Cambridgeshire residents continue to feel happy and safe in their communities with a strong sense of belonging, according to the results of Cambridgeshire County Council's third Quality of Life survey.
This year, 6,796 residents shared their views. There were 5,500 residents who took part in the sample survey, with 1,100 in each of our five district/city areas to give a representative view across the county. With the results providing valuable insights into residents’ wellbeing, and how they’re feeling about the communities and public services around them.
Key findings from the 2025 survey:
- 84% of residents say they feel happy – this figure has remained consistent over three years.
- 85% feel safe in their community.
- 76% feel a sense of belonging to their local community.
- 30% say they often feel lonely, and 28% reported struggling with their mental health – younger age groups were more likely to report these concerns.
- 87% of residents reporting that they personally feel concerned about the cost of living
Key findings about the County Council this year, included:
- Residents continue to be very satisfied with library services (89%), registration services (87%), and waste management (82%).
- 58% of residents trust the council to make decisions about local services - a 6% increase on last year and higher than the national benchmark of 50%.
- 47% believe the council provides value for money – up from 41% last year.
- Satisfaction with roads and pavements has risen to 28%, up from last year’s figure of 21%.
While concerns around cost of living, climate change, and access to jobs remain high, many residents also recognised improvements in council services and reported having greater trust in the County Council.
The survey showed that loneliness and mental health are also areas of concern for some residents, particularly for young people and the council will be looking to undertake further analysis in the coming months to gain more of an understanding of these concerns.
The survey highlighted residents’ top priorities for improving quality of life, with better road maintenance, more affordable housing, improved public transport, and easier access to GPs via the NHS amongst the most frequently cited.
Leader of Cambridgeshire County Council, Cllr Lucy Nethsingha said: “I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took the time to share their views in this year’s Quality of Life survey. Your feedback is vital and helps us and our partners to focus on what matters most to you.
“I’m both pleased and encouraged to see that trust in the council is rising, and that residents are recognising improvements in key services, with libraries, registration and waste management achieving some of the highest satisfaction scores. I’m also pleased to see there has been some recognition of the major investment we are putting into improving our roads, as satisfaction with road maintenance begins to improve.
“We know there is always more work to do, especially around road maintenance, the cost of living and access to jobs, but these results give us a clear picture of where we’re making progress and where we need to go further.
“We’ll continue to focus on building safe and supportive communities across the county, and working towards a fairer, more caring and greener Cambridgeshire for everyone.”
The County Council has carried out this survey in partnership with the Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority, South Cambridgeshire District Council and Cambridge Ahead. The results provide valuable insight and contextual evidence to feed into the council's business planning processes and in preparation for local government reorganisation submissions to Government in the autumn.
You can read the full 2025 Quality of Life Survey results here: https://www.cambridgeshire.gov.uk/quality-of-life-survey
