Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cave Creek grades B+ overall, 13th of 139 graded towns in Arizona. It has 78 miles of trail and 55% conserved land. CDC estimates put its residents' health ahead of 90% of the country and its schools rank ahead of 81% of Arizona towns. The trade-off is money: the typical home is worth about $1.0 million, 11.8 years of the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income. Cave Creek’s median rent is $2,493 a month, against $1,190 a month in Arizona’s towns and $1,185 a month across U.S. towns. The biggest place to walk is Cave Creek Regional Park, 2,907 acres with 16.6 miles of trail. Only 2 of the 93 Arizona towns we compare have a higher typical home value than Cave Creek.
Where Cave Creek beats most towns.
54.9% of the town is conserved land, across 8 parks and preserves.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within Arizona), ordered by how far Cave Creek is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,589 in 1980, 4,892 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 2007 and 3 maps from 1965 on.
3 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Cave Creek, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Cave Creek.
Cave Creek has a longer frost-free season than nearly all U.S. towns and keeps more of its land conserved than most of Arizona, but it has homes that cost more against local pay than most of Arizona.
At 11.8 years of the Phoenix metro’s $88K median household income, the typical home (about $1.04M) costs more against local pay than in 98% of Arizona towns; that ratio is one input to its D for cost of living. Values rose 2.5% in the past year while the Arizona typical home fell 1%.
95% of households own their home in Cave Creek. The typical Cave Creek home is worth about $1,044,000, more than twice the Arizona typical home. Typical home values rose 2.5% in the year to September 2026.
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Its 13,184 conserved acres are a larger share of the town than in 90% of Arizona towns.
78 miles of trail in 8 parks and preserves. Cave Creek’s trail density is 2.1 miles per square mile.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Cave Creek Regional Park | 16.6 mi | 2,907 |
| 2. Spur Cross Ranch Conservation Area | 12 mi | 2,131 |
| 3. P.A. Seitts Preserve | 1.6 mi | 255 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
11% of Cave Creek adults report frequent mental distress. Cave Creek beats the Arizona average on 21 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 5. 26% of Cave Creek adults feel lonely.
| Cave Creek | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 11% | 16% | 17% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 26% | 31% | 33% |
| Sleep under 7 hours (CDC PLACES) | 30% | 35% | 36% |
| Get no exercise (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 24% | 25% |
| What stands out | Cave Creek | AZ |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer uninsured adults | 5.4% | 13.2% |
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 5% | 12% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 14.9% | 8.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The Carefree weather station, 5 miles away, records that the frost-free season runs about 313 days, longer than in 95% of U.S. towns. The Carefree weather station, 5 miles away, records that about 153 days a year reach 90°, more than in 99% of U.S. towns.
Cave Creek has warm winters and scorching summers, with very little rain. The July high in Cave Creek is 103°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Cave Creek has about as many jobs (2,170) as working residents, but only 117 people both live and work here. Jobs based here grew from 1,597 in 2013 to 2,170.
Most working residents leave Cave Creek for work: only 6% work in town. Since 2013, Cave Creek has added 573 jobs, to 2,170 in 2023. The top destinations are Phoenix (39%), Scottsdale (17%) and Tempe (8%).
| Cave Creek | Arizona towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $107,000 | $68,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 30 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 7.2% | 12% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 6.2% | 10% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Expected storm and flood damage is higher than in 57% of U.S. communities. One flood insurance claim has been paid in Cave Creek since 2007.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Cave Creek. Close and well known come first.
Big draw27 mi Stadium & arenaState Farm Stadium
28 mi Stadium & arenaMortgage Matchup Center
27 mi Stadium & arenaChase Field
26 mi Stadium & arenaDesert Diamond Arena
29 mi Stadium & arenaMountain America Stadium
22 mi MountainCamelback MountainState Farm Stadium: Taken by en:Flickr user MCSixth, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Mortgage Matchup Center: Troutfarm27, CC BY-SA 4.0 · Chase Field: U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sgt. Tyler J. Bolken, Public domain · Desert Diamond Arena: Unknown, CC BY 2.0 · Mountain America Stadium: Clintus McGintus, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Camelback Mountain: Dru Bloomfield from Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, CC BY 2.0
2 within 15 miles of the center of Cave Creek
About 3 of every 100 Cave Creek residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across Arizona.
Town in Arizona, United States
Cave Creek is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. It is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 4,892.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
4 towns share a border with Cave Creek.
| Town | AZ rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cave Creek | #13 | B+ | D | — | A− | A |
| Carefree | #6 | A− | C− | — | A− | A |
| Phoenix | #65 | C+ | C | D | B+ | B+ |
| New River | #15 | B+ | C− | — | A− | A |
| Scottsdale | #24 | B | D | C | B+ | A+ |
Cave Creek, Carefree and New River report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Cave Creek with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
For most people who can afford it, yes. Cave Creek grades B+ overall, better than 72% of U.S. towns and #13 of 139 in Arizona. It grades A for health and A− for schools. Cost of living is its weak spot, with a D.
Yes. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.
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