Work and incomes are strong: mean household income £70,873; 2.1% of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits. The catch is safety — 35.3 violent and sexual offences and 16.9 home and vehicle crimes per 1,000 residents a year. Among UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more, it has less crime per resident than 72%. Cost of living is weaker too — the median home sold for £484,602, 7 years of area income. All told, that adds up to a B+ overall, better than 70% of UK towns. It ranks #32 of 50 in Cambridgeshire.
Figures: income, ONS · claimants, DWP · crime, police.uk, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026 · prices, HM Land Registry, the last three years.
Each subject compared with the 2,160 UK towns with an overall grade (schools within England), ordered by how far Cambridge is from typical. American towns are graded separately.
Data highlights are ordered by what stands out in Cambridge.
Who lives here
A young town: 21% of people in Cambridge are 15 to 24, more than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or England’s towns
14% are under 15, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (18%) and England’s towns (18%). People 65 and over make up 11% of the town. Ages in Cambridge split evenly at 31.9: half are older, half younger. Degrees are held by 56% of adults.
31.9median age
CambridgeCambridgeshireEngland
Ages · share of residents
21%
Under 1515–2425–4445–6465+
Qualifications · residents 16 and older
No qualifications10%
Apprenticeship3%
A levels or similar18%
Degree level56%
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
WomenEnglandMen
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
ONS Census 2021 · Cambridgeshire and England: all residents of their built-up areas · OGL
SchoolsA−
Exam results at Cambridge’s schools top 83% of towns in England
Secondary results at the town’s 7 secondary schools: an Attainment 8 score of 57.8, with 66% at grade 5 or above in English and maths. St Alban's Catholic Primary School’s results beat 96% of schools in England like it. Key Stage 2 results at the town’s 28 primary schools: 64% of pupils meet the expected standard in reading, writing and maths (three-year average). Of its 46 schools, three are shown below, each with the reason.
Department for Education · GIAS, Key Stage 2 and GCSE resultsSee all 46 schools →
Work & commuteJobs & income grade A
Work is close at hand in Cambridge: 70% of commuters travel under 5 km, more than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or England’s towns
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in lockdown, so 45% of workers were mainly at home; shares here are of those who travelled.
Cambridge counts 1.6 jobs per working resident. The car took two in five commuters, lower than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (72%) and England’s towns (70%).
56%walk, cycle or ride
How commuters got to work · March 2021
Driving40%
Bicycle30%
On foot17%
Bus7%
Train2%
70%
of commuters travel under 5 km · England 45%
45%
worked mainly from home in March 2021
£71K
mean household income, before tax
2.1%
of 16 to 64s claim unemployment benefits (2026)
A+
Walkability: more walkable than almost every UK town
ONS Census 2021, method of travel and distance to work · ONS small-area income · DWP claimant count · OGL
Safety
Crime per resident in Cambridge is higher than in 81% of UK towns
Town centres with shops, stations and nightlife record more crime per resident: police.uk counts crimes where they happen, not where victims live.
Police figures for Cambridge’s built-up area: 15,079 crimes and 2,669 anti-social behaviour reports in the 12 months to August 2026. Anti-social behaviour, shown but not graded, came to 16.8 reports per 1,000, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (8.7) and England’s towns (7.8). Violence and sexual offences were 34% of the crimes.
35.3violent and sexual offences per 1,000 a yearC−Safety Grade
Compared with UK towns its sizeLess crime per resident than 72% of the 207 UK towns and cities of 50,000 or more: less crime than most for its size. Context only, not part of the grade.
More crimeLess crime
Reports by type · Sep 2025 to Aug 2026
Violence & sexual5,164
Shoplifting2,605
Other theft1,125
Damage & arson1,110
Public order1,048
Bicycle theft963
Drugs711
Vehicle crime691
Anti-social2,669
Not gradedAnti-social behaviour, shoplifting and other theft are shown but left out of the Safety Grade, which counts violence and crimes against homes and vehicles per resident.
35.3
violent and sexual offences per 1,000 residents a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.9
burglary, vehicle crime and damage per 1,000 a year, averaged Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
16.8
anti-social behaviour reports per 1,000 (not graded)
data.police.uk street-level crime · points inside the ONS built-up-area boundary · OGL · The police category of violence and sexual offences includes harassment and stalking.
History
832 listed buildings, 67 of them Grade I
The heritage lists give each building’s grade but not its age, so we don’t say which is oldest.
Of Cambridge’s land, 23% lies in conservation areas, above Cambridgeshire’s towns (13%) and England’s towns (7%) alike. Its listed buildings include All Saints Church, Grade I. 18% of homes date from before 1919. Grade II* covers 54 of them, Grade I 67.
Historic England list, October 2026 · Valuation Office Agency, homes by build period · OGL
HousingCost of living grade C−
Fewer households own their home in Cambridge than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or across England’s towns: 44%
Social renters account for nearly a quarter of households. 32% rent privately, higher than both Cambridgeshire’s towns (21%) and England’s towns (21%). The median sale, £484,602, comes from 3,760 standard sales inside the town’s built-up area from September 2023 to August 2026.
£485Kmedian sale
Median sale price · Sep 2023 to Aug 2026
Cambridge£485K
Typical UK town£277K
By type
Median
Sales
Detached
£720,252
472
Semi-detached
£550,000
802
Terraced
£500,000
1,378
Flat or maisonette
£325,000
1,108
44%
of households own their home · England 61%
32%
rent privately · England 21%
£1,786
average private rent a month, Cambridge council area
HM Land Registry Price Paid · ONS private rents · MHCLG / Welsh Government council tax · ONS Census 2021 tenure · OGL
Health
87% of people in Cambridge say their health is good or very good, more than in Cambridgeshire’s towns or across England’s towns
Poor health, by residents’ own account, affects 3.2% of the town. At the census, 15% of people here had a disability, below both Cambridgeshire’s towns (16%) and England’s towns (17%). 17 GP practices serve the town; 78% of patients rate theirs good in the GP Patient Survey. Life expectancy here is 85.4 for women and 81.1 for men (2019–23).
ONS Census 2021, general health and disability · OHID Fingertips, life expectancy 2019–23 · OGL · Census health answers are raw, so younger towns score better on them; for the Health Grade we use age-adjusted figures like life expectancy and early deaths.
Douglas Adams: Michael Hughes, CC BY-SA 2.0 · George Paget Thomson: Nobel foundation, Public domain · Richard Attenborough: gdcgraphics at https://www.flickr.com/photos/gdcgraphics/, CC BY 2.0 · Olivia Newton-John: Eva Rinaldi, CC BY-SA 2.0 · David Gilmour: Lrheath, CC BY-SA 4.0
Hauxton and Harston have fewer than 2,500 residents, so they get subject grades but no overall grade. People: Census 2021. Miles: centre to centre.
Questions about Cambridge
How many listed buildings are there in Cambridge?
That is 2.2 times the typical UK town for its size. Its Grade I buildings include All Saints Church. It also has 4 scheduled monuments.
Is Cambridge expensive to live in?
Homes cost more than in most UK towns: the median sale over three years was £484,602, against £277,000 in the typical UK town. By type: flats £325,000, terraced houses £500,000, semi-detached houses £550,000 and detached houses £720,252.
Are schools in Cambridge good?
Primary results are closer to the middle, beating 61%.
About Cambridge
City in Cambridgeshire, England
Cambridge is a built-up area of 152,742 people, in the Cambridge council area. TownRatings uses ONS’s 2022 built-up areas as towns: the physical town, as people mean the word, rather than a council district, so its figures cover the town itself.
Built from ONS geography and Census 2021
Population
152,742 (Census 2021)
Council
Cambridge (mostly)
County
Cambridgeshire
Region
East of England
Area
13.9 sq mi (36.1 km²)
ONS code
E63003443
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area · HM Land Registry Price Paid (standard sales, September 2023 to August 2026) · ONS Price Index of Private Rents (August 2026, by council) · MHCLG and Welsh Government council tax, Band D 2026–27 (with parish precepts in England) · data.police.uk street-level crime, 36 months to August 2026, points inside the built-up-area boundary · ONS small-area life expectancy and healthy life expectancy, 2019 to 2023 (England and Wales), OHID Fingertips small-area indicators (England) and Census 2021 health, adjusted for age · ONS small-area income estimates (financial year ending 2023) · DWP claimant count via Nomis (January to August 2026) · Historic England, National Heritage List for England (listed buildings, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, battlefields, World Heritage Sites), October 2026, inside the ONS 2022 built-up-area boundary · Valuation Office Agency, Council Tax: stock of properties by build period (31 March 2025) · TownRatings grades: our own summary of the data, ranked against UK towns only. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
