City of Cambridge population counts and estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau:
- 2020 decennial census population count: 118,403
- 2024 Population and Housing Unit Estimates Program population estimate (as of July 1, 2024): 121,186
- 2020–2024 American Community Survey (ACS) 5-year population estimate: 118,796
- 2024 ACS 1-year population estimate: 121,203
Self-reported ethnicity from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- Hispanic or Latino (any race): 8.8%
- Not Hispanic or Latino: 91.2%
Self-reported race of Cambridge residents from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- American Indian and Alaska Native alone: 0.2%
- Asian alone: 20.4%
- Black or African American alone: 10.5%
- Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander alone: 0.1%
- Some Other Race alone: 2.6%
- Two or more races: 10.6%
- White alone: 55.7%
Ethnicity and race and are asked as separate questions in the ACS. People of Hispanic or Latino origin can be of any racial background.
A household includes all the people who occupy a housing unit, whether related or unrelated. Households may be family households or non-family households. Family households include at least two people (one of whom is the householder) who are related by birth, marriage or adoption, but may also include additional unrelated people. Non-family households include groups of unrelated people living together or one person living alone. The total number of households in Cambridge is equal to the total number of occupied housing units in Cambridge.
City of Cambridge household counts and estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau:
- 2020 decennial census household count: 49,564, of which 20,257 (40.9%) are family households
- 2020-2024 ACS 5-year household count estimate: 49,444, of which 19,757 (40.0%) are family households
Average household size is obtained by dividing the number of people in households by the total number of households.
Average family size is obtained by dividing the number of members of families by the total number of families. All people in a household who are related to the householder are regarded as members of their family. Any unrelated people living in family households are excluded from the average family size calculation.
Average size of Cambridge households:
Average size of Cambridge families:
Residents of group quarters include all people residing in dormitories, hospitals, nursing homes, jails and group homes.
City of Cambridge group quarter population count from the 2020 decennial census:
- 16,550 people, or 14.0% of the total population
- College/university student housing: 15,437 (93.3% of the group quarter population)
- Other non-institutional facilities: 944
- Other institutional facilities: 169
The 2025 Town Gown Reports filed by four higher education institutions in Cambridge (Lesley University, Harvard University, Hult International Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology) reported 14,920 students living in dormitories in Cambridge.
City of Cambridge density estimates based on population, household (occupied housing unit) and housing unit estimates from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- 18,591 persons per square mile (or 29.0 persons per acre)
- 7,738 households per square mile (or 12.1 households per acre)
- 8,582 housing units per square mile (or 13.4 housing units per acre)
These calculations are based on a land area for Cambridge of 6.39 square miles (or 4,092 acres) in the 2020 TIGER/Line shapefile published by the U.S. Census Bureau.
Highest education level of Cambridge residents over 25 years of age based on the 2020-2024 ACS:
- Bachelor's degree or higher: 80.8%
- Associate degree or some college but no degree: 9.5%
- High school diploma or equivalent: 5.8%
- Less than a high school diploma: 4.0%
Cambridge residents who are enrolled in college or graduate school, based on the 2020-2024 ACS:
- 29,861 (or 25.1% of the total population)
Student population data from the
2025 Town Gown Reports (which covers students attending Lesley University, Harvard University, Hult International Business School and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology):
- Total student population, regardless of where they live:
- 13,862 undergraduate students
- 20,989 graduate students
- 6,337 day/evening students not in degree programs
- Students who live in Cambridge in institutional or off-campus housing:
- 11,960 undergraduate students
- 12,618 graduate students
Foreign-born status and naturalization status of Cambridge residents from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- Born in a foreign country (excludes U.S. citizens born abroad of American parent(s)): 35,245 (or 29.7% of the total population)
- Naturalized citizens: 13,654 (or 11.5% of the total population)
Percent of the population 5 years and over who speak the following languages at home, from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- Only English: 64.8%
- Other Indo-European languages: 7.6%
- Chinese (including Mandarin, Cantonese): 7.3%
- Spanish: 6.7%
- Other and unspecified languages: 3.3%
- French, Haitian or Cajun: 2.9%
- Other Asian and Pacific Island languages: 2.4%
- Korean: 1.6%
- German or other West Germanic languages: 1.1%
- Russian, Polish, or other Slavic languages: 1.0%
- Arabic: 0.8%
- Vietnamese: 0.4%
- Tagalog (including Filipino): 0.1%
Income of Cambridge households and families in the past 12 months in 2024 inflation-adjusted dollars, from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- Median household income: $130,748
- Median family income: $175,457
Percent of persons/families below the poverty level based on the 2020-2024 ACS:
- All persons for whom poverty status is determined: 12.8%
- Persons under 18 for whom poverty status is determined: 15.2%
- Persons 65 and older for whom poverty status is determined: 10.6%
- All families: 7.2%
- Families with related children (under 18 years) of the householder: 11.7%
- Families with a female householder, no spouse present and related children (under 18 years) of the householder: 31.4%
From the MA Department of Transportation vehicle census:
- Number of vehicles registered in Cambridge as of Jan 1, 2026: 44,109
- Vehicles for passenger use: 42,147
- Vehicles that are battery electric, plug-in hybrid electric, or hybrid electric: 8,492
Cambridge housing unit counts and estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau (includes both vacant and occupied units):
- 2020 decennial census housing unit count: 53,907
- 2020–2024 ACS 5-year housing unit estimate: 54,840
- 2024 ACS 1-year housing unit estimate: 57,127
- November 2025 Address Count Listing Files housing unit count: 56,684
The Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD) also compiles its own inventory of housing units, including designated affordable units, across the city. The CDD inventory is not comparable to the U.S. Census Bureau counts because the CDD inventory includes apartment-style graduate student housing and permitted units under construction that are excluded by census counts. Affordable units are all rental and homeownership units subject to long-term rent or sale price restrictions and income-eligibility restrictions.
