Local Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates and Forecasts

On this page you can find locally researched population and dwelling stock estimates and forecasts for all districts in Cambridgeshire including Cambridge City, East Cambridgeshire, Fenland, Huntingdonshire and South Cambridgeshire, as well as for Peterborough Unitary Authority.

Cambridgeshire: Mid-2011 to Mid-2015 Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates and 2015-Based Forecasts

Cambridgeshire County Council’s population and dwelling stock estimates are produced using local data sources, and build from Census 2011.

Cambridgeshire: Mid-2011 to Mid-2015 Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates

Cambridgeshire County Council’s 2015-based population and dwelling stock forecasts build on the mid-2015 population and dwelling stock estimates, and forecast ahead to 2036. The population and dwelling stock forecasts are ‘policy-led’, so that they are consistent with planned levels of house-building. The 2015-based population and dwelling stock forecasts are mainly based on the local authorities’ 2015 housing trajectories, with some interpolation and extrapolation by Cambridgeshire County Council. A preview of the population forecasts can be seen below.

Cambridgeshire: 2015-Based Population Forecasts by District and Ward

Cambridgeshire: 2015-Based 0-19 Yrs Population Forecasts

Cambridgeshire: 2015-Based Dwelling Stock Forecasts by District and Ward

The full 2015-based population and dwelling stock forecasts broken down by district and ward are also available on our Open Data portal.

The methodology note provides more detail on the production of the population and dwelling stock estimates and forecasts:

2015 Cambridgeshire Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates and Forecasts Methodology Note

St. Neots: historic population methodology note

St Neots population estimates methodology note Dec 2018

Peterborough: Mid-2014 to Mid-2017 Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates and 2017-Based Forecasts

Cambridgeshire County Council’s population and dwelling stock estimates are produced using local data sources, and build from Census 2011. The estimates for Peterborough are available for mid-2014 to mid-2017 based on the ward boundaries implemented in 2016.

Peterborough: Mid-2014 to Mid-2017 Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates

Cambridgeshire County Council’s 2017-based population and dwelling stock forecasts are consistent with the housing phasing indicated by a combination of the housing trajectory in the Five Year Land Supply Report published in October 2018 and the proposed housing target of 19,440 dwellings required between 2016 and 2036, as set out in EO53 Schedule of Proposed Main Modifications to Peterborough Local Plan, published January 2019. This target was subsequently confirmed in the Draft Local Plan, and was due for consideration by Cabinet on 10 July and Full Council on 24 July 2019.

Peterborough: 2017-Based Population and Dwelling Stock Forecasts by District and Ward

Peterborough UA Mid-2016 and Mid-2017 Population and Dwelling Stock Estimates and Forecasts Report

Historic Population

Importance of historic population records

The Census in the UK has been conducted every 10 years since 1801. Over this time there have been numerous changes to the administrative boundaries, such as the amalgamation and deletion of wards and parishes, or the creation of new ones. These occur for a range of reasons, but usually to better distribute the population for administrative purposes.

Without knowledge about boundary changes it can be difficult to understand changes observed in populations, or make comparisons of areas over time. For example, moving a parish boundary may cause a population to increase on paper, within a given parish, but only because part of the population of a neighbouring parish has been incorporated, and not because a sudden influx of new residents.

The full dataset can be found on our Open Data Portal.

Local records

Cambridgeshire County Council have tried to keep a record of the changes to parishes over time, and the estimated populations as published by each Census, since 1801. This way we are better able to explain apparent changes to the populations estimated by each Census. You will find the most up to date versions of these records on our Open Data Portal.

Interactive Report

Use the drop down menus above to select between different wards and districts.

