Bournemouth vs Cambridge
for digital nomads
Under balanced weights Cambridge edges it, 69 to 67, winning 3 of the 9 factors. Neither leads on any factor by 10 points or more. Change the weights in the ranker to see which one wins for you.
Seaside town with long sandy beaches and two universities
Full Bournemouth profile →Plan a trip to Bournemouth →Flat, bike-first university city at the heart of the UK's tech cluster
Full Cambridge profile →Plan a trip to Cambridge →Where they differ
- Air quality. Cambridge leads on air quality, 94 to 85, against Bournemouth. PM2.5: 11.6 µg/m³ vs 7.8 µg/m³.
Where they are close. Within five points on internet, getting there & around, cost of living, safety, healthcare, visa ease, climate, quality of life.
Pick Bournemouth if you want
- no clear edge over Cambridge in the data
Pick Cambridge if you want
- faster internet (67.4 Mbps measured)
Factor scores (0–100, balanced weights)
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Cost of living | 22 | 22 |
| Safety | 76 | 76 |
| Healthcare | 88 | 88 |
| Internet | 75 | 79 ✓ |
| Visa ease | 77 | 77 |
| Getting there & around | 55 | 59 ✓ |
| Climate | 25 | 25 |
| Air quality | 85 | 94 ✓ |
| Quality of life | 97 | 97 |
Cost
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly cost, one personcountry-level estimate for at least one city | $2,900 | $2,900 |
| Central one-bedroom rent | no data | no data |
Safety and health (country-level)
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Homicides per 100k | 0.93 | 0.93 |
| Political stability (0–100) | 70.7 | 70.7 |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 88 | 88 |
| Life expectancy | 80.7 yrs | 80.7 yrs |
Internet (M-Lab measured medians)
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Download | 51.2 Mbps | 67.4 Mbps ✓ |
| Upload | 16.5 Mbps | 19.1 Mbps ✓ |
Visa
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Nomad visa | none listed | none listed |
| Minimum income for the visa | no data | no data |
| Entry, US passport | eTA required (online, before travel) | eTA required (online, before travel) |
| Entry, EU passport | 180 days | 180 days |
| Entry, UK passport | home country | home country |
Getting there and around
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Non-stop airport destinations | 242 ✓ | 199 |
| Walkability (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 5 ✓ |
| Transit (1–5, editorial) | 3 | 3 |
Climate and air
| Metric | Bournemouth | Cambridge |
|---|---|---|
| Comfortable months per year | 3 | 3 |
| Annual mean PM2.5 | 11.6 µg/m³ | 7.8 µg/m³ ✓ |
✓ marks the better value in each row; ties and missing data are left unmarked.
Frequently asked
- Which is cheaper, Bournemouth or Cambridge?
- Bournemouth and Cambridge cost about the same: roughly $2,900 per month for one person.
- Is Bournemouth or Cambridge safer?
- Bournemouth and Cambridge score the same on safety (76), based on national homicide rates and World Bank political-stability scores.
- Where is the internet faster, Bournemouth or Cambridge?
- Cambridge: a measured median of 67.4 Mbps versus 51.2 Mbps (M-Lab, 2024).
More comparisons
- Bournemouth vs Brighton
- Bournemouth vs Slough
- Cambridge vs Milton Keynes
- Cambridge vs Slough
- All comparisons
Sources: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows); 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level); Digital Nomad Visas 2026; Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100); Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year); UHC service coverage index; Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes; M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024); Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables); NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means); WHO Ambient Air Quality Database, June 2026 update (V8); SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04); Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023); EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band); Walkability and transit ratings (editorial); Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations); OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API); Starlink availability map. Dataset 2026.11.2. See each city page for per-metric footnotes and the methodology.