What it's like to live in Ely

Ely is mostly a city of owner-occupiers. Across East Cambridgeshire, 68% of homes are owned, 16.5% are privately rented and 14% are social rented, below the England figure of 17.1%. Only 1.8% is council-owned, with 12.1% held by housing associations, so most social tenants here have a housing association landlord.

Sanctuary Housing Association is by far the largest, with around 4,260 homes in the district. The Cambridge Housing Society has about 554, followed by Flagship Housing with 231, Clarion with 208 and Amplius Living with 195. Average weekly social rents in 2024/25 were about £106 for a one bed, £124 for two beds and £137 for three.

The age profile is close to the national average, with a slight tilt towards older residents: 20.8% are 65 or over against 18.4% in England, and 27.6% are aged 45 to 64. At 31 March 2025 there were 1,248 households on the council's housing register, and 417 social homes were let through the council that year.

Families have a good choice close to home. Lantern Community Primary School and Ely St John's Community Primary School are both within a mile, and the King's Ely Cherry Hill site and Old Needham's School sit close to the centre too. For secondary, Ely College is about half a mile away, with Witchford Village College just over two miles out and King's Ely in the city centre. Highfield Ely Academy is also nearby.

Outside school, there is plenty within pram-pushing distance. Cherry Hill is the obvious spot for a run-around, Jubilee Gardens and Lavender Green are small and handy, and Ely Country Park gives you a bigger walk down towards the river. Ely Library is right in the centre.

For wet days, there is a Cineworld under a mile away and the Lighthouse Centre in town for community activities. Across East Cambridgeshire, 18.5% of residents are under 16, close to the England average, so this is a district with a normal spread of family households rather than an unusually young or old one.

Ely station is about half a mile from the centre and is the main reason many people choose the city. It is a junction, so trains run in several directions and it opens up travel without needing a car. If you rely on public transport, living within walking distance of the station is worth weighing up when you look at a swap.

The centre itself is easy on foot. Shops, the library, pharmacies, pubs and the cathedral are all clustered within a few hundred metres, and the schools listed here are mostly under a mile. The Princess of Wales Hospital is just over a mile out, walkable for some and a short bus or car trip for others.

By road, Ely connects out across the fens to the surrounding villages and on towards Cambridge. Roads are generally fast and open, though the fen routes can be exposed in bad weather. Parking in the historic centre is tighter than on the newer estates, so check what comes with any home you are considering.

The cathedral dominates the city and shapes the centre around it, with Ely Library and the cathedral conference centre alongside. Below the city, Ely Country Park runs down to the river, which is the best long walk you will get on your doorstep. Cherry Hill, Jubilee Gardens and Lavender Green cover shorter trips out with children or a dog.

For going out, the centre has a decent cluster of pubs and bars within a few minutes' walk: The Lamb, The Minster Tavern, The Kings Arms, Town House and Tony's Coffee Shop & Cocktail Bar among them. Cineworld is under a mile away for a film.

If you train or swim, FRESH. is close to the centre and The Ness Club is a couple of miles out. Beyond that, a lot of life here happens through local halls and community buildings, including the Lighthouse Centre in town and village halls at Witchford, Stuntney and Queen Adelaide for anyone settling on the edges of the city.

East Cambridgeshire has a notably strong jobs picture. In the 2021 Census, 62.6% of adults in the district were in work, well above the England figure of 57.4%, and unemployment stood at 2.1% against 3.5% nationally. More recent claimant figures put unemployment-related benefit claims at 2.2% of working-age residents, compared with 4% across England.

That said, Ely is a small city and many households here look further afield for work. The train station is central to that: plenty of people commute out to larger employment centres while keeping a home in a quieter place. If you are moving for work, it is worth checking your journey before you commit to a swap.

Locally, work tends to follow the pattern of a small service city and its rural hinterland: shops and supermarkets, schools and colleges, the hospital, hospitality in the centre, and jobs in the surrounding villages. Wages and hours vary a lot between those, so plan around what you can realistically travel to.