East of England, England

Cost of living in Cambridge

Data last updated: 8 October 2026
Page last reviewed: 8 October 2026
£1,911 estimated monthly cost
Rent £1,256
Council tax £154
Groceries £220
Transport £80
Energy £144
Water £57

Single: 1-bed home. Couple: 2-bed home. Family: 3-bed home with one child. Estimates use average local rent, Band D council tax, and standard figures for groceries, transport and childcare.

£1,805/mo
Average rent
£38,711/yr
Average earnings
£490,000
Average house price
£2,467/yr
Council tax (Band D)
£201/mo
Est. energy & water

Rent in Cambridge

The average monthly rent in Cambridge is £1,805.

1 Bed
£1,256
2 Bed
£1,613
3 Bed
£1,907
4+ Bed
£2,656

Source: ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR)

Earnings in Cambridge

The average annual salary for residents of Cambridge is £38,711.

Average salary
£38,711
per year
Mean salary (pulled up by top earners)
£51,653
per year

The average salary is the middle value: half of residents earn more and half earn less. The mean salary adds up everyone's pay and divides it by the number of people, so a few very high earners pull it up. We use the middle value as the average throughout this site.

Source: ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE)

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Average house prices in Cambridge

The average house price in Cambridge was £490,000.

Detached
£803,748
Semi-detached
£562,500
Terraced
£500,000
Flat
£325,000

How house prices have changed in Cambridge

Average house prices over time, based on quarterly rolling-year averages from Land Registry data.

£0£120k£240k£360k£480k£600k19952000200520102015202020252026

Source: ONS / HM Land Registry. Historical trend based on quarterly rolling-year average prices.

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Climate and weather in Cambridge

Summer daytime highs in Cambridge typically reach 23.3°C in July, dropping to around 7.8°C in January. Cambridge is much drier than average for the UK, with rain falling on about 2.0 days a week. It gets around 52% less rainfall than the UK average. The area gets a typical amount of sunshine for the UK, averaging around 6.1 hours per day in summer. Expect frost on around 95 days per year, mostly between November and April.

Month Daytime high Rainfall Rain days Sunshine Frost days
Jan 7.8°C 47mm 10 57h 17
Feb 8.6°C 37mm 9 77h 16
Mar 11.3°C 32mm 8 117h 15
Apr 14.5°C 35mm 8 160h 10
May 17.8°C 44mm 7 188h 4
Jun 20.8°C 51mm 9 184h 0
Jul 23.3°C 50mm 9 192h 0
Aug 23.0°C 58mm 9 182h 0
Sep 19.8°C 49mm 8 144h 1
Oct 15.4°C 56mm 9 109h 5
Nov 10.9°C 52mm 10 67h 11
Dec 8.1°C 50mm 10 52h 16

Swipe sideways to see every column

How this is calculated

Climate data is based on Met Office 30-year averages (1991-2020), calculated from 1 observation grid point covering the Cambridge local authority area.

Source: Met Office HadUK-Grid , 1991-2020 averages. Crown copyright. Open Government Licence v3.0.

Council tax in Cambridge

Band D council tax in Cambridge is £2,467 per year.

Band A
£1,645
Band B
£1,919
Band C
£2,193
Band D Benchmark
£2,467
Band E
£3,015
Band F
£3,563
Band G
£4,112
Band H
£4,934

Source: MHCLG / Scottish Government / Welsh Government

Energy costs in Cambridge

A typical household in Cambridge pays approximately £1,723/year (£144/month) for gas and electricity.

Annual
£1,723
per year
Monthly
£144
per month

Energy region: Eastern

This estimate is based on the Ofgem price cap for a typical dual-fuel household using 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas per year, paying by Direct Debit. Your actual costs will depend on your usage, tariff, and whether you're on a fixed deal.

Source: Ofgem Energy Price Cap, Q4 2026

Water costs in Cambridge

The average annual water and sewerage bill for Anglian Water customers is £684/year (£57/month).

Annual
£684
per year
Monthly
£57
per month

Water company: Anglian Water

Water bills vary based on whether you have a meter and your household's water usage. This figure is the company average for unmetered customers.

Source: Water UK / Discover Water, 2026-27

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Broadband in Cambridge

Cambridge has 88.3% full fibre coverage and 94.4% gigabit-capable coverage across residential premises.

Gigabit-capable
94.4%
of premises
Full fibre (FTTP)
88.3%
of premises
Superfast (30+ Mbit/s)
98.8%
of premises
No decent broadband
0%
of premises

Full fibre take-up: 29% of premises with full fibre available have taken it up.

"Gigabit-capable" means a connection of 1 Gbit/s or faster is available at the premises (full fibre or upgraded cable). "Full fibre" is fibre-to-the-premises specifically. "No decent broadband" counts premises below the 10 Mbit/s down / 1 Mbit/s up Universal Service Obligation.

See all UK areas ranked by broadband coverage →

Source: Ofcom Connected Nations 2025, July 2025

Schools in Cambridge

Cambridge has 268 schools, with 87.3% rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted.

Outstanding
7
schools (5.6%)
Good
103
schools (81.7%)
Requires Improvement
13
schools (10.3%)
Inadequate
3
schools (2.4%)

210 primary schools, 35 secondary schools, 23 special / nursery / alternative provision. Approximately 92,018 pupils across all schools.

3 schools have been inspected under Ofsted's renewed framework (November 2025 onwards) and are not included in the percentage above.

Ofsted grades reflect the school's most recent inspection: Outstanding means the school is exceptional across the evaluation areas, Good means it is effective, Requires Improvement means it is not yet good enough, and Inadequate means serious concerns were found.

See all areas ranked by school ratings →

Source: Ofsted, most recent inspections as at March 2026. England only; Scotland (Education Scotland) and Wales (Estyn) use separate frameworks.

Crime in Cambridge

There were 914 recorded crimes per 10,000 people in Cambridge, which is above the England and Wales average of 837. Cambridge ranks #224 out of 303 areas for lowest crime rate.

Violence & sexual offences
303 /10k
(4,544 offences)
Burglary
35 /10k
(528 offences)
Theft
358 /10k
(5,363 offences)
Criminal damage
70 /10k
(1,052 offences)
Drug offences
47 /10k
(703 offences)
Public order
69 /10k
(1,028 offences)
Other
32 /10k
(481 offences)

Recorded crime statistics reflect crimes reported to and recorded by police. They may not capture the full picture of crime in an area, and recording practices vary between forces.

Source: Home Office police recorded crime, Year ending March 2026

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