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 futureretirement 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, 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.
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. There were 27,731 housing units at an average density of 1,910.7 per square mile. 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 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 couplesliving 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.
Sports and recreation
The Sun City Rays were a member of the Senior Professional Baseball Association in 1990 for the league's second and final season. Despite having future Hall of FamersRollie Fingers and Ferguson Jenkins, attendance was low and the club ceased operation when the circuit folded in December of that year. At the time the league folded, they had a 13-10 record and were second in the standings. The city has eight golf courses and seven Recreational Centers. Sun City is the home of the Sun Bowl Amphitheatre. The city’s four lawn bowling locations are among the sites for the 2019 US Lawn Bowling Open’s South Central Division, held from November 3 through November 9.
