Town guide

Cambridge, Massachusetts

Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, home to about 118,796 people across 6.4 square miles. Its ZIP codes are 02138, 02139, 02140, 02141 and 02142.

Homes sold for a median of $931 per square foot across 5 ZIP codes in the three months ending August 2026, and 4 of 5 were seller’s markets.

Population118,79618,591 per sq mi
Median home value$1,092,100Census, as estimated by owners
Price per sq ft$931Sold homes, 3 months to August 2026
Sold over asking38%Median of 5 ZIP codes

ZIP codes in Cambridge

5 ZIP codes

Each card is that ZIP code’s whole market, including any part outside Cambridge. Seller’s market: under 4 months of supply; buyer’s market: over 6. Methodology

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  • History
  • What it’s like to live there
  • Getting around
  • Things to do

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Around Cambridge

Distances

Nearest major airportBoston Logan International Airport (BOS)6 miles away
Nearest city of 250,000+Boston, MA6 miles away
Nearest city of 1 million+New York, NY188 miles away

Straight-line distances from the center of Cambridge; driving is longer.

Source: Airports from OurAirports (scheduled passenger service); city centers and populations from the U.S. Census Bureau.

Who represents Cambridge

Source: Members of Congress from the congress-legislators project; districts from the Census Bureau’s relationship files; governor and mayor from Wikidata.

Population over time

Cambridge had 118,403 residents in the 2020 census, up 17% since 2000.

It’s the 4th largest of 351 towns in Massachusetts by population.

Middlesex County grew from 565,696 residents in 1900 to 1,632,002 in 2020.

Cambridge population by census2000: 101,355, 2010: 105,162, 2020: 118,403101,3552000105,1622010118,4032020

Middlesex County, 1900–2020

Middlesex County population, 1900 to 20201900: 565,696, 1910: 669,915, 1920: 778,352, 1930: 934,924, 1940: 971,390, 1950: 1,064,569, 1960: 1,238,742, 1970: 1,397,268, 1980: 1,367,034, 1990: 1,398,468, 2000: 1,465,396, 2010: 1,503,085, 2020: 1,632,002566K’00’10778K’20’30971K’40’501.2M’60’701.4M’80’901.5M’00’101.6M’20

Source: U.S. Census Bureau decennial censuses (counties 1900–1990 from the Bureau’s historical county file).

Weather by month

Average highs peak around 85°F in summer, and winter lows average 19°F. About 49.4 inches of rain and melted snow fall in a typical year.

Average high and low temperature and precipitation by month near CambridgeJan: high 37°F, low 19°F, 3.9 in; Feb: high 40°F, low 21°F, 3.6 in; Mar: high 47°F, low 28°F, 4.5 in; Apr: high 59°F, low 38°F, 4.3 in; May: high 69°F, low 48°F, 3.6 in; Jun: high 79°F, low 58°F, 4.2 in; Jul: high 85°F, low 64°F, 3.5 in; Aug: high 83°F, low 63°F, 3.7 in; Sep: high 76°F, low 55°F, 4 in; Oct: high 64°F, low 43°F, 5 in; Nov: high 53°F, low 34°F, 4 in; Dec: high 42°F, low 26°F, 5.1 in37°19°Jan3.940°21°Feb3.647°28°Mar4.559°38°Apr4.369°48°May3.679°58°Jun4.285°64°Jul3.583°63°Aug3.776°55°Sep4.064°43°Oct5.053°34°Nov4.042°26°Dec5.1Rain and melted snow, inches

Source: NOAA 1991–2020 climate normals, Jamaica Plain, MA weather station (5 miles away).

Jobs in Middlesex County

963,417 jobs at 44,624 businesses in Middlesex County. The biggest industries by employees:

Largest industries in Middlesex CountyProfessional services: 159,471 jobs; Health care and social assistance: 126,002 jobs; Educational services: 92,086 jobs; Retail trade: 79,115 jobs; Hotels and restaurants: 68,258 jobs; Manufacturing: 67,626 jobs; Information: 67,368 jobs; Wholesale trade: 51,000 jobsProfessional services 17% Health care and social assistance 13% Educational services 10% Retail trade 8% Hotels and restaurants 7% Manufacturing 7% Information 7% Wholesale trade 5%

Source: U.S. Census Bureau County Business Patterns 2023 (private employers; jobs counted where people work).

Health care

3,351 doctors and other health care providers list an office in Cambridge’s ZIP codes.

Nearest hospitals

  • Cambridge Health AllianceGeneral hospital · emergency room · CMS rating 3 of 5 · CambridgeUnder a mile
  • Mount Auburn HospitalGeneral hospital · emergency room · CMS rating 4 of 5 · CambridgeUnder a mile
  • Franciscan Children's Hospital & Rehab CenterChildren’s hospital · no emergency room · Brighton2.3 miles

Providers with an office here

Primary care doctors412
Specialist doctors461
Dentists171
Nurse practitioners and physician assistants357
Mental health providers1,670
Physical and occupational therapists211
Optometrists32
Chiropractors37
Pharmacies20

Source: Hospitals from CMS Hospital General Information (ratings are CMS overall star ratings); straight-line distances; providers from the CMS National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), by practice address and primary specialty.

