City profile · Arizona · Census ACS 2023

Sun City West, AZ

Sun City West's Census ACS profile: residents, income, housing, and the joined public-record layers available for this place.

27,003
Residents
$63,792
Median income
$350,500
Median home
$1,419
Median rent (state)
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Side-by-side metrics and state or size-class ranks use the same Census and FBI fields shown on this profile. Results stay in the URL so you can bookmark or share them.

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Starting with Sun City West, AZ - add up to three more cities on the compare page.

See how it ranks

State rank, size-class rank, and four peer cities for Sun City West.

Place dossier plate

Sheet AZ-SUN-CITY-WEST-AZ · Sun City West, AZ 27,003 pop · income 41st pct

POP-SMALL · INC-MID · COL-PAR · SAFE-UNK · RANK-MID · PHOTO-FINISH · HOME-MID · BOOK-UNK

  • POP-SMALL 27,003
  • INC-MID $63,792
  • COL-PAR 100.7
  • SAFE-UNK Safety pending
  • RANK-MID 41st
  • PHOTO-FINISH ≈ Terrell
  • HOME-MID $350,500
  • BOOK-UNK Tracts pending

Nearest income peer: Terrell, TX (+ $3 income $)

Instrument codes from this place’s ACS population and household income, BEA state COL, FBI safety, national income percentile, photo-finish peer city, home-value band, and matched Census-tract book - not a moving recommendation.

Income neighbourhood around Sun City West

Lowest/highest poles plus peers nearest Sun City West on median household income. Full ladder: /browse and /rankings.

median HH income

What this shows Neighbourhood peers only - not a full nationwide city board. Open a near peer when the gap is small; open the poles when the spread is wide.

Source U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 5-Year Estimates As of 2026-08-08

Compare beyond this state

Nationwide peers by population, income

Out-of-state nearest neighbors for Sun City West on ACS population and median household income . Link sets are deduped so each column is a distinct comparison path, not a forecast that peers share a labor market or climate.

Similar population

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS population. This city: 27,003.

4 peers

Similar household income

Nearest out-of-state cities by ACS median household income. This city: $63,792. Population peers are excluded.

4 peers

Sun City West - the verdict

Measured against every US city with at least 1,000 residents, Sun City West lands in the 41st percentile for household income. Source: Census ACS.

41st
percentile, household income
72nd
percentile, home value
64th
percentile, median rent
📝 How we sourced this

Population, income, and housing-cost figures come from the U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates (B-series tables). Crime data uses FBI UCR; climate uses NOAA Climate Normals; school counts come from NCES Common Core of Data; permits use the Census Building Permits Survey (BPS). See our methodology page for the full ETL pipeline and OMB / FIPS join keys.

Data Snapshot: Sun City West, AZ

Census ACS 2023 estimates count 27,003 residents in Sun City West, a small city within Arizona. The typical household in Sun City West brings in $63,792 a year, below the median for U.S. cities on this measure, with a poverty rate of 4.5%. Sun City West's housing stock carries a median value of $350,500, and the median resident age is 74.9 years. Educational attainment runs 35.3% of adults with a bachelor's degree or higher. Separately, 12.5% of working-age residents are in the labor force.

Arizona tracks close to the national cost-of-living baseline: BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 puts Arizona at 100.7 on a 100-equals-national-average scale (Near Average). A typical two-bedroom carries a HUD Fair Market Rent of $1,419 per month statewide. EIA 2023 residential energy data puts Arizona's average monthly utility costs around $215 (state average). FEMA's National Risk Index rates natural-hazard exposure at 84.5 out of 100 (High).

A decision-led reading path

Useful questions to ask of Sun City West's data

How this reading path is ordered

This is not a composite city score. It is a city-specific route through the available public records, ordered for this profile so the page starts with questions the joined data can actually answer. The route here runs from comparison shortlist to housing and income to work and mobility; another city can have a different sequence or fewer supported layers because the source joins are not uniform.

For Sun City West, city-specific coverage includes commute-mode shares. No matched row is reported here for FBI reported-crime rates, within-city Census tract profiles, annual population history, matched public-school count, local building permits; the page leaves those layers out instead of substituting a statewide or national value.

Question 1

Which cities make useful reference points for Sun City West?

Within Arizona, the closest population matches are Drexel Heights (27,636 residents, $75,152 income); Florence (25,961 residents, $76,259 income); Fortuna Foothills (28,227 residents, $57,583 income). Outside the state, the closest population matches in this dataset are Belmont, MA (27,009 residents); Wooster, OH (27,012 residents); Fulshear, TX (26,986 residents). A third, income-matched reference set of 6 out-of-state cities sits in the income neighbourhood chart near the Place Dossier plate. These are mechanical peer sets, not claims that the places share a labor market, climate, culture, or metro context.

Use the in-state set to hold state policy and broad price conditions more nearly constant. Use the nationwide size set to ask whether cities with a similar resident count produce different housing, income, or commute outcomes. The income set is a third lens, deliberately separate from population matching.

Open a side-by-side comparison →

Question 2

How far does income reach against housing in Sun City West?

The home-value-to-income reference is comparatively stretched: the ACS median home value is 5.5 times median household income. The ACS poverty estimate is 4.5%, which keeps the citywide median from describing every household.

This is a citywide price-to-income reference, not a mortgage-affordability test; it does not include interest rates, taxes, insurance, household size, or an individual buyer's down payment. Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median. That flags a question for comparison, not a verdict: tenure, household composition, financing costs, and the age of the ACS estimate can all change what a resident actually pays.

Compare the housing trade-off →

3. Work and mobility

What does the journey to work look like in Sun City West?

Mode share answers how workers usually travel; it does not measure congestion, reliability, distance to a particular job, or the quality of transit service. Remote work has a visible role in the local pattern. That can reduce commute exposure for some workