Sun City, Arizona
Census-designated place
The Sun City DEVCO Model #1
The Sun City DEVCO Model #1
Flag of Sun City, Arizona
Flag
Location in Maricopa County, Arizona
Location in Maricopa County, Arizona
Sun City is located in Arizona
Sun City
Sun City
Sun City is located in the United States
Sun City
Sun City
Coordinates: 33°36′51″N 112°16′55″W / 33.61417°N 112.28194°W / 33.61417; -112.28194
CountryUnited States
StateArizona
CountyMaricopa
Area
[1]
 • Total14.59 sq mi (37.80 km2)
 • Land14.42 sq mi (37.35 km2)
 • Water0.17 sq mi (0.45 km2)
Elevation
1,142 ft (348 m)
Population
 (2020)[2]
 • Total39,931
 • Density2,769.14/sq mi (1,069.16/km2)
Time zoneUTC-7 (Mountain (MST))
ZIP codes
85300-85399
Area code623
FIPS code04-70320
GNIS feature ID11953
Sun City and Sun City West from Landsat 8, 2016

Sun City is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is located within the Phoenix metropolitan area.

The population was 39,931 as of the 2020 census.[2] Its adjoining sister city is Sun City West. Both Sun Cities are retirement communities popular with snowbirds.

History

In June 1959, James G. Boswell II, then owner of the J.G. Boswell Company, sold the company’s Marinette and Santa Fe ranches to Del E. Webb Development Co for more than $20 million. This land, totaling 20,000 acres, would become the company’s first retirement community, Sun City.[3][4]

Sun City was opened January 1, 1960, with five home models, a shopping center, a recreation center, and a golf course. The opening weekend drew 100,000 people, ten times more than expected, and resulted in a Time magazine cover story.[5] The future retirement community was built on the site of the former ghost town of Marinette.[6] At first it was called the Marinette Retirement Community, but after a nationwide naming contest in which the winner would win a house, developer Del Webb selected the name Sun City.[7][8]

Developer Del E. Webb expanded Sun City over the years, and his company went on to build other retirement communities in the Sun Belt. Sun City West was built in the late 1970s, Sun City Grand in the late 1990s, Sun City Anthem in 1999, and Sun City Festival in July 2006.[9]

The community is well known to law students, as it is featured in the case Spur Industries, Inc. v. Del E. Webb Development Co., 494 P.2d 700 (Ariz. 1972), commonly used in first-year property law courses to illustrate nuisance law.

The community's street network design consists largely of concentric circles in four main pinwheels.[10][11]

Geography

Sun City is located 16 miles (26 km) northwest of downtown Phoenix at 33°35′31″N 112°16′19″W / 33.59194°N 112.27194°W / 33.59194; -112.27194 (33.597439, −112.272052).[12] It is bordered to the north, east, and south by the city of Peoria, to the southwest by Youngtown, to the west by El Mirage, and to the northwest by Surprise.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Sun City CDP has a total area of 14.6 square miles (38 km2), of which 14.4 square miles (37 km2) are land and 0.2 square miles (0.5 km2), or 1.19%, are water.[1]

Climate

Climate data for Youngtown, Arizona, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 1964–present
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 87
(31)		 89
(32)		 98
(37)		 104
(40)		 113
(45)		 122
(50)		 122
(50)		 116
(47)		 114
(46)		 108
(42)		 95
(35)		 84
(29)		 122
(50)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 77.8
(25.4)		 81.0
(27.2)		 89.8
(32.1)		 98.5
(36.9)		 105.3
(40.7)		 112.2
(44.6)		 114.4
(45.8)		 112.8
(44.9)		 108.4
(42.4)		 99.9
(37.7)		 87.6
(30.9)		 76.2
(24.6)		 115.5
(46.4)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 65.4
(18.6)		 68.9
(20.5)		 76.5
(24.7)		 84.1
(28.9)		 92.9
(33.8)		 102.2
(39.0)		 104.9
(40.5)		 103.6
(39.8)		 98.4
(36.9)		 87.0
(30.6)		 73.9
(23.3)		 63.8
(17.7)		 85.1
(29.5)
Daily mean °F (°C) 53.3
(11.8)		 56.4
(13.6)		 62.7
(17.1)		 69.5
(20.8)		 78.3
(25.7)		 87.2
(30.7)		 92.3
(33.5)		 91.4
(33.0)		 85.4
(29.7)		 73.2
(22.9)		 60.8
(16.0)		 52.0
(11.1)		 71.9
(22.2)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 41.1
(5.1)		 43.8
(6.6)		 48.9
(9.4)		 54.8
(12.7)		 63.6
(17.6)		 72.2
(22.3)		 79.7
(26.5)		 79.2
(26.2)		 72.5
(22.5)		 59.5
(15.3)		 47.7
(8.7)		 40.2
(4.6)		 58.6
(14.8)
Mean minimum °F (°C) 32.1
(0.1)		 35.5
(1.9)		 40.4
(4.7)		 46.1
(7.8)		 53.9
(12.2)		 64.0
(17.8)		 71.5
(21.9)		 71.4
(21.9)		 63.1
(17.3)		 49.3
(9.6)		 37.4
(3.0)		 30.8
(−0.7)		 29.4
(−1.4)
Record low °F (°C) 20
(−7)		 24
(−4)		 24
(−4)		 32
(0)		 38
(3)		 51
(11)		 62
(17)		 54
(12)		 48
(9)		 35
(2)		 28
(−2)		 21
(−6)		 20
(−7)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.98
(25)		 1.25
(32)		 1.03
(26)		 0.29
(7.4)		 0.11
(2.8)		 0.03
(0.76)		 0.84
(21)		 0.97
(25)		 0.74
(19)		 0.59
(15)		 0.61
(15)		 0.90
(23)		 8.34
(212)
Average precipitation days 3.5 4.0 3.5 1.5 1.0 0.4 2.9 3.7 2.4 2.2 1.9 3.8 30.8
Source: NOAA[13][14]

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
197013,670—
198040,505196.3%
199038,126−5.9%
200038,3090.5%
201037,499−2.1%
202039,9316.5%
source:[15]

According to the census[16] of 2000, there were 38,309 people, 23,490 households, and 12,520 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 2,639.5 inhabitants per square mile (1,019.1/km2). There were 27,731 housing units at an average density of 1,910.7 per square mile (737.7/km2). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.4% White, 0.5% Black or African American, 0.1% Native American, 0.3% Asian, <0.1% Pacific Islander, 0.2% from other races, and 0.4% from two or more races. One percent (1.0%) of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 23,490 households, out of which 0.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.5% were married couples living together, 3.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.7% were nonfamilies. Individuals comprised 44.1% of all households, and 39.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 1.60 and the average family size was 2.07.

In the CDP, 0.4% of the population were under the age of 18, 0.3% from 18 to 24, 2.0% from 25 to 44, 17.5% from 45 to 64, and 79.8% were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 75 years. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 69.8 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $32,508, and the median income for a family was $40,464. Males had a median income of $35,459 versus $26,453 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,935. About 2.5% of families and 4.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including none of those under age 18 and 4.3% of those age 65 or over.

Sports and recreation

Sun City has eight golf courses[17] and seven recreational centers,[18] and is home to the Sun Bowl Amphitheatre. Sun City's four lawn bowling locations were among the sites for the 2019 US Lawn Bowling Open’s South Central Division.[19] A ballpark, Sun City Stadium, opened in 1971 and served as the spring training home of the Milwaukee Brewers from 1973 to 1985.[20] Other teams to play their home games at the ballpark include the Sun City Rays of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990, and the Mesa Solar Sox of the Arizona Fall League during 1992–1993. The ballpark was razed in 1995.[21]

Transportation

Sun City is served by Valley Metro Bus routes 106 and 138.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "2021 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Arizona". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  2. 1 2 "Sun City CDP, Arizona: 2020 DEC Redistricting Data (PL 94-171)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved May 17, 2022.
  3. ↑ "Ranches West of Here Sold". Newspapers.com. June 6, 1959. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  4. ↑ "Signs of the past: Youngtown came first - Daily Independent". The Daily Independent at YourValley.net. July 27, 2021. Retrieved September 17, 2023.
  5. ↑ "Time Magazine Cover: Del Webb – Aug. 3, 1962". Timr.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  6. ↑ Grant, Tina (1988). International directory of company histories. Vol. 14. St. James Press. p. 163. ISBN 1-55862-342-6. Retrieved July 31, 2010.
  7. ↑ Sun Cities Area Historical Society. "Early Years of Sun City, Arizona". azmemory.azlibrary.gov. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  8. ↑ Nothaft, Mark. "Meet the cast of characters behind W. Valley city names". The Arizona Republic. Retrieved September 4, 2023.
  9. ↑ Judith Ann Trolander, "Age 55 or Better: Active Adult Communities and City Planning," Journal of Urban History, (Nov 2011) 37#6 pp. 952–974
  10. ↑ "Google Maps". Google.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  11. ↑ "85351 Zip Code (Sun City, Arizona) Profile – homes, apartments, schools, population, income, averages, housing, demographics, location, statistics, sex offenders, residents and real estate info". City-data.com. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  12. ↑ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  13. ↑ "NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  14. ↑ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Retrieved November 19, 2022.
  15. ↑ "Census of Population and Housing (1790–2000)". U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved August 7, 2010.
  16. ↑ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  17. ↑ "Sun City, Arizona – The Original Fun City! – The Original Sun City". Suncityaz.org. Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  18. ↑ "Recreation Centers of Sun City (RCSC) FAQs". Suncityaz.org. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  19. ↑ "US Open Lawn Bowls | United States | 2020 US Open Lawn Bowls". Lawnbowlingusopen.com. Retrieved May 8, 2021.
  20. ↑ "Cactus League Teams". The Arizona Republic. June 1, 1996. p. C12. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
  21. ↑ "Baseball is outta there". The Arizona Republic. January 27, 1995. p. NW 1. Retrieved November 25, 2021 – via newspapers.com.
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