Places in and around Cambridge

Parks (138 nearby)

  • Charles River Reservation · 468 acres1.0 mi
  • Charles River Esplanade · 75 acres1.8 mi
  • Herter Park · 55 acres1.2 mi
  • Danehy Park · 47 acres1.4 mi
  • Kingsley Park · 28 acres1.6 mi
  • Magazine Beach · 16 acres1.4 mi

Grocery stores (28 nearby)

  • Broadway Marketplace0.2 mi
  • Wholesome Fresh0.3 mi
  • Star Market0.6 mi
  • Whole Foods Market0.7 mi

Pharmacies (21 nearby)

  • CVS Pharmacy0.2 mi
  • Skendarian Apothecary0.4 mi
  • Walgreens0.7 mi
  • Walgreens0.7 mi

Libraries (51 nearby)

  • Cabot Science Library0.1 mi
  • Frances Loeb Library0.1 mi
  • Pusey Library0.1 mi
  • Eda Kuhn Loeb Music Library0.1 mi
  • Harvard University Fine Arts Library0.1 mi

Museums (15 nearby)

  • Arthur M. Sackler Gallery0.1 mi
  • The Collection Of Historical Scientific Instruments0.1 mi
  • Busch-Reisinger Museum0.1 mi
  • Harvard Art Museums0.1 mi
  • Fogg Museum0.1 mi

Theaters and performance venues (28 nearby)

  • Sanders Theatre0.1 mi
  • Harvard Film Archive0.1 mi
  • Carpenter Center0.1 mi
  • Fitzgerald Theater0.3 mi
  • American Repertory Theater0.4 mi

Counts are within about 2 miles of the center of town.

Source: Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors (openstreetmap.org/copyright), as mapped by volunteers; it can miss places or include closed ones.

Colleges, teams and notable people

Established in 1630.

Colleges and universities

  • Harvard University
  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology
  • Harvard College
  • Cambridge College
  • Lesley University
  • Harvard Summer School
  • Harvard Division of Continuing Education
  • Bertram Hall at Radcliffe College

Sports teams

  • Massachusetts Institute of Technology NCAA Division III

Notable people born here

  • Matt Damon (1970) · American actor (born 1970)
  • Percy Williams Bridgman (1882) · American physicist
  • Charles Sanders Peirce (1839) · American philosopher, logician, mathematician, and scientist (1839-1914)
  • Oliver Wendell Holmes (1809) · American poet and physician (1809–1894)
  • E. E. Cummings (1894) · American author (1894–1962)
  • Margaret Fuller (1810) · American writer and women's activist (1810–1850)
  • William F. Sharpe (1934) · American economist
  • Douglass North (1920) · American economist and Nobel laureate (1920–2015)

Source: Wikidata (wikidata.org), the free knowledge base; people are listed by place of birth.

Schools in Cambridge

Public schools here are run by Cambridge, Benjamin Banneker Charter Public, Prospect Hill Academy Charter and others. Check each district’s attendance zones for a specific address.

Public schools (20)
SchoolGradesStudentsTypeDistance
Amigos SchoolCambridgePre-K–8413Public0.9 mi
Benjamin Banneker Charter Public SchoolCambridgePre-K–6352Charter1.4 mi
CambridgeportCambridgePre-K–5263Public1.0 mi
Fletcher/Maynard AcademyCambridgePre-K–5249Public1.2 mi
Graham and ParksCambridgePre-K–5367Alternative Education0.7 mi
HaggertyCambridgePre-K–5250Public1.9 mi
John M TobinCambridgePre-K–5291Public0.7 mi
Kennedy-LongfellowCambridgePre-K–5215Public1.5 mi
King OpenCambridgePre-K–5391Alternative Education1.3 mi
Maria L. BaldwinCambridgePre-K–5360Public0.5 mi
Martin Luther King Jr.CambridgePre-K–5340Public0.6 mi
MorseCambridgePre-K–5328Public1.4 mi
PeabodyCambridgePre-K–5314Public1.3 mi
Prospect Hill Academy Charter SchoolCambridgePre-K–12890Charter0.9 mi
Cambridge Street Upper SchoolCambridge6–8301Public1.3 mi
Community Charter School of CambridgeCambridge6–12251Charter1.6 mi
Putnam Avenue Upper SchoolCambridge6–8283Public0.6 mi
Rindge Avenue Upper SchoolCambridge6–8292Public1.3 mi
Vassal Lane Upper SchoolCambridge6–8298Public1.5 mi
Cambridge Rindge and LatinCambridge9–122,072Public0.2 mi
Private schools (10)
SchoolGradesStudentsAffiliationDistance
Cambridge Friends SchoolCambridgePre-K–8122Friends (Quaker)1.1 mi
Fayerweather Street SchoolCambridgePre-K–8180Nonsectarian2.3 mi
Malik AcademyCambridgePre-K–338Islamic1.0 mi
Malik Academy/ Al Bustan PreschoolCambridgePre-K–338Islamic1.0 mi
Shady Hill SchoolCambridgePre-K–8496Nonsectarian1.1 mi
St Peter SchoolCambridgePre-K–8166Roman Catholic0.8 mi
Wild Rose Montessori SchoolCambridgePre-K–531Nonsectarian1.5 mi
Cambridge High School M-Gymnasium LldCambridge1–12105Church of God1.6 mi
St Paul's Choir SchoolCambridge3–840Roman Catholic0.3 mi
James F Farr AcademyCambridge7–1224Nonsectarian1.0 mi

Source: U.S. Department of Education, NCES: Common Core of Data (2024-2025) for public schools; Private School Universe Survey (2023-2024) for private schools. Listed by address; we don’t rate schools.

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Towns near Cambridge

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Town boundaries don’t always match ZIP codes: a ZIP code can cross into neighboring towns, and a town can share a ZIP code with its neighbors. Facts describe the town itself; market figures describe whole ZIP codes.