South Cambridgeshire: local statistics
South Cambridgeshire is a district council area in the East of England, home to an estimated 174,641 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 South Cambridgeshire, from the council up to the G20.
Key figures
What the figures show
2.0% of South Cambridgeshire residents aged 16 to 64 (2,045 people) were on the claimant count in August 2026, compared with 3.3% in the East of England. A year earlier the rate was 1.9%. The five-year high was 2.4% (August 2021); the low was 1.6% (September 2023).
For 2026-27 the average Band D council tax bill in South Cambridgeshire is £2,536.25, up £121.73 on 2025-26. That makes it the 3rd highest in the East of England. Ten years earlier, in 2016-17, it was £1,625.35.
In 2022 to 2024, women in South Cambridgeshire had a life expectancy at birth of 85.4 years; for men it was 82.5, compared with 83.3 and 79.5 years across England. For women that is 0.1 years more than in 2012 to 2014; for men, 0.1 more. It is the 3rd highest for women in the East of England.
174,641 people lived in South Cambridgeshire in mid-2025, according to the ONS, up 1.2% on a year earlier. That is 19,679 more people than in mid-2015, a rise of 12.7%, against +8.5% for the East of England as a whole. That is the 6th fastest growth of all 45 council areas in the East of England. No earlier year in the series was higher.
Full-time employees living in South Cambridgeshire earned a median £909.50 a week in April 2025 (£48,916 a year). That is 13.0% above the figure for the East of England and 6th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest. The workplace figure, £913.80, is within £5 of it. In 2015 the residents' median was £618.90, so it has risen 47% before inflation.
The police recorded 46.3 crimes per 1,000 residents in South Cambridgeshire in the year to March 2026 (8,092 offences in all), the 36th highest rate of all 42 council areas in the East of England. That compares with 42.8 per 1,000 the year before. The highest rate in the series was 47.8, in the year to March 2018. Fraud is not included.
HM Land Registry puts the average price of a home in South Cambridgeshire at £439,573 for July 2026, up 2.2% on a year before. It ranks as the 11th highest of 45 in the East of England; the average for the East of England was £337,518. Prices are 23% above July 2016 and at their highest July level in the series. Dividing the average price by the median annual pay of full-time employees living in South Cambridgeshire (£48,916) gives a ratio of 9.0. That ratio is the 14th highest ratio of all 45 council areas in the East of England.
The ONS counted 9,245 VAT or PAYE-registered businesses in South Cambridgeshire in March 2026, 5% more than in 2016. That is 53 for every 1,000 residents, 11th of 45 in the East of England, counting from the highest.
An estimated 82.3% of people aged 16 to 64 living in South Cambridgeshire were in work in April 2025 to March 2026, according to the ONS Annual Population Survey (give or take 4.7 points), against 78.3% across the East of England. Its lowest reading in the series was 75.3% and its highest 86.2%.
History
Population (mid-year)
| 2015 | 154,962 |
| 2016 | 156,780 |
| 2017 | 157,215 |
| 2018 | 157,810 |
| 2019 | 159,031 |
| 2020 | 160,548 |
| 2021 | 163,042 |
| 2022 | 165,766 |
| 2023 | 169,601 |
| 2024 | 172,543 |
| 2025 | 174,641 |
Average house price (same month each year)
| July 2016 | £356,833 |
| July 2017 | £383,680 |
| July 2018 | £375,743 |
| July 2019 | £382,290 |
| July 2020 | £370,453 |
| July 2021 | £390,859 |
| July 2022 | £422,388 |
| July 2023 | £420,845 |
| July 2024 | £423,245 |
| July 2025 | £430,057 |
| July 2026 | £439,573 |
Median weekly pay, residents
| 2015 | £618.90 a week |
| 2016 | £671.30 a week |
| 2017 | £691.90 a week |
| 2018 | £743.30 a week |
| 2019 | £755.40 a week |
| 2020 | £716.10 a week |
| 2021 | £776.70 a week |
| 2022 | £767.70 a week |
| 2023 | £831.70 a week |
| 2024 | £883.00 a week |
| 2025 | £909.50 a week |
Average Band D council tax
| 2016-17 | £1,625.35 |
| 2017-18 | £1,662.89 |
| 2018-19 | £1,745.51 |
| 2019-20 | £1,840.60 |
| 2020-21 | £1,906.70 |
| 2021-22 | £1,971.04 |
| 2022-23 | £2,062.05 |
| 2023-24 | £2,176.05 |
| 2024-25 | £2,303.96 |
| 2025-26 | £2,414.52 |
| 2026-27 | £2,536.25 |
Recorded crimes per 1,000 residents
| 2015/16 | 31.5 per 1,000 |
| 2016/17 | 40.2 per 1,000 |
| 2017/18 | 47.8 per 1,000 |
| 2018/19 | 45.6 per 1,000 |
| 2019/20 | 47.3 per 1,000 |
| 2020/21 | 41.0 per 1,000 |
| 2021/22 | 44.2 per 1,000 |
| 2022/23 | 46.0 per 1,000 |
| 2023/24 | 43.8 per 1,000 |
| 2024/25 | 42.8 per 1,000 |
| 2025/26 | 46.3 per 1,000 |
Employment rate
| 2015/16 | 81.0% |
| 2016/17 | 82.5% |
| 2017/18 | 83.3% |
| 2018/19 | 85.2% |
| 2019/20 | 81.9% |
| 2020/21 | 75.3% |
| 2021/22 | 82.4% |
| 2022/23 | 81.0% |
| 2023/24 | 78.9% |
| 2024/25 | 86.2% |
| 2025/26 | 82.3% |
Life expectancy, women
| 2012 to 2014 | 85.3 years |
| 2013 to 2015 | 85.2 years |
| 2014 to 2016 | 85.2 years |
| 2015 to 2017 | 85.3 years |
| 2016 to 2018 | 85.6 years |
| 2017 to 2019 | 85.7 years |
| 2018 to 2020 | 85.8 years |
| 2019 to 2021 | 85.8 years |
| 2020 to 2022 | 85.4 years |
| 2021 to 2023 | 85.4 years |
| 2022 to 2024 | 85.4 years |
Registered businesses
| 2016 | 8,785 |
| 2017 | 8,985 |
| 2018 | 9,055 |
| 2019 | 9,415 |
| 2020 | 9,490 |
| 2021 | 9,325 |
| 2022 | 9,300 |
| 2023 | 9,000 |
| 2024 | 9,045 |
| 2025 | 9,075 |
| 2026 | 9,245 |
Questions about South Cambridgeshire
How many people claim unemployment-related benefits in South Cambridgeshire?
2,045 in August 2026 (2.0% of residents aged 16 to 64), on the ONS claimant count, which is not the unemployment rate.
How much is Band D council tax in South Cambridgeshire?
The Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government gives an average Band D bill of £2,536.25 for 2026-27.
What is life expectancy in South Cambridgeshire?
For 2022 to 2024 the ONS gives 82.5 years for men and 85.4 for women.
What is the population of South Cambridgeshire?
The ONS estimates 174,641 people lived in South Cambridgeshire in mid-2025.
What is the average salary in South Cambridgeshire?
Median pay for full-time employees living in South Cambridgeshire was £909.50 a week in April 2025 (£48,916 a year), from the ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings.
What is the crime rate in South Cambridgeshire?
46.3 recorded crimes per 1,000 residents in the year to March 2026, excluding fraud (Home Office).
What is the average house price in South Cambridgeshire?
HM Land Registry's figure for July 2026 is £439,573.
Who has power over South Cambridgeshire
Every body that makes decisions for South Cambridgeshire, 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
- South Cambridgeshire council spending, reserves, debt and council tax
- South Cambridgeshire 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
- NHS Central East Integrated Care Board 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
- Ely and East Cambridgeshire: Charlotte Cane (Liberal Democrat) MP
- South Cambridgeshire: Pippa Heylings (Liberal Democrat) MP
- St Neots and Mid Cambridgeshire: Ian Sollom (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 · Life expectancy at birth (UK) · UK population
- Other council areas in the East of England: Braintree · Dacorum · Southend-on-Sea · Tendring · Thurrock · West Suffolk
Related questions
- What is the unemployment rate in my area?
- How much has council tax gone up this year?
- How healthy is my area?
- What is the population of my area?
- Who are my local councillors?
Figures checked 14 October 2026. Link moved or figure out of date? Tell us.