Cambridgeshire_and_peterborough - Population - CAUTH

This report is available for the following features:

Cambridgeshire_and_peterborough - Population - CAUTH - Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

Cambridgeshire and Peterborough

It is essential to understand population size and characteristics in order to effectively plan and deliver services such as education, transport and healthcare. This section displays the latest population estimates and projections for Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

Population estimates are produced using a variety of data sources and statistical models, including some statistical disclosure control methods, and small estimates should not be taken to refer to particular individuals. The estimated resident population of an area includes all those people who usually live there, regardless of nationality. Arriving international migrants are included in the usually resident population if they remain in the UK for at least a year. Emigrants are excluded if they remain outside the UK for at least a year. Armed forces stationed outside of the UK are excluded. Students are taken to be usually resident at their term time address.

Population estimates for all persons by broad age group for 2018

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
Persons aged 0 - 15	168,358	19.8	1,200,983	19.4	10,748,458	19.2
Persons aged 16 - 64	531,891	62.4	3,781,756	61	35,049,467	62.6
Persons aged 65+	152,274	17.9	1,218,475	19.7	10,179,253	18.2

Population estimates for all persons by 5-year age group for 2018

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
0 - 4	53,226	6.2	372,157	6	3,346,727	6
5 - 9	56,063	6.6	395,350	6.4	3,523,866	6.3
10 - 14	49,975	5.9	366,209	5.9	3,274,119	5.9
15 - 19	47,646	5.6	332,849	5.4	3,096,575	5.5
20 - 24	54,221	6.4	341,072	5.5	3,512,654	6.3
25 - 29	54,661	6.4	374,273	6	3,815,924	6.8
30 - 34	56,197	6.6	393,402	6.3	3,787,597	6.8
35 - 39	57,297	6.7	402,459	6.5	3,717,483	6.6
40 - 44	53,863	6.3	381,207	6.2	3,390,584	6.1
45 - 49	59,087	6.9	427,928	6.9	3,799,242	6.8
50 - 54	59,688	7	444,915	7.2	3,915,451	7
55 - 59	52,947	6.2	403,533	6.5	3,573,329	6.4
60 - 64	45,378	5.3	347,385	5.6	3,044,374	5.4
65 - 69	42,531	5	328,146	5.3	2,822,593	5
70 - 74	41,004	4.8	330,259	5.3	2,724,800	4.9
75 - 79	27,232	3.2	220,423	3.6	1,863,126	3.3
80 - 84	20,598	2.4	170,099	2.7	1,403,756	2.5
85+	20,909	2.5	169,548	2.7	1,364,978	2.4

The projections below take population estimates as their starting point. The projected local authority populations for each year are calculated by ageing on the population from the previous year, applying local fertility and mortality rates to calculate the number of projected births and deaths, and then adjusting for migration into and out of each local authority. Fertility, mortality and migration assumptions are derived using values estimated using data from the five years before the base projection year, and do not take into account any known policy or demographic changes.

Population projections for all persons by year

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough	East of England	England
2018	852,200	6,221,700	55,997,700
2019	857,700	6,269,300	56,357,500
2020	862,900	6,316,300	56,704,700
2021	867,700	6,362,300	57,030,500
2026	889,600	6,573,400	58,505,600
2031	907,700	6,755,100	59,789,800
2036	921,700	6,915,600	60,905,500
2041	935,200	7,068,100	61,952,100

Population projections for all persons by broad age group for 2041

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
0 - 15	163,727	17.5	1,238,939	17.5	10,838,105	17.5
16 - 64	538,894	57.6	3,993,349	56.5	36,120,420	58.3
65 +	232,634	24.9	1,835,816	26	14,993,591	24.2

