Sun City, Arizona

Sun City
CDP
The Sun City DEVCO Model #1 a.k.a. “Del Webb Sun Cities Museum”, “The World’s First Retirement Community Museum”. =
Location of Sun City in Maricopa County, Arizona.
Sun City Location in the United States
Coordinates:
Country	United States
State	Arizona
County	Maricopa
Area
• Total	14.6 sq mi (37.8 km2)
• Land	14.5 sq mi (37.6 km2)
• Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	1,142 ft (348 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	37,499
• Density	2,639.5/sq mi (1,019.1/km2)
Time zone	Mountain (MST) (UTC-7)
ZIP codes	85300-85399
Area code(s)	623
FIPS code	04-70320
GNIS feature ID	0011953

Sun City is a census-designated place and unincorporated town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States, that is within the Phoenix metropolitan area. The population was 37,499 according to the 2010 census. Its adjoining sister city is Sun City West. Both cities are retirement communities popular with snowbirds.

History

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. The future retirement community was built on the site of the former ghost town of Marinette. 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.

The community is well known to law students, as it is featured in the case Spur Industries 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 circles.

Geography

Sun City is located at (33.597439, -112.272052).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 14.6 square miles (38 km²), of which 14.5 square miles (38 km²) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km², 0.62%) is water.

Demographics

Historical population
Census	Pop.		%±
1970	13,670		—
1980	40,505		196.3%
1990	38,126		−5.9%
2000	38,309		0.5%
2010	37,499		−2.1%
source:

According to the census 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 people per square mile (1,019.4/km²). There were 27,731 housing units at an average density of 1,910.7 per square mile (737.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 98.44% White, 0.51% Black or African American, 0.13% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.16% from other races, and 0.44% from two or more races. One percent (1.00%) 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, the population was spread out with 0.4% 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% who 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.

Government

Municipal services are provided by a variety of public and private organizations:

• Police and street maintenance are provided by the county.
• Fire service is provided by Sun City Fire District, a local assessment district.
• Water and sewer utilities are provided by a private utility, EPCOR Utilities Incorporated.
• Solid waste is collected by a private hauler, Parks and Sons.
• Parks and recreation services are controlled by private organizations that sell their services by subscription.

External links

• Surprise Regional Chamber of Commerce
• Del E. Webb Center for the Performing Arts
• Del Webb Sun Cities Museum
• Sun City, Arizona. Demographic and real estate information. Onboard Informatics.