Photo: John Sutton · CC BY-SA 2.0Half of Cambridge is under 31.9, younger than 98% of UK towns
Households in flats make up 35%, against 23% across England’s towns. Residents who describe themselves as Christian are rarer here than in 97% of UK towns. In 2021, the Census found 152,742 residents in Cambridge, living in 55,371 households. 34% of households have no car or van.
What the Census says about Cambridge’s people
A student city
The 2021 Census counted 32,043 full-time students aged 16 and over, 25% of adults, against 7.9% across England’s towns: more than in 99% of UK towns. That shows in the ages: 21% of residents are 15 to 24. Students & newcomers ↓
More born abroad than anywhere else in Cambridgeshire
38% of residents were born outside the UK, against 22% across Cambridgeshire’s towns and 18% across England’s towns. The largest groups were born in EU countries (16%) and in the Middle East and Asia (12%). Where people were born ↓
Younger than most towns
Half of Cambridge’s residents are under 31.9 and half over, against 44.4 in the typical UK town. 21% are 15 to 24 and 11% are 65 or over. Ages ↓
A mix of backgrounds
47% of residents described their ethnic group as something other than White British at the 2021 Census, more than in 98% of UK towns. The largest groups after White British are Other White (22%), Mixed or multiple (5.1%) and Chinese (4.4%). Ethnicity & religion ↓
Written from the data on this page: ONS Census 2021 (output areas summed to the 2022 built-up area) and ONS mid-year population estimates.
From 2011 to 2024, Cambridge outgrew 88% of UK towns: +21%
ONS mid-year estimates, each year indexed to mid-2011 = 100. Cambridge’s figure is the small areas (2021 LSOAs) that make up the city.
People, mid-2011 = 100
Change by age, 2011 to 2024
About 129,000 people in 2011; 156,100 in 2024.
Split by age, the 45 to 64 changed most (+24%) and the 30 to 44 least (+20%). The steepest year was mid-2014 to mid-2015, up 3,260 people.
Below 97% of UK towns: 11% of residents are 65 or over
Share of residents in each five-year age band, Census 2021.
The share of residents aged 15 to 24 tops 99% of UK towns: 21%. Across the comparison, 18% of residents are 65 or over across England’s towns.
Median age of UK towns of 2,500+
■ Cambridge, 31.9. The typical town is 44.4.
Broad ages · share of residents
Women and men · all residents
50% women, 50% men
About an even split. Across England, 51% of residents are women.
A larger share of full-time students than 99% of UK towns: 25%
What adults did at the 2021 Census (the ONS’s NS-SEC classes), and where residents lived a year earlier.
Adults by occupation class · residents 16 and over
Address a year before the Census
Residents who lived somewhere else a year earlier. The bar runs to 25%.
A fifth of residents lived at another address a year earlier (England’s towns: 11%). Elsewhere, 7.9% of adults are full-time students across England’s towns.
The Census was taken on 21 March 2021, in term time, so students were counted at their term addresses.
A higher share of shared households of unrelated adults than 99% of UK towns, at 11%
Household make-up at the 2021 Census. Each square is 1% of households.
Against Cambridgeshire’s towns and England’s towns
People per household
England’s towns.
29% of households have dependent children across England’s towns, against 26% in Cambridge. Shared households of unrelated adults make up 4.3% across England’s towns. The average household has 2.4 people. The city has more one-person households than 65% of UK towns, at 32%.
In Cambridge, 11% of households live in a detached house, fewer than in 92% of UK towns
Accommodation type and cars or vans per household, Census 2021. Owning and renting are on Cost of living.
Type of home
Cars or vans · share of households
With households in terraced houses at 27%, Cambridge is ahead of 77% of UK towns on that count. Meanwhile, just over a third of households live in a flat, more than in 97% of UK towns; 11% in a detached house, against 21% across England’s towns.
More residents born outside the UK than 99% of UK towns: 38%
Country of birth, year of arrival and main language, Census 2021.
Born outside the UK, by region · share of all residents; the bar runs to 45%
When those born abroad arrived
Main language · residents aged 3 and over
80% of residents have English as their main language, against 90% across England’s towns. The usual figure: 18% of residents were born outside the UK across England’s towns. Among residents born abroad, the largest groups were born in EU countries (16%) and in the Middle East and Asia (12%).
53% of residents describe themselves as White British, below 98% of UK towns
How residents described themselves at the 2021 Census. Lines join the lowest and highest of the three figures.
Ethnic groups other than White British · all residents
White British, not charted: 53% of Cambridge · Cambridgeshire’s towns 72% · England’s towns 73%.
Religion · all residents
The share of residents with no religion tops 73% of UK towns: 45%. After White British, the most common groups are Other White (22%), Mixed or multiple (5.1%) and Chinese (4.4%).
Cambridge: 56% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership, above 99% of UK towns
Legal partnership status (residents 16 and over) and unpaid care (residents 5 and over), Census 2021.
Partnership status · residents 16 and over
Unpaid care given · share of residents 5 and over
In Cambridge, 6.3% of residents give unpaid care, beside 8.7% across England’s towns. Measured more widely, 39% of adults have never married or formed a civil partnership across England’s towns. Married adults and civil partners: a third of the total.
Adults qualified to degree level or above: 56%
Highest qualification, residents 16 and over, Census 2021.
Highest qualification · residents 16 and over
9.7% of Cambridge’s adults have no qualification (18% across England’s towns), and 56% have one at degree level (34%). Students still working towards a degree help explain why A levels are the highest qualification of 18%.
From a median age of 24 in Central & West Cambridge to 39 in Cherry Hinton
The city’s 17 neighbourhoods (ONS middle-layer areas with 500+ residents inside it, named by the House of Commons Library), youngest first. Census 2021.
Cherry Hinton is the oldest area, with 16% aged 65 or over; Central & West Cambridge the youngest (median age 24). Students cluster in Central & West Cambridge, where 64% of adults are full-time students. Families with children are most common in Little Shelford , Foxton & Haslingfield (50% of households).
49 UK towns of 107,000 to 206,000 people: this is the 3rd youngest
Median age, Census 2021. Hover a dot for its students and residents born abroad; click for its page.
Ages run from 29.8 in Salford to 44.8 in Worthing. Nearest to Cambridge in age: Salford (29.8), Oldham (31.6), Oxford (32) and Hammersmith and Fulham (34.2).
Cambridge is younger than every town around it
Nearby built-up areas coloured by median age, Census 2021. Tap a town for its page.
| Town | People | Away | Median age | 65+ | Homes with children |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cambridge | 152,742 | — | 31.9 | 11% | 26% |
| Milton | 4,150 | 2.9 mi | 41.5 | 17% | 26% |
| Girton | 4,384 | 3.1 mi | 45.1 | 25% | 28% |
| Histon and Impington | 7,781 | 3.4 mi | 45.6 | 23% | 28% |
| Fulbourn | 3,737 | 3.6 mi | 43.6 | 23% | 27% |
| Great Shelford and Stapleford | 6,159 | 3.6 mi | 46.2 | 25% | 27% |
| Hauxton | 1,322 | 4.1 mi | 41.3 | 19% | 30% |
| Harston | 1,827 | 4.8 mi | 47 | 22% | 32% |
Health, work and homes have their own pages
What this data can and can’t tell you
- The Census was taken in a lockdown, in term time. 21 March 2021 fell in term time, and students were asked to give their term-time address, so most were counted where they study. Some may have been living with family that day.
- “Cambridgeshire’s towns” and “England’s towns” mean their built-up areas. Census comparisons pool every built-up area in Cambridgeshire (or England), summed the same way as Cambridge’s figures, so households in open countryside are left out. The population trend compares with the whole county and nation.
- Estimates since 2021 are modelled. The ONS builds mid-year estimates from the Census, births, deaths and migration records. Cambridge’s trend uses the small areas (2021 LSOAs) with most of their people inside it: 152,169 people in 2021, against 152,742 in the built-up area.
- Small counts are blurred. The ONS adds small random changes to Census counts to protect privacy, so the same total differs a little between tables, and the shares of a small town can move by a point or two.
Questions about Cambridge’s residents
What is the population of Cambridge?
The 2021 Census counted 152,742 people in Cambridge’s built-up area. The ONS estimates the same small areas held 156,100 people in mid-2024, 21% more than in 2011.
What is the average age in Cambridge?
The median age was 31.9 at the 2021 Census, younger than 98% of UK towns. 21% of residents were 15 to 24 and 11% were 65 or over.
Is Cambridge a student city?
Yes: 25% of adults were full-time students at the 2021 Census (32,043 people), against 7.9% across England’s towns. In Central & West Cambridge, 64% of adults were students.
How diverse is Cambridge?
53% of residents described themselves as White British in 2021, against 73% across England’s towns and 72% across Cambridgeshire’s towns. 38% were born outside the UK.
What religion are people in Cambridge?
45% said they had no religion and 35% that they were Christian at the 2021 Census; 5.1% were Muslim and 9.7% didn’t answer.
Is Cambridge good for families?
26% of households had dependent children in 2021, against 29% across England’s towns. Families are most common in Little Shelford , Foxton & Haslingfield (50% of households). Schools are on Cambridge’s schools page.
Sources: ONS Census 2021, output areas summed to the ONS 2022 built-up area (TS002, TS003, TS004, TS007A, TS008, TS015, TS017, TS019, TS021, TS029, TS030, TS039, TS044, TS045, TS062, TS067) · ONS mid-year population estimates for 2021 LSOAs, mid-2011 to mid-2024 · House of Commons Library MSOA names. All under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. Contains OS data © Crown copyright and database right 2026 (ONS boundaries). Northern Ireland: Source: NISRA; contains Land & Property Services data and Ordnance Survey of Northern Ireland information, © Crown copyright, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Scotland: contains National Records of Scotland data, Registers of Scotland data and SEPA data, © Crown copyright / © SEPA 2025, licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.