Fee not published
- (I)GCSE grades A*–A (9–7): 95% (2026) · source
Confirmed on its own website
Cost of Living inCambridge, United Kingdom
England, United Kingdom146KHigh income
Image credit: Dmitry Tonkonog
Purchasing Power vs. United States
Your money goes 1.16x further
Based on GDP per capita (PPP). United Kingdom: $53,993/capita.
How Far Your Money Goes
Prices are 26% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Overall
1.3x further
Prices are 26% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Rent
2.3x further
Prices are 56% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Groceries
1.5x further
Prices are 34% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Restaurants
1.3x further
Prices are 24% lower than the global benchmark (New York City = 100).
Income Category
High
World Bank GNI
GDP per Capita
$53,993
PPP, International $
City Population
146K
Monthly Costs
Rent
1BR City Center$2,097/mo
1BR Outside Center$1,765/mo
3BR City Center$3,219/mo
3BR Outside Center$2,665/mo
Food
Cheap Meal$21
Mid-Range (2 people)$90
Milk (1L)$1.63
Eggs (12)$4.54
Transport
Monthly Pass$120
Gasoline (1L)$2.13
Utilities
Basic (85m² apt)$340/mo
Internet (60+ Mbps)$43/mo
Education
Preschool$2,527/mo
Intl Primary School$35,936/yr
Child Education
Public-school quality + expat access, alongside international and private school cost — the two paths a relocating family weighs.
Public schools
This describes United Kingdom as a whole. Enrollment rules and school quality can vary within the country, so check with schools in Cambridge.
Quality
Good public schools
Expat access
Resident route is viable
conditionalInstruction
English
Language fit is more manageable.
PISA / outcomes
Qualitative only
Using curated quality notes for now.
Why this quality rating
The UK state-school system can be very good, but quality varies materially by catchment and local authority.
Why the expat-access rating looks like this
Resident families can generally enroll in state schools, but catchment, available places, and local council assignment still matter.
✅ Homeschooling
Legal, no registration requiredMinimal requirements
Homeschooling (called "elective home education") is a long-established legal right in England and Wales. No registration is required, though local authorities can make informal inquiries. Scotland has similar provisions. Northern Ireland requires notification.
Homeschool legality in United Kingdom — check current regulations before committing.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
International & private schools
2 confirmed schools
1 more suggested by AI, not verified
Typical fee
$40,967/yr
one school's published fee
- IB2
- (I)GCSE grades A*–A (9–7): 73% (2026) · source
Confirmed on its own website
Schools' websites are found with Wikidata and OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), and each is checked on the school's own site.
How schools rank by exam results →Childcare & Domestic Help
Current nanny and household-help pricing snapshot for Cambridge, United Kingdom.
Full-time nanny (5 days)
$2,850-$3,550
monthly · confidence 0.65
Live-in / 24-7 nanny
$3,275-$4,025
monthly · confidence 0.65
Source: curated family relocation research
Getting Around
The concrete mobility picture for Cambridge: airport access, urban transit, and rideshare practicality.
Walkability score: 44/100 (very walkable). This is derived from the verified mobility profile and is used by the walkability gate.
Walkability
44/100
mobility profile walkable core
Airport
International airport access via Stansted
Cambridge leans on the Stansted corridor plus strong rail links into London, which together keep family domestic and European travel relatively straightforward.
Urban transit
Bus-led local transport with rail support
buscommuter rail
Cambridge is compact and bike-friendly, but practical daily movement for families still depends mainly on buses and rail rather than a tram or metro backbone.
Rideshare
Uber and taxis available
App-hailed rides and taxis are useful for station transfers, airport runs, and trips beyond the strongest bus corridors.
Source: User-curated family relocation research (initial seed) (2026-04-14)
Healthcare
System strength, outcome signals, facility coverage, and self-pay visibility in United Kingdom.
Method: country metrics come from public system indicators, facility coverage reflects mapped providers we can inventory, direct pricing only reflects observed self-pay pages, and relative care cost can fall back to broad cost-of-living healthcare indices. Sparse pricing does not imply sparse healthcare availability.
99 facilities tracked
Facilities updated 7 months ago
Healthcare system
StrongHigh national coverage, strong doctor availability, and deep nursing capacity support this rating.
Public care
StrongBroad public coverage, strong public funding, and relatively low patient cost-sharing support this rating.
Private care
MixedA clearly private facility base help, but self-pay pricing transparency is still sparse.