Projections for all persons by 5-year age group for 2041

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
0 - 4	50,300	5.4	379,300	5.4	3,379,500	5.5
5 - 9	50,800	5.4	384,100	5.4	3,351,400	5.4
10 - 14	51,900	5.5	394,700	5.6	3,410,900	5.5
15 - 19	55,100	5.9	394,400	5.6	3,531,100	5.7
20 - 24	57,000	6.1	364,000	5.1	3,705,700	6
25 - 29	57,000	6.1	399,600	5.7	3,944,800	6.4
30 - 34	55,700	6	407,600	5.8	3,904,900	6.3
35 - 39	50,300	5.4	380,100	5.4	3,485,700	5.6
40 - 44	51,900	5.5	397,700	5.6	3,530,600	5.7
45 - 49	55,500	5.9	430,800	6.1	3,755,100	6.1
50 - 54	57,900	6.2	450,500	6.4	3,841,800	6.2
55 - 59	55,900	6	437,200	6.2	3,685,400	5.9
60 - 64	53,300	5.7	412,400	5.8	3,431,800	5.5
65 - 69	51,100	5.5	399,400	5.7	3,306,300	5.3
70 - 74	52,300	5.6	413,800	5.9	3,434,300	5.5
75 - 79	47,800	5.1	380,800	5.4	3,137,100	5.1
80 - 84	36,200	3.9	288,100	4.1	2,356,300	3.8
85 - 89	24,600	2.6	193,500	2.7	1,540,400	2.5
90 +	20,600	2.2	160,200	2.3	1,219,200	2

Broad ethnicity groups

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
Asian/Asian British	47,130	5.9	278,372	4.8	4,143,403	7.8
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British	10,174	1.3	117,442	2	1,846,614	3.5
Minority Ethnic - Total	149,992	18.6	860,795	14.7	10,733,220	20.2
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups	16,029	2	112,116	1.9	1,192,879	2.3
Other ethnic group	4,977	0.6	28,841	0.5	548,418	1
White	726,531	90.3	5,310,194	90.8	45,281,142	85.4

Detailed ethnicity groups

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
Asian/Asian British: Bangladeshi	2,791	0.3	32,992	0.6	436,514	0.8
Asian/Asian British: Chinese	7,595	0.9	33,503	0.6	379,503	0.7
Asian/Asian British: Indian	12,066	1.5	86,736	1.5	1,395,702	2.6
Asian/Asian British: Other Asian	10,227	1.3	58,871	1	819,402	1.5
Asian/Asian British: Pakistani	14,451	1.8	66,270	1.1	1,112,282	2.1
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: African	5,906	0.7	69,925	1.2	977,741	1.8
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Caribbean	2,821	0.4	33,614	0.6	591,016	1.1
Black/African/Caribbean/Black British: Other Black	1,447	0.2	13,903	0.2	277,857	0.5
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: White and Asian	5,279	0.7	32,226	0.6	332,708	0.6
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: White and Black African	2,212	0.3	15,388	0.3	161,550	0.3
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: White and Black Caribbean	4,052	0.5	37,222	0.6	415,616	0.8
Mixed/multiple ethnic groups: Other Mixed	4,486	0.6	27,280	0.5	283,005	0.5
Other ethnic group: Arab	1,798	0.2	10,367	0.2	220,985	0.4
Other ethnic group: Any other ethnic group	3,179	0.4	18,474	0.3	327,433	0.6
White: English/Welsh/Scottish/Northern Irish/British	654,849	81.4	4,986,170	85.3	42,279,236	79.8
White: Gypsy or Irish Traveller	2,068	0.3	8,165	0.1	54,895	0.1
White: Irish	6,165	0.8	55,573	1	517,001	1
White: Other White	63,449	7.9	260,286	4.5	2,430,010	4.6

