On the latest official figures, Cambridge is cheaper than London as a whole to buy and to rent in, but it has higher council tax than most of London. In July 2026, the most recent month of HM Land Registry data, the average house price was £475,151 in Cambridge and £550,037 in London. In August 2026 the average private rent was £1,805 a month in Cambridge and £2,332 in London. For 2026 to 2027, Band D council tax is £2,467.02 in Cambridge, against a London average of £2,068.47.
London is not one housing market, so we also compare two boroughs. Camden is in inner London. Enfield, in outer London, had the closest average house price of any London borough to Cambridge's in July 2026. Every figure comes from an official source and uses the same measure and month for every area. Where we could not find a reliable like-for-like source, we have left the subject out rather than guess.
"Cambridge" means the Cambridge City Council area, not South Cambridgeshire. "London" means the Greater London region: the 32 London boroughs and the City of London. For more on Cambridge itself, see our Cambridge city area guide.
The UK House Price Index (UK HPI) from HM Land Registry is based on completed sales, not asking prices. The July 2026 figures, published on 16 September 2026, with the change on a year earlier, are:
London was higher than Cambridge in each of the 13 months from July 2025 to July 2026, by between £65,637 and £93,676. The gap has narrowed because London prices have fallen: they were lower than a year earlier in every month from September 2025 to July 2026, with inner London particularly affected. Across London the average ranged from £375,604 in Barking and Dagenham to £1,232,640 in Kensington and Chelsea, and 10 of the 33 London local authority areas were below Cambridge.
London was dearer for every property type in July 2026:
The most recent months are provisional and likely to be revised, and HM Land Registry notes that revisions can be larger for smaller areas. Figures below regional level, including Cambridge and each borough, are three-month moving averages. The August 2026 figures are due on 21 October 2026.
A second ONS measure, the median price of homes sold in the year to September 2025, puts the two closer: £495,000 in Cambridge and £527,000 in London. The median reflects whatever mix of homes happened to sell, while the UK HPI adjusts for that mix. For more on local trends, see what's really happening to Cambridge prices.
The ONS Price Index of Private Rents (PIPR) measures what tenants pay across new and existing tenancies, so asking rents on new listings may differ. The monthly figures for August 2026, published on 16 September 2026, are:
Comparing homes of the same size is fairest. On that basis London rents were 37% to 40% higher than Cambridge's, for every size from one bedroom to four or more. The all-property gap is smaller, at 29%, because it also reflects the mix of homes let. Enfield was dearer than Cambridge for every size, even though the overall averages were only £22 apart. Ten of the 32 London boroughs in the ONS figures had a lower overall average than Cambridge, the lowest being Bexley at £1,537.
Rents rose 1.8% in Cambridge in the year to August 2026, against 3.5% in London and 4.0% across England. PIPR is published as "official statistics in development", but it is the main official source that measures rents everywhere on the same basis. If you are looking to rent here, our lettings team for tenants can tell you what is available.
Many people asking this question are thinking of living in Cambridge and working in London. Great Northern runs direct trains to London King's Cross, Thameslink runs direct trains to London St Pancras International and Farringdon, and Greater Anglia runs direct trains to London Liverpool Street. When we checked National Rail's live departure boards on 13 October 2026, Cambridge, Cambridge North and Cambridge South all showed direct trains to King's Cross and Liverpool Street, and Cambridge and Cambridge South also showed Thameslink trains to St Pancras.
We have not quoted fares, because we could not confirm current fares from National Rail or the train companies. Use the National Rail season ticket calculator for your own journey and add the cost to your housing budget. We have also left out bus, Underground, driving and parking costs, as we found no official source that measures them on the same basis in both places.
Council tax is where Cambridge usually comes out worse. Every London bill includes a share for the Greater London Authority (GLA), which covers the Mayor's policing, fire, transport and other services. For 2026 to 2027 the GLA's Band D precept is £510.51 in the 32 boroughs and £176.38 in the City of London, and each borough adds its own charge. A Cambridge bill is divided between the city council, the county council, the police and crime commissioner, the fire authority and the combined authority. The full Band D bills for 2026 to 2027 are:
Only Kingston upon Thames, Croydon (£2,599.91), Harrow (£2,511.07) and Richmond upon Thames (£2,486.10) charge more than Cambridge at Band D. A Band D home in Cambridge pays £259.47 a year more than one in Camden and £199.35 more than one in Enfield. Other bands are fixed fractions of Band D, so the gaps scale in proportion. At Band A, for example, the charge is £1,644.68 in Cambridge, £1,471.70 in Camden and £1,511.78 in Enfield.
