Elevation of Cambridge
21ft
above sea level · 6 m
Cambridge is a city in Massachusetts with 122,588 people, the 4th most populous in the state. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, it’s the 29th lowest.
By the Mapsfera Team
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Place facts
- Coordinates
- 42.38° N · 71.11° W
- In degrees, minutes and seconds: 42° 22′ 30″ N · 71° 6′ 20″ W
- UTM coordinates
- 19T · 326,643 E · 4,693,572 N
- Zone 19 · NAD83, the official US datum
- Time zone
- Eastern Time
- UTC−5 · UTC−4 in summer (daylight saving time)
- Population (2025)
- 122,588 people
- 6.40 sq mi of land · 19,154 people/sq mi
- Elevation model
- USGS 3DEP, 1 m grid
- Lidar from March 2021: the ground height at the city’s reference point.
Population
Cambridge had 122,588 residents on July 1, 2025, according to Census Bureau estimates, 3.5% more than in April 2020, when it had 118,395. Its 6.40 sq mi of land work out to 19,154 people/sq mi; the state average is 917 people/sq mi.
It’s the 4th most populous of the 248 places the Census counts in Massachusetts (cities, towns and CDPs), after Boston (672,973), and holds 1.7% of the state’s population.
It lies entirely within Middlesex County. Its reference point in the USGS gazetteer is 0.7 mi from the geographic center the Census gives for the city.
Compared with US cities of 100,000 to 250,000
Cambridge sits at 21 ft (6 m) above sea level. Of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people, the highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft). The average is 862 ft: Cambridge is 841 ft below it.
The state capital, Boston, is 2.6 mi away in a straight line and 27 ft higher than Cambridge.
Of the 9 cities in Massachusetts with a page, Cambridge is the lowest: the highest is Worcester (484 ft) and the lowest is Cambridge (21 ft).
The highest point in Massachusetts is Mount Greylock, at 3,491 ft according to the USGS: 3,470 ft above Cambridge, 106 mi away in a straight line.
- 220 Cambridge 21 ft
Each color band is 500 m (1,640 ft), the same colors as the map. See the full list
Nearest cities with a page
Tools for this place
Step-by-step guide How to find the elevation of any place
Frequently asked questions
What people most often ask about the elevation of Cambridge.
What is the elevation of Cambridge?
Cambridge is 21 feet (6 m) above sea level. That’s the ground height from the USGS 3DEP elevation model at the city’s reference point in the official gazetteer (GNIS). The city doesn’t have a single elevation: it rises and falls from one neighborhood to another.
What are the coordinates of Cambridge?
Latitude 42.37510 and longitude -71.10561, in decimal degrees (42° 22′ 30″ N · 71° 6′ 20″ W). In UTM, zone 19: 326,643 E and 4,693,572 N, on NAD83.
How does Cambridge rank among the highest US cities of its size?
It’s the 29th lowest of the 249 US cities with 100,000 to 250,000 people. The highest is Lakewood (5,520 ft) and the lowest is Fort Lauderdale (3 ft).
What county is Cambridge in?
Middlesex County, Massachusetts.
Which is higher, Cambridge or Boston?
Boston. Cambridge sits at 21 ft and Boston at 48 ft: a difference of 27 ft, 2.6 mi apart in a straight line.
How is elevation measured?
Elevation is the height above mean sea level. In the US the official reference is the NAVD88 vertical datum. Summits are surveyed on the ground, with leveling and precise GPS. The USGS 3DEP is an elevation model of the whole country, largely from 1-meter lidar: it gives the ground height at every point. That’s why it can differ by a few feet from the official figure of a sharp summit.
Sources
- USGS 3DEP (EPQS service) The elevation: the ground height at the reference point. Public domain.
- USGS GNIS (official gazetteer) The city’s reference point (“Populated Place”). Public domain.
- U.S. Census Bureau, Vintage 2025 estimates Population, land area (2025 Gazetteer) and counties. Public domain.
- TIGERweb (U.S. Census Bureau) Which county and city the point falls in. Public domain.
- timezone-boundary-builder The point’s time zone (ODbL, © OpenStreetMap contributors).
- Terrain Tiles, OpenStreetMap and OpenFreeMap The relief shading and the base map (ODbL).
Methodology and sources · Spotted a mistake? Let us know