Cambridge housing units under construction or completed as of June 30, 2025, based on CDD inventory:
- 58,966 total units, of which 9,021 (15.3%) are affordable
Tenure estimates based on the 2020-2024 ACS:
- 49,444 of 54,840 housing units are occupied
- 32,897 of 49,444 occupied housing units (66.5%) are renter-occupied
- 16,547 of 49,444 occupied housing units (33.5%) are owner-occupied
From the Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD) inventory of housing units under construction or completed as of June 30, 2025:
- Percentage of citywide dwelling units in residential properties with:
- 1 unit (i.e. single-family home): 6.4%
- 2 units: 11.9%
- 3 units: 10.5%
- 4-6 units: 8.8%
- 7-12 units: 4.9%
- 13-25 units: 5.7%
- 26-50 units: 7.7%
- 51-100 units: 9.9%
- Over 100 units: 34.1%
From the Cambridge Community Development Department (CDD) land use database as of December 31, 2025:
- Percentage of citywide dwelling units that are condominiums: 27.6%
- Percentage of citywide dwelling units that are in mixed use buildings: 14.5%
2024 median market rate sale price, based on arm’s length, market rate sales records filed at the Middlesex South Registry of Deeds and analyzed by the City of Cambridge Assessing Office:
- Single-family home: $2,315,000
- Two-family home: $1,542,500
- Three-family home: $1,822,500
- Condominium: $870,000
2025 Q3 monthly median asking rents for Cambridge apartments, based on a survey of online rental listings undertaken by the Metropolitan Area Planning Council:
- 0-bedroom unit (studio): $2,200
- 1-bedroom unit: $2,785
- 2-bedroom unit: $3,400
- 3-bedroom unit: $3,900
This data is limited to asking rents for market rate units and does not include affordable housing or university-controlled properties.
Number of people who work in Cambridge based on the ACS:
- 2020-2024 5-year ACS: 132,176
- 2024 1-year ACS: 143,399
Average monthly number of employees in Cambridge covered by federal and state unemployment compensation law in 2024, based on data collected by the MA Department of Economic Research:
- 151,521 (this figure does not include the self-employed, religious workers and some domestic workers)
These data represent people who work in Cambridge, regardless of their place of residence.
From data collected by the MA Department of Economic Research on employees in Cambridge covered by federal and state unemployment compensation law in 2024:
- Percentage of employees in the following Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (QCEW) industry super-sectors:
- Professional and business services: 43.5%
- Education and health services: 29.3%
- Information: 7.1%
- Leisure and hospitality: 6.4%
- Trade, transportation and utilities: 5.8%
- Financial services: 2.3%
Additional sectors that employed fewer than 2% of the employee total are not shown above.
Average monthly number of establishments (business locations) in Cambridge paying unemployment tax for employees in Cambridge in 2024, based on data collected by the MA Department of Economic Research:
- 5,335 establishments (this figure does not include self-employed persons)
Number of Cambridge residents 16 years and over who are self-employed in their own unincorporated business or are an unpaid family worker, from the 2020-2024 ACS:
Number of Cambridge residents 16 years and over who are self-employed in their own incorporated business, from the 2020-2024 ACS:
Average annual wage for a full-time job for employees who work in Cambridge and who are covered by federal and state unemployment compensation law in 2024, based on data collected by the MA Department of Economic Research:
Median annual earnings for a full-time, year-round civilian worker with earnings aged 16 years and over who resides in Cambridge, from the 2020-2024 ACS:
Number and percentage of Cambridge residents 16 years and over in the following civilian occupation groups from the 2020-2024 ACS:
- Management, business, science, and arts occupations: 56,515 (79.6%)
- Computer, engineering, and science occupations: 19,728 (27.8%)
- Education, legal, community service, arts, and media occupations: 17,785 (25.0%)
- Management, business, and financial occupations: 15,086 (21.2%)
- Healthcare practitioners and technical occupations: 3,916 (5.5%)
- Sales and office occupations: 6,810 (9.6%)
- Service occupations: 4,626 (6.5%)
- Production, transportation, and material moving occupations: 2,083 (2.9%)
- Natural resources, construction and maintenance occupations: 965 (1.4%)
Unemployment rate in Cambridge in December 2025 (not seasonally adjusted), based on data from the MA Department of Economic Research:
Estimated daytime population of Cambridge in 2025, based on Cambridge Community Development Department analysis:
This figure includes Cambridge residents who work in Cambridge or do not work, persons who work in Cambridge during the daytime and live elsewhere, and college and graduate students who attend school in Cambridge but do not reside in Cambridge. This figure does not include persons visiting Cambridge to conduct business or for recreation or persons passing through Cambridge on the way to another destination.
For more information about socioeconomic and demographic statistics about Cambridge, please contact Scott Walker, Senior Manager for Data Services, at swalker@cambridgema.gov or 617-349-9462.