West Chesterton
Cambridge 004 · 5 sub-areas · 8,615 residents
Cambridge 004 is a residential neighbourhood within Cambridge, home to around 8,600 people and notable for its unusually high concentration of degree-educated residents. A typical two-bedroom flat lets for around £1,600 a month — a touch above the national median for a two-bed, and reflecting the city's persistently high demand. Over half of residents work from home, which shapes the feel of the area day to day.
West Chesterton is a mid-density neighbourhood of Cambridge in the East of England region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services. The rental market is active and turnover is high — people move through rather than stay; a high share of adults are degree-educated, which often shows up in the kind of jobs people commute to.
Overview
What's it like to live in West Chesterton?
2 parks and 2 playgrounds are within five minutes' walk, so greenspace is reliably close at hand; food and drink within walking distance is workable but not dense — around 10 restaurants and 3 pubs in five minutes; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents sit firmly in the upper bracket nationally, with a typical home letting at around £1,795 a month; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 5 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
West Chesterton in Cambridge
Living in West Chesterton
Cambridge 004 sits within one of the UK's most knowledge-intensive cities, and this neighbourhood reflects that sharply. Around seven in ten residents hold a degree — a figure that puts it well above even the Cambridge average, which is itself among the highest in the country. That shapes the character of the area: relatively quiet during the day, with a high proportion of people working locally or from home rather than commuting out.
On rent, you're looking at roughly £1,250 a month for a one-bedroom flat, around £1,600 for a two-bed, and close to £1,900 for a three-bedroom property. That's meaningfully higher than the UK median — a two-bed nationally runs around £1,200 — but not dramatically out of step with what Cambridge as a whole charges. The bigger issue is affordability relative to income: renters here are spending around 71% of take-home pay on rent, which is very high by any measure and reflects a mismatch between local wages and local housing costs.
Ownership is split roughly down the middle — just over half of homes are owner-occupied, with around a third in private rental and about one in eight in social housing. The population skews young adult: nearly three in ten residents are between 18 and 34, though there's also a solid cohort of families and older settled residents. Single-person households make up just over a third of all homes.
For getting around, most residents don't commute in any traditional sense — more than half work from home, and only one in six uses a car to get to work. The nearest mainline rail station is roughly 2.1 km away in a straight line, around a 27-minute walk, though cycling or a short bus ride cuts that significantly. London is reachable by rail in just under 82 minutes. See the streets and sub-areas below for more on how the neighbourhood breaks down locally.
What you'll need on day one
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Frequently asked
- Is Cambridge 004 a nice place to live?
- It's a well-educated, relatively settled neighbourhood with excellent broadband and good rail access to London. The main drawback is cost — renters here spend around 71% of take-home pay on rent, which is very high. If you value a quiet, knowledge-economy environment and can absorb the cost, it works well. If affordability is a priority, Cambridge as a whole may stretch you.
- What is the rent in Cambridge 004?
- A one-bedroom flat runs around £1,248 a month, a two-bed around £1,603, and a three-bed close to £1,894. These are estimated figures scaled from city-level data using local sale prices. Rents rose by around 1.8% over the past year — relatively modest. Council tax (Band D) adds around £2,467 a year on top.
- Is Cambridge 004 safe?
- The crime rate here is around 114 incidents per 1,000 residents a year, which is above the UK national average of roughly 80 per 1,000. University cities tend to record elevated rates due to high footfall and transient populations. Serious violent crime is not the primary driver — anti-social behaviour and theft account for a larger share of incidents.
- What's the commute from Cambridge 004 to Cambridge city centre?
- Most residents don't commute in the traditional sense — over half work from home. The nearest mainline rail station is around 2.1 km away (roughly a 27-minute walk, or quicker by bike). London is reachable by rail in just under 82 minutes from that station. There's no metro or tram service in Cambridge.
- Who lives in Cambridge 004?
- Predominantly highly educated residents — around 70% hold a degree, one of the highest shares in England. The population skews young adult (nearly 30% aged 18–34), with a significant cohort of families and older settled residents. About 35% of residents were born outside the UK, reflecting Cambridge's international academic and research community.
- What schools are near Cambridge 004?
- There are 93 schools within 2 km of typical residents, but only around 30% are rated Good or Outstanding by Ofsted — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding-rated school is approximately 3.2 km away. Families should check current Ofsted reports and catchment boundaries directly, as Cambridge's school admissions are competitive.
- Is Cambridge 004 affordable for renters?
- Not especially. Renters here spend around 71% of take-home pay on rent, which is very high by national standards. The median resident salary is around £38,700 a year, while a typical two-bed costs around £1,600 a month. Saving a deposit to buy is also a long haul — the median property price is around £634,000, equating to roughly 8 years of saving.