Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
A town of 1,987, settled in 1890. Public schools that outperform most of Arkansas.
Cave City’s best subject grade is an A for schools; its weakest is a D for incomes. Residents are less healthy than 91% of U.S. towns on CDC estimates. Crystal River Tourist Camp and Lee's Chapel Church and Masonic Hall is on the National Register of Historic Places. Cave City has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Cave City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arkansas), ordered by how far Cave City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
The archive holds 2 old photos and papers going back to 2025.
1 place on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cave City, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Cave City.
18% of adults report frequent physical distress in Cave City, against 16% in Arkansas’ towns and 14% across U.S. towns. 37% of adults get no exercise outside work in Cave City. Cave City beats the Arkansas average on 0 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 11.
| Cave City | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 16% | 14% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 37% | 34% | 25% |
| Fair or poor health (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 25% | 19% |
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 21% | 20% | 17% |
| What stands out | Cave City | AR |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 11.2% | 8.6% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 23.6% | 18.6% |
| More smokers | 19.6% | 15.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Its public schools are run by the Cave City School District. Two of its 3 schools are below, each with why it’s listed. The largest public high school is Cave City High Career & Collegiate Preparatory School, with 375 students.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cave City Elementary SchoolLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 605 | B |
| Cave City High Career & Collegiate Preparatory SchoolLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 375 | C+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within AR on state tests and graduation
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 86% of U.S. communities.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
The typical Cave City home is worth about $167,000, up 1.2% in a year, 25% below the Arkansas typical home. At $716 a month, Cave City’s median rent is where Arkansas’ towns sit at $878 a month and U.S. towns at $1,185 a month. 56% of Cave City households own their home.
| Cave City | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 56% | 60% | 73% |
| Median rent | $716 a month | $878 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Cave City has chilly winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The July high in Cave City is 89°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most working residents leave Cave City for work: only 17% work in town. Jobs based in Cave City grew to 798 in 2023, 207 more than in 2013. Cave City’s average trip to work is 20 minutes.
| Cave City | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 20% | 18% | 9.6% |
| Average trip to work | 20 minutes | 21 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $50,000 | $55,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 17% | 22% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Cave City's reported crime rate is below Arkansas's. Most reported incidents are property crimes, mainly thefts. 9 violent crimes were reported in 2025.
| Cave City | Arkansas towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 4.4 per 1,000 residents | 3.6 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 10.3 per 1,000 residents | 13.6 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
0.9 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cave City Park | — | 16 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cave City
About 2 of every 100 Cave City residents are enrolled in college, against 5 across Arkansas.
City in Arkansas, United States
Cave City is a city in Independence and Sharp counties in the U.S. state of Arkansas. The population was 1,922 at the 2020 U.S. Census. The city was named for a large cave underneath the Crystal River Tourist Camp, which is the oldest motor court in Arkansas. Cave City is known for its award-winning "world's sweetest" watermelons and holds an annual watermelon festival in July.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Public schools that outperform most of Arkansas.
That is 3.7 years of the area's median household income ($44,637 across the county). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B.