Household composition breakdown

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
One family only: All aged 65 and over	27,738	8.5	226,812	9.4	1,789,465	8.1
One family only: Cohabiting couple	35,210	10.8	248,034	10.2	2,172,438	9.8
One family only: Cohabiting couple: All children non-dependent	1,595	0.5	12,568	0.5	108,486	0.5
One family only: Cohabiting couple: Dependent children	13,929	4.3	103,744	4.3	890,780	4
One family only: Cohabiting couple: No children	19,686	6.1	131,722	5.4	1,173,172	5.3
One family only: Lone parent	27,231	8.4	227,648	9.4	2,339,824	10.6
One family only: Lone parent: All children non-dependent	9,091	2.8	76,941	3.2	766,569	3.5
One family only: Lone parent: Dependent children	18,140	5.6	150,707	6.2	1,573,255	7.1
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple	119,395	36.7	873,687	36.1	7,329,455	33.2
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: All children non-dependent	16,985	5.2	141,766	5.9	1,234,355	5.6
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: Dependent children	56,080	17.2	404,171	16.7	3,375,890	15.3
One family only: Married or same-sex civil partnership couple: No children	46,330	14.2	327,750	13.5	2,719,210	12.3
One person household: Aged 65 and over	37,501	11.5	306,941	12.7	2,725,596	12.4
One person household: Other	52,531	16.2	382,769	15.8	3,940,897	17.9
Other household types: All aged 65 and over	784	0.2	6,901	0.3	61,715	0.3
Other household types: All full-time students	1,194	0.4	6,802	0.3	124,285	0.6
Other household types: Other	15,251	4.7	89,454	3.7	995,677	4.5
Other household types: With dependent children	8,429	2.6	53,987	2.2	584,016	2.6

Main language breakdown

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
English (English or Welsh if in Wales)	703,410	90.9	5,317,554	94.5	46,936,780	92
Welsh/Cymraeg (in England only)	111	0	534	0	8,248	0
Other UK language	62	0	364	0	4,637	0
French	1,987	0.3	8,474	0.2	145,026	0.3
Portuguese	3,769	0.5	14,887	0.3	131,002	0.3
Spanish	2,104	0.3	7,784	0.1	118,554	0.2
Other European language (EU)	34,225	4.4	125,483	2.2	1,155,972	2.3
Other European language (EU): Any other European language (EU)	79	0	232	0	2,878	0
Other European language (non EU)	797	0.1	4,974	0.1	64,985	0.1
Other European language (non-national)	2	0	36	0	4,600	0
Russian	2,022	0.3	6,917	0.1	66,271	0.1
Turkish	820	0.1	5,620	0.1	98,083	0.2
Arabic	1,349	0.2	7,012	0.1	152,490	0.3
West/Central Asian language	2,366	0.3	8,003	0.1	181,424	0.4
South Asian language	11,921	1.5	73,074	1.3	1,281,168	2.5
East Asian language	7,075	0.9	31,793	0.6	374,013	0.7
Oceanic/Australian language	32	0	150	0	1,729	0
North/South American language	6	0	34	0	1,022	0
Caribbean Creole	7	0	37	0	506	0
African language	1,381	0.2	12,708	0.2	240,572	0.5
Other languages	225	0	1,366	0	17,675	0
Sign language	300	0	1,988	0	20,853	0

Marital and civil partnership status breakdown

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
Divorced or formerly in a same-sex civil partnership which is now legally dissolved	57,818	8.9	437,738	9.2	3,857,137	9
In a registered same-sex civil partnership	1,554	0.2	8,696	0.2	100,288	0.2
Married	319,195	48.9	2,363,201	49.9	20,029,369	46.6
Separated (but still legally married or still legally in a same-sex civil partnership)	16,710	2.6	120,118	2.5	1,141,196	2.7
Single (never married or never registered a same-sex civil partnership)	216,830	33.2	1,475,171	31.1	14,889,928	34.6
Widowed or surviving partner from a same-sex civil partnership	40,857	6.3	333,409	7	2,971,702	6.9

Religion breakdown

	Cambridgeshire and Peterborough		East of England		England
	Count	%	Count	%	Count	%
Buddhist	3,727	0.5	22,273	0.4	238,626	0.5
Christian	465,734	57.9	3,488,063	59.7	31,479,876	59.4
Hindu	6,462	0.8	54,010	0.9	806,199	1.5
Jewish	1,796	0.2	34,830	0.6	261,282	0.5
Muslim	26,241	3.3	148,341	2.5	2,660,116	5
Sikh	2,079	0.3	18,213	0.3	420,196	0.8
Other religion	3,227	0.4	24,981	0.4	227,825	0.4
No religion	234,199	29.1	1,631,572	27.9	13,114,232	24.7

Local Population Estimates and Forecasts