Best PlacesDesert Hills, Cave Creek, AZ Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Desert Hills, Cave Creek, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. Local pay runs high here, and housing takes the biggest bite out of it. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Desert Hills, Cave Creek ranks 651st of 5,983 U.S. neighborhoods on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on low property taxes by a wide margin, and air quality ranks lowest.
The best neighborhoods in Desert Hills, Cave Creek
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Desert Hills, Cave Creek's strengths and weaknesses
Where Desert Hills, Cave Creek ranks high
- Low property taxBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Local economyBetter than 96% of neighborhoods
- Crime safetyBetter than 93% of neighborhoods
- Voter turnoutBetter than 92% of neighborhoods
- Cost of living vs incomeBetter than 91% of neighborhoods
Where Desert Hills, Cave Creek ranks low
- Air qualityBetter than only 4% of neighborhoods
- Tree shadeBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- TransitBetter than only 5% of neighborhoods
- Heat safetyBetter than only 7% of neighborhoods
- BikingBetter than only 10% of neighborhoods
What it costs to buy a home in Desert Hills, Cave Creek
A household needs to earn about $175,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Desert Hills, Cave Creek home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $138,933, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Desert Hills, Cave Creek's effective rate of 0.42%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 10 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Desert Hills, Cave Creek
Desert Hills, Cave Creek runs older than the country.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Desert Hills, Cave Creek.
Who works in Desert Hills, Cave Creek, and how
Work in Desert Hills, Cave Creek centers on retail trade and health care & social. Unemployment is low, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 66%
- Work from home 31%
- Transit, walk, or bike 4%
Life in Desert Hills, Cave Creek
Desert Hills, Cave Creek has more restaurants and bars per resident than 68% of neighborhoods and more parkland per resident than 82% of neighborhoods. Dining, parks, and nightlife concentrates in some parts of Desert Hills, Cave Creek and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Desert Hills, Cave Creek, month by month
Desert Hills, Cave Creek sees roughly 196 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 107 degrees. January highs sit near 66, with lows near 41. The comfortable stretch runs February through April and October through December.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 66° | 53° | 41° |
| April | 86° | 72° | 55° |
| July | 107° | 95° | 81° |
| October | 89° | 75° | 62° |
Flying in and out of Desert Hills, Cave Creek
Phoenix Sky Harbor International sits about 23 miles away. It is a large hub and boarded 25.2 million passengers in 2025, with 177 nonstop destinations.
The best schools in and around Desert Hills, Cave Creek
Schools across Desert Hills, Cave Creek average a B+, better than 83% of neighborhoods.
Top elementary schools
- Horseshoe Trails Elementary SchoolA+ · 77% proficient
- Boulder Creek Elementary SchoolA · 71% proficient
- Sonoran Foothills SchoolA · 71% proficient
Top middle schools
- Hillcrest Middle SchoolA− · 55% proficient
- Sonoran Trails Middle SchoolB+ · 49% proficient
- Mountain Trail Middle SchoolC+ · 37% proficient
Top high schools
- Mountain Ridge High SchoolB+ · 53% proficient
- Pinnacle High SchoolB+ · 52% proficient
- Cactus Shadows High SchoolB · 48% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Desert Hills, Cave Creek school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Desert Hills, Cave Creek measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Desert Hills, Cave Creek against the other 5,982 neighborhoods.
Common questions about living in Desert Hills, Cave Creek
Is Desert Hills, Cave Creek a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Desert Hills, Cave Creek ranks 651st of 5,983 neighborhoods. It scores highest on low property taxes, a strong job market, and low crime, and lowest on air quality and tree cover. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Desert Hills, Cave Creek expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $705,264. The overall cost of living runs about 5% above the national average. Set against a $138,933 median income, cost of living beats 91% of neighborhoods.
Is Desert Hills, Cave Creek safe?
Yes, Desert Hills, Cave Creek is safer than 93% of neighborhoods. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $236 per resident a year.
Compare Desert Hills, Cave Creek with other neighborhoods
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Desert Hills, Cave Creek. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Desert Hills, Cave Creek represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Desert Hills, Cave Creek detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Desert Hills, Cave Creek: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Desert Hills, Cave Creek: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Desert Hills, Cave Creek: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Desert Hills, Cave Creek: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Desert Hills, Cave Creek detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.