In the United States, groups within the population of private well users may face disparities in access to safe drinking water. Since private well operations and water quality are mostly unregulated, private well users may not be aware when they are consuming contaminated water. The University of North Carolina at Charlotte collaborated with the Gaston County (North Carolina) Department of Health and Human Services- Environmental Health on a program to reduce exposure to water-borne pathogens among private well users. The purpose of the current study was to determine whether private well users in Gaston County face sociodemographic disparities in risk of exposure to pathogenically-contaminated drinking water. We visited the homes of private well users to administer a survey about household sociodemographic characteristics and collect microbial water samples. While the results of the current study reveal no evidence of a relationship between household characteristics and exposure to pathogenically-contaminated drinking water, we did uncover potential disparities in access to safe drinking water between private and public water users. The findings may be used to prioritize future outreach and programming by the Gaston County Department of Health and Human Services; to reduce the risk of exposure to unsafe drinking water among private well users in Gaston County; and, to further inform the environmental health community about potential environmental justice issues among private well users.