QLD · Livingstone Council
The Caves, 4702
Current weather
20.5°CClear sky
80% humidity · 13 km/h wind · 25.7° / 14.9° today · 0 mm rain
Updated
Desirability score
- High desirability
- Green suburb
Suburb profile
The Caves offers a slower smaller community life in Livingstone, with open surrounds and a close-knit community feel. Life revolves around the local community, with the wider region offering trips and services when needed. Open skies and rolling countryside set a calm backdrop to everyday routines.
Families and commuters make up much of the community, with family life visible on every street. The pace is unhurried, with local businesses and community spots doing the heavy lifting. The area offers approachable housing costs alongside a lifestyle that still feels complete.
The streetscape feels settled and established, with older homes giving the area a familiar, lived-in look.
The desirability score is below average, pulled down chiefly by weaker local dining and lifestyle amenities and schools and education relative to similar regional towns. Limited access to some essential local services also trimmed the result.
Population
- Population
- 680
- Median age
- 40
- Median household income / week
- $1,926
- Dwelling vacancy
- 12.3%
- Unoccupied private dwellings
- 30 of 244
- Median monthly mortgage
- $1,500
- Employment rate
- 61.3%
- Dwelling mix (houses / semi / flats)
- 17 / 0 / 0
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Employment, household income and age diversity (2021 Census)
Data sources & freshness
- 2021 Census — General Community Profile — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 Census release
The 2026 Census runs in August 2026; suburb-level updates are expected from mid-2027.
Crime & safety
- Total offences (Jan 2026 to Jul 2026)
- 25
- Against the person
- 4
- Against property
- 13
- Rate per 1,000 residents
- 36.8
- Person-crime prevalence
- About 1 in 170 residents
- State safety percentile
- 43.9th (lower crime is better)
- Decrease (daily rate, partial year)
- -2.2%
Reported offences are running lower than the same point last year.
Reported offences by period
Most common offence types
- Assault119
- Drug Offences106
- Other Theft (Excl. Unlawful Entry)258
- Traffic And Related Offences186
- Unlawful Entry111
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Crime rate and year-on-year trend
Data sources & freshness
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Period: Jan 2025 to Dec 2025 → Jan 2026 to Jul 2026; Jan 2026 to Jul 2026 · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
Schools & preschools
- Schools & preschools
- 1
- Median school ICSEA
- 961
- The Caves State SchoolPrimary
Contributes to desirability score · Education (15%)
School and preschool counts, median school ICSEA
Data sources & freshness
- ACARA school locations — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
- School ICSEA scores — Australian Curriculum, Assessment and Reporting Authority · Period: 2025 · Updated on site · Annual ACARA release
Amenities
9 nearby amenities within ~1.5 km
- Caves Country StoreConvenience store
- Parking (2)
- Post Box
- The Caves PubPub
- The Caves Recreational HallPublic Building
- Public toilets
- Shelter
- Telephone
Names and addresses from OpenStreetMap. Unnamed venues show as their type (e.g. Cafe).
Contributes to desirability score · Lifestyle (15%)
Food, shopping, recreation and sport (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Parks & reserves
1 parks and public open space in this suburb
- Caves ParkPark
Data sources & freshness
- Parks & reserves — State government + ABS LGA boundaries · Period: current · Updated on site
Socio-economic (SEIFA)
- IRSAD decile (2021)
- 3/10
- IRSD decile (2021)
- 5/10
SEIFA indexes from ABS 2021. Decile 10 = most advantaged / least disadvantaged in Australia.
Contributes to desirability score · Community (5%)
Socio-economic advantage (IRSAD decile)
Data sources & freshness
- SEIFA 2021 (IRSAD / IRSD) — Australian Bureau of Statistics · Period: 2021 · Updated on site · 2021 SEIFA release
Hazards
- Bushfire planning zone
- Overlay applies
Bushfire overlay checked at suburb centroid via Queensland Bushfire Prone Area mapping.
Contributes to desirability score · Safety (18%)
Bushfire hazard overlays
Data sources & freshness
- Hazard planning overlays — State government hazard layers · Period: current · Updated on site
Green cover
- Parks & woodland (OSM)
- 2
- Parks (OSM)
- 2
OpenStreetMap parks and natural woodland features mapped within the suburb boundary.
Contributes to desirability score · Environment (10%)
Parks and green cover (OpenStreetMap)
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap green cover features — OpenStreetMap contributors · Period: current · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
Desirability Index
- Desirability score
- 31.3/100 — Below average
- National rank
- 5080th in Australia
- State rank
- 1185th in QLD
- Peer rank
- #396 among Country & regional · Established suburbs
- Cohort rank
- #691 among Country & regional suburbs
- Data confidence
- 66%
Data sources & freshness
- Suburb Guide desirability index — Suburb Guide (derived score) · Period: current · Updated on site · Derived from source metrics
Recent changes
- Caves Country Storeamenitiesconvenience
- Parkingamenitiesparking
- Parkingamenitiesparking
- Post Boxamenitiespost_box
- Public toiletsamenitiestoilets
- Shelteramenitiesshelter
- Telephoneamenitiestelephone
- The Caves Pubamenitiespub
- The Caves Recreational Hallamenitiespublic_building
- Assaultcrime119
Data sources & freshness
- OpenStreetMap amenities — OpenStreetMap contributors · Updated on site · Weekly refresh
- QPS Online Crime Map — Queensland Police Service · Updated on site · Calendar-year aggregates
More in Livingstone Council
Other suburbs in the same local government area.
Comparable suburbs
Similar population and socio-economic profile in other parts of Queensland.