bills over $250 a month: 39.2 percent of households in 75785, Rusk's main ZIP code, per the ACS 2020-2024; the same survey puts median household income there at $65,000 and the renter share at 22.5 percent. (Source: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)
- Jacksonville, 13 miles from Rusk, has the most competitive homes nearby (8,941); Jacksonville has the fewest per household, still 1.86. (Source: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203, https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/)

## By the numbers
- Population (July 1, 2025 estimate): 5,568
- Population (2020 estimates base): 5,398
- Occupied households (ACS 2020-2024): 1,039
- Active residential meters with a Rusk address: 1,840
- Active business meters with a Rusk address: 644
- Residential meters per Census household: 1.77
- Delivery utilities (homes): Oncor 1,840
- Counties: Cherokee
- ZIP codes touching Rusk: 1
- Split ZIP codes (flagged below): 1

## Plan prices (median ¢/kWh at 500 / 1,000 / 2,000 kWh)
- Oncor: 14.1 / 13.4 / 13.2; delivery 6.8673¢/kWh + $4.06/mo

## ZIP codes
**Not every address in these ZIP codes has retail choice; check your exact address.**

| ZIP | Postal cities | Land in city | Competitive homes | Households | Ratio | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 75785 | Rusk 92%, Gallatin 5%, Jacksonville 2% | 2% | 1,991 | 3,082 | 0.65 | Split. Most homes, not all. Mostly outside Rusk city limits. |

## Business electricity in Rusk
644 active business meters. Power Hopper compares offers from retail electric providers and direct suppliers; for high-consumption businesses we can run a competitive bid. No savings or bidder count is promised. Businesses in Texas retail-choice areas can request a rate review online.

## Questions
**Can Rusk residents pick their own electric company?** Yes, where Oncor's wires reach the house, which in Rusk is most of the city: 1,840 homes with a Rusk mailing address were on the competitive market on October 5, 2026, 1.77 for each Census household. Addresses in 75785 (split) need an exact-address check before you shop.
**Where do most Rusk electricity customers live?** 75785. It holds 1,839 Rusk-addressed competitive homes; counting every address in the ZIP, ERCOT has 1,991 meters for roughly 3,082 households, a 0.65 ratio.
**How much is electricity in Rusk right now?** On October 19, 2026, the median fixed-rate Power to Choose listing on Oncor's wires was 13.4¢ per kWh at 1,000 kWh a month (170 listings); Oncor's delivery charge of 6.8673¢ per kWh plus $4.06 a month is included. A median is not a quote.
**How do I start electric service at a new Rusk address?** Confirm the address is on Oncor's wires, then pick a plan and a start date. In 75785, 17.0% of residents moved in the past year (ACS); 8 meters in 75785 went vacant-to-active Oct. 7-18, 2026.
**Why are there more electric meters than households in Rusk?** 1,840 Rusk-addressed meters against 1,039 city households is 1.77 per household: the Rusk postal area extends past city limits, and new homes get meters before the Census counts them. It doesn't mean every nearby address can choose.
**Who restores power in Rusk after an outage?** Call Oncor (oncor.com/outages), the wires utility for Rusk's 1,840 competitive homes; a retail provider can't fix lines.

## Sources
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203): full extract as of Oct 5, 2026; daily files Oct 7-18, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates (B25003 households, B01003 population): https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- Census Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- Census 2020 ZCTA-to-place and ZCTA-to-county relationship files: https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/rel2020/zcta520/
- EIA-861 (2024) utility service territories by county: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/
- PUCT Power to Choose residential offer export, Oct 19, 2026, 7:59 AM CT: https://www.powertochoose.org/en-us/Plan/ExportToCsv
- PUCT: Choosing an Electric Plan: https://www.puc.texas.gov/consumer-help/electricity/electric-plan/
- PUCT broker directory (BR260201): https://www.puc.texas.gov/industry/electric/directories/brk/alpha_brk/
- Oncor Electric Delivery: https://www.oncor.com/
- Oncor delivery tariff (effective October 4, 2026): https://interchange.puc.texas.gov/Documents/59249_105_1676040.PDF
- Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- Census Bureau 2025 Gazetteer Files, Texas places (land and water area): https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html
- Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census Bureau Vintage 2025 city and town population estimates: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/popest/datasets/2020-2025/cities/totals/sub-est2025_48.csv
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- EIA-861 (2024) utility service territories by county: https://www.eia.gov/electricity/data/eia861/
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/
- ERCOT TDSP ESIID Extract (report 203), Oct 5, 2026: https://www.ercot.com/misapp/GetReports.do?reportTypeId=203
- Census ACS 2020-2024 5-year, table B25003: https://www2.census.gov/programs-surveys/acs/summary_file/2024/table-based-SF/data/5YRData/

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