 From 1965, the town was part of the new administrative county of Huntingdon and Peterborough.Since 1974, the former, relatively diminutive, county of Huntingdonshire has been a part of the administrative county of Cambridgeshire.The highest tier of local government is Cambridgeshire County Council, locally represented by two county councillors serving "Godmanchester and Huntingdon East" (electoral division)

The second tier of local government, the planning authority and council-tax collecting body, is Huntingdonshire District Council, a non-metropolitan district, locally represented by two councillors elected for an eponymous ward.