UHC coverage
88/100
2023
Physicians
3.30/1k
2023
Hospital beds
2.42/1k
2022
Out of pocket
15%
2024
Outcome signals
Life expectancy
81.4 yrs
2024
Maternal mortality
8/100k
2023
Neonatal mortality
3.0/1k
2024
International patient readiness
MixedA visible private hospital base and country-level outcomes are comparatively strong help, but price transparency is still sparse.
Pricing transparency
LimitedPublished self-pay prices are scarce weigh on this rating.
Facility coverage
Dentist: 36Pharmacy: 24Doctor: 21Clinic: 9Hospital: 8Physiotherapy: 1
Self-pay pricing visibility
No verified self-pay prices are published for the tracked facilities in United Kingdom yet.
This usually reflects low online price transparency rather than a lack of healthcare providers.
Notable facilities
System metrics: World Bank WDI · Updated 2026-11-01
Safety & Governance
Street Safety
Safety Index59/100
Crime Index41/100
Source: Numbeo where a city row is matched; otherwise World Bank WGI and country-level safety context.
Political Stability
Political Stability+0.08
World Bank WGI scale: -2.5 to +2.5.
Wages by Sector
| Sector | Median |
|---|---|
| all_industries | £41,054/yr |
| Administrative & Support Services | — |
| Agriculture & Farming | — |
| Arts, Entertainment & Recreation | — |
| Construction | — |
| Education | — |
| Finance & Insurance | — |
| Healthcare & Social Work | — |
| Hospitality & Food Service | — |
| Information & Technology | — |
| Manufacturing | — |
| Mining & Quarrying | — |
| Other Services | — |
| Professional & Scientific Services | — |
| Public Administration & Defence | — |
| Real Estate | — |
| Retail & Wholesale Trade | — |
| Transport & Logistics | — |
| Utilities | — |
2025 annual wages in Cambridge, United Kingdom · Source: ONS ASHE, ONS ASHE (sector-adjusted)
Price Comparison vs. US
beer
$6.50Estimated16% cheaper
big mac
$7.36Estimated18% more
bread 500g
$2.17Estimated36% cheaper
budget hotel
$31.50Estimated13% cheaper
childcare preschool
$2527.09Estimated62% more
cinema
$15.00Estimated9% cheaper
coca cola
$1.75Estimated19% cheaper
eggs dozen
$4.54Estimated6% cheaper
gasoline liter
$40.75Survey-verified3856% more
inexpensive meal
$18.57Survey-verified12% cheaper
internet 60mbps
$42.79Estimated37% cheaper
iphone
$1099.00Estimated10% more
jeans
$70.00Estimated37% more
latte
$4.40Estimated17% cheaper
luxury hotel
$550.00Estimated15% more
mcmeal
$18.57Survey-verified83% more
milk liter
$1.63Estimated34% more
monthly pass
$40.75Survey-verified41% cheaper
nike shoes
$90.00Estimated1% cheaper
rent 1br
$2564.30Survey-verified41% more
rent 2br
$2564.30Survey-verified40% cheaper
rent 3br
$3218.79Estimated1% more
subway fare
$40.75Survey-verified1591% more
taxi km
$2.30Estimated23% more
utilities basic
$339.94Estimated59% more
Visa Information (US passport)
Short-stay entry
eta
US passport holders need advance travel authorization or a visa before entry.
Long-Term Visa Programs
working holiday
Youth Mobility Scheme24 months
Quick comparison FAQ
Structured from the deltas already shown on this page — no invented facts, no extra data sources.
How far does your money go in Cambridge compared with the US?
Your money goes about 1.2x further in Cambridge than in the US, based on the current PPP estimate.
Is Cambridge cheaper or more expensive overall than New York City?
Cambridge is cheaper overall than New York City — overall living costs are about 26% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City) for Cambridge.
How does rent in Cambridge compare with New York City?
Rent in Cambridge is about 56% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City).
How expensive are groceries and restaurants in Cambridge?
Groceries in Cambridge are about 34% cheaper than the global benchmark (New York City), and restaurant prices are about 24% cheaper than the same benchmark.
About Cambridge
Cambridge sits in Cambridgeshire in eastern England, on the River Cam about 80 kilometers north of London. The city's economy is dominated by the University of Cambridge, the surrounding research-and-development cluster known as the Cambridge Cluster or Silicon Fen, and the biomedical campus at Addenbrooke's Hospital that hosts AstraZeneca's global research headquarters. ARM, the chip-design firm, is based here. The climate is temperate maritime, relatively dry by UK standards because of its position in the east. Rail connections to London King's Cross run in under an hour. English is universal. Housing costs are among the highest of any English city of its size outside London, driven by the inability of supply to keep up with university and biotech-sector demand, and remain a dominant constraint in any relocation calculus.
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