Bands are based on what a home would have sold for on 1 April 1991, so two homes bought for similar prices today may be in different bands. Check the band of the specific property on GOV.UK.
The Ofgem price cap varies by region. Ofgem's postcode lookup puts Cambridge postcodes (such as CB1, CB2 and CB4) in Eastern England, and London postcodes such as N1, NW1, E1 and SE1 in the London region. Not all of Greater London is in the London region: Enfield postcodes such as EN1, EN2 and EN3 are in Eastern England, with the same rates as Cambridge. Many other outer London postcodes are also outside the London region, so check your own postcode with Ofgem. The capped Direct Debit rates for single-rate electricity from 1 October to 31 December 2026, including 5% VAT on gas and with no VAT on electricity, are:
The higher electricity standing charge in Eastern England adds about £33 a year. London's higher gas rates add about £3 a year in standing charges and £24 for every 10,000 kWh used, so for a home using around 10,000 kWh of gas a year the two roughly cancel out. Your own bill will depend mainly on how much energy the home uses, so check its Energy Performance Certificate.
We have not compared groceries, eating out, gyms or entertainment. We found no official source that measures these costs for Cambridge and London on the same basis, and crowd-sourced cost-of-living websites are not reliable enough to base a comparison on.
The ONS Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings (ASHE) gives median pay by area. The latest figures are provisional and cover the tax year ending 5 April 2025. For full-time employees in the same job for more than a year, median gross annual pay was:
ASHE is a sample survey, and the ONS says the true value is likely to lie within plus or minus twice its published coefficient of variation. For people working in each place, London's median is 8.6% higher, more than the Cambridge margin of about 7% either way, so London pay is probably higher, though the exact gap is uncertain. For residents the gap is 6.1%, within the Cambridge margin of about 12%, so the survey cannot say with confidence that London residents earn more.
The ONS affordability ratio divides the median house price by median full-time earnings for people who work in the area. A higher number means homes are less affordable. For 2025 it was 10.82 in Cambridge, 10.61 in London, 14.37 in Camden, 11.89 in Enfield and 7.63 in England. So although London homes cost more, higher London pay means a typical Cambridge home was slightly less affordable for a local worker. For lower-priced homes the two were almost level: the lower quartile ratio was 11.24 in Cambridge and 11.29 in London. If you are buying for the first time, our guide to the Cambridge property ladder sets out the options.
Universities set their own tuition fees. For a new full-time student from England in 2026 to 2027, the Tuition Fee Loan is up to £9,790, the same in London and Cambridge. Maintenance Loans differ: for students living away from their parents, the maximum is £14,135 in London and £10,830 outside London, which includes Cambridge. The amount you can get depends on household income.
For most people Cambridge is cheaper, because housing costs less. The average rent was £6,324 a year lower than across London in August 2026, and the average house price was £74,886 lower in July 2026.
The gap is not the same everywhere. Parts of outer London, such as Enfield, cost about the same as Cambridge to buy or rent in, while inner boroughs such as Camden cost far more. Cambridge's council tax is £398.55 above the London average at Band D, energy costs are close, and London pay is higher. If you would commute to London, the fare could take a large part of the saving, so price it before you decide.
Prices also vary a great deal between streets and types of home. If you own a property now, a free valuation of your current home will show how your budget compares with prices here. For a comparison with another university city, see whether it is cheaper to live in Oxford or Cambridge.
This article is general information based on official statistics, not financial advice. Speak to a mortgage adviser or financial adviser about what you can afford.
Generally, yes, because housing costs less. Average rent in August 2026 was £1,805 a month in Cambridge and £2,332 in London. Council tax is the exception: it is higher in Cambridge than in most London boroughs.
London. The UK HPI average for July 2026 was £550,037 in London and £475,151 in Cambridge. Ten of the 33 London local authority areas, including Enfield, were below Cambridge.
Yes. For homes of the same size, London rents were 37% to 40% higher than Cambridge's in August 2026.
Usually Cambridge. Band D for 2026 to 2027 is £2,467.02 in Cambridge against a London average of £2,068.47, and only four of the 32 boroughs charge more.
Great Northern runs direct to London King's Cross, Thameslink to London St Pancras International and Greater Anglia to London Liverpool Street. Check fares with the National Rail season ticket calculator.
