City · Cambridgeshire

Cambridge area guide

Who lives in Cambridge, how they live, and how it compares on crime, schools and transport.

Council: Cambridge
Region: East of England
Population: 156,006 (2024)

CambridgeCity · Cambridgeshire

At a glance

What Cambridge is like

Cambridge is a city in the East of England. It is home to about 156,006 people across 55,079 households. 44% of households own their home, 31.6% rent privately and 22.5% are in social housing. The largest age group is 20–24, and 53.2% of adults are in work. On deprivation, it sits near the middle of the scale for England. Higher-harm crime is below the England and Wales average.

Scores

How Cambridge compares

Headline figures for Cambridge, set against England as a whole.

AffluenceMore

7.4/ 10

Around the middle. Scored from 1 (most deprived in England) to 10 (least deprived).

CrimeMore

6/ 10

Around the middle: 26.1 higher-harm crimes per 1,000 people a year vs 31.1 nationally.

TransportMore

5.0/ 10

Good: 1 station within a mile, 67 bus stops within 800m.

SchoolsMore

95%

Rated good or better across 42 inspected schools in Cambridge.

Household incomeMore

£69,682

Average annual income before tax, higher than 84% of neighbourhoods in England and Wales.

What stands out

Worth knowing before you invest

Where Cambridge differs most from the national average.

01
A big private rental marketPositive
31.6% of households rent privately, against 20.5% across England. Tenant demand is established here.
02
A student area
25% of adults are full-time students, against 7.9% across England. Expect HMO demand and term-time turnover.
03
A young populationPositive
34.2% of residents are aged 20 to 34 (the peak renting age), against 19.6% across England.
04
Well-rated schoolsPositive
95% of the inspected schools nearby are rated good or better.

Questions

Cambridge FAQs

Is Cambridge a good place to live?

Deprivation, crime, schools and transport at a glance.

It scores 7.4 out of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 10 is the least deprived in England. Higher-harm crime runs at 26.1 per 1,000 people a year, band 6 of 10 nationally. 95% of the inspected schools nearby are rated good or better. Transport connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10 (good).

Is Cambridge safe?

How recorded crime here compares with the national average.

Higher-harm crime (violence, robbery, burglary, vehicle crime and weapons offences) runs at 26.1 offences per 1,000 people a year around Cambridge, below the 31.1 average across England and Wales, band 6 of 10.

Who lives in Cambridge?

Age, home ownership and housing from the census.

The largest age group is 20–24, at 13.6% of residents. 44% of households own their home. The most common property type is purpose-built flat (30.4%).

How well connected is Cambridge?

Connectivity scores 5.0 out of 10.

There are 67 bus stops within 800m and 1 station or tram stop within a mile, scoring 5.0 out of 10 (good). The nearest station is Cambridge Rail Station, 0.7 miles away.

Sources: Census 2021 (ONS); ONS mid-year population estimates; police recorded crime; the English, Welsh and Scottish indices of deprivation; ONS small area income estimates; ONS private rents; DfE, Welsh and Scottish school registers and Ofsted; DfT NaPTAN; ORR estimates of station usage. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right.

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