Cambridge: local statistics
Cambridge is a district council area in the East of England, home to an estimated 149,872 people (mid-2025). This page brings together 10 official figures for the area, each with its period, publisher and the address it was read from. See also who has power over Cambridge, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
The claimant count for Cambridge stood at 2,235 in August 2026, or 2.0% of residents aged 16 to 64, compared with 3.3% in the East of England. Twelve months before, it was 2.1%. Since August 2021 the rate has ranged between 1.8% (November 2023) and 2.6% (August 2021).
The average house price in Cambridge was £475,151 in July 2026, unchanged on a year before. It ranks as the 7th highest of 45 in the East of England (regional average £337,518). Since July 2016 prices have risen 9%; the July high in the series was £500,452 in 2023. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in Cambridge (£43,741) gives a ratio of 10.9. That ratio is the 5th highest ratio of the 45 council areas in the East of England.
The police recorded 91.4 crimes per 1,000 residents in Cambridge in the year to March 2026 (13,699 offences in all), the 7th highest rate of the 42 council areas in the East of England. A year earlier it was 97.1. The highest rate in the series was 112.3, in the year to March 2020. Fraud is not included.
Cambridge had an estimated 149,872 residents in mid-2025, down 1.2% on mid-2024. That is 16,218 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 12.1%, against +8.5% for the East of England as a whole, the 10th fastest growth of the 45 council areas in the East of England. The series peaked at 151,666 in mid-2024.
Average Band D council tax in Cambridge is £2,467.02 for 2026-27, up £111.61 on 2025-26. It is 10th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest. In 2016-17 the figure was £1,597.54, so it has risen 54%.
The median full-time employee living in Cambridge was paid £866.90 a week before tax in April 2025, or £43,741 over a year. It is the 16th highest of 45 in the East of England, and 7.7% more than across the East of England. Measured by where people work rather than where they live, the median is £876.10, £9.20 higher. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it was £583.30: a change of +49% before inflation.
In 2022 to 2024, women in Cambridge had a life expectancy at birth of 84.0 years; for men it was 80.6 (England: 83.3 and 79.5). Since 2012 to 2014 it has changed by +0.0 years for women and +0.8 for men. It is mid-table in the East of England, 25th of 45.
The Annual Population Survey estimates that 79.4% of Cambridge residents aged 16 to 64 were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, with a margin of error of 6.2 points either way, against 78.3% across the East of England. Its lowest reading in the series was 71.5% and its highest 81.9%.
6,810 businesses were registered for VAT or PAYE in Cambridge in March 2026, 4% more than in 2016. That is 45 for every 1,000 residents, close to the middle of the 45 council areas in the East of England (25th highest).
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 133,654 |
| 2016 | 136,054 |
| 2017 | 138,462 |
| 2018 | 141,726 |
| 2019 | 143,153 |
| 2020 | 143,741 |
| 2021 | 145,022 |
| 2022 | 148,886 |
| 2023 | 150,619 |
| 2024 | 151,666 |
| 2025 | 149,872 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £436,907 |
| July 2017 | £466,075 |
| July 2018 | £455,178 |
| July 2019 | £443,311 |
| July 2020 | £456,552 |
| July 2021 | £453,379 |
| July 2022 | £494,197 |
| July 2023 | £500,452 |
| July 2024 | £486,286 |
| July 2025 | £475,119 |
| July 2026 | £475,151 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £583.30 a week |
| 2016 | £589.10 a week |
| 2017 | £595.60 a week |
| 2018 | £633.30 a week |
| 2019 | £632.10 a week |
| 2020 | £660.20 a week |
| 2021 | £728.90 a week |
| 2022 | £748.70 a week |
| 2023 | £798.40 a week |
| 2024 | £832.90 a week |
| 2025 | £866.90 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,597.54 |
| 2017-18 | £1,630.71 |
| 2018-19 | £1,709.06 |
| 2019-20 | £1,803.01 |
| 2020-21 | £1,866.42 |
| 2021-22 | £1,928.39 |
| 2022-23 | £2,014.66 |
| 2023-24 | £2,126.16 |
| 2024-25 | £2,248.95 |
| 2025-26 | £2,355.41 |
| 2026-27 | £2,467.02 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 82.9 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 94.0 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 105.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 99.5 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 112.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 83.6 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 98.7 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 96.8 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 101.6 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 97.1 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 91.4 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 77.1% |
| 2016/17 | 72.3% |
| 2017/18 | 77.2% |
| 2018/19 | 78.5% |
| 2019/20 | 81.9% |
| 2020/21 | 78.3% |
| 2021/22 | 79.7% |
| 2022/23 | 76.7% |
| 2023/24 | 76.1% |
| 2024/25 | 71.5% |
| 2025/26 | 79.4% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 84.0 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 84.0 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 84.0 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 83.6 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 83.7 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 84.3 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.0 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 84.9 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 84.2 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 84.0 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 84.0 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 6,545 |
| 2017 | 6,670 |
| 2018 | 6,695 |
| 2019 | 6,645 |
| 2020 | 6,725 |
| 2021 | 6,810 |
| 2022 | 6,730 |
| 2023 | 6,610 |
| 2024 | 6,670 |
| 2025 | 6,720 |
| 2026 | 6,810 |
Questions about Cambridge
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in Cambridge?
The ONS claimant count was 2,235 in August 2026, 2.0% of 16 to 64-year-olds. It counts benefit claims, not unemployment.
What is the average house price in Cambridge?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £475,151.
What is the crime rate in Cambridge?
91.4 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the population of Cambridge?
149,872 in mid-2025, the latest ONS mid-year estimate.
How much is Band D council tax in Cambridge?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,467.02 for 2026-27.
What is the average salary in Cambridge?
Median pay for full-time employees living in Cambridge was £866.90 a week in April 2025 (£43,741 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is life expectancy in Cambridge?
84.0 years for women and 80.6 for men (2022 to 2024, ONS).
Who has power over Cambridge
Every body that makes decisions for Cambridge, from the street up to the G20. Each one links to its page on the official record. How the ten levels work.
Level 1: Neighbourhood and community power
Residents' and tenants' groups, neighbourhood forums and local policing panels.
Level 2: Parish, town and community councils
Parish, town and community councils, where the area has them, sit below the council.
Level 3: Local councils
- Cambridge council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- Cambridge in official figures this page
Level 4: County councils, combined authorities and metro mayors
- Cambridgeshire County Council county council
- Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority combined authority
- Cambridgeshire Constabulary police force
- Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust NHS
- NHS Central East Integrated Care Board NHS
- Royal Papworth Hospital NHS Foundation Trust NHS
- East of England in official figures
Level 5: Devolved and state governments
England has no devolved parliament of its own: its laws are made by the UK Parliament.
Level 6: National government
- Cambridge: Daniel Zeichner (Labour) MP
- South Cambridgeshire: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat) MP
- All 650 MPs votes, interests and costs
- UK government and Parliament official figures and sources
Level 7: Regional blocs and supranational bodies
- Council of Europe and the European Court of Human Rights (CoE / ECtHR) The UK Government says the United Kingdom was one of the Council of Europe's founding members.
Level 8: The UN and global treaty bodies
- United Nations (General Assembly and Security Council) The UN lists the United Kingdom as a member admitted on 24 October 1945.
- United Nations Security Council (UNSC) The UK is one of the five permanent members of the Security Council and holds the veto, according to the UN.
- NATO NATO lists the United Kingdom among its 12 founding members, which signed the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C.
- World Health Organization (WHO) WHO's list of member states includes the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
- World Trade Organization (WTO) The WTO says the United Kingdom has been a WTO member since 1 January 1995 and a member of GATT since 1 January 1948.
- Commonwealth of Nations The UK is one of the 56 members, one of three European members with Cyprus and Malta, and the Commonwealth Secretariat is headquartered at Marlborough House in London.
Level 9: The IMF, World Bank and global finance
- International Monetary Fund (IMF) The UK has been a member since 27 December 1945 and has a quota of SDR 20,155.1 million (IMF country page for the United Kingdom).
- World Bank Group (WBG) The UK holds 3.75% of voting power in the IBRD (data as of 30 June 2026) and 6.92% in IDA (as of 30 June 2026), according to the World Bank's voting tables.
Level 10: G7, G20, Davos and global forums
Sources
Each value above links to the official file or query it was read from, on 14 October 2026. What each figure measures.
- Recorded crime: Years before April 2020 come from the earlier Home Office table.
More on this area and these figures
- Council money: spending, reserves and debt
- Figures for the whole region: the East of England
- UK figures: UK unemployment rate · UK average house price · Crime Survey for England and Wales: headline crime
- Other council areas in the East of England: Breckland · East Hertfordshire · King's Lynn and West Norfolk · Norwich · South Norfolk · St Albans
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- What is the average house price in my area?
- How do I find the crime rate in my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- How do I check my council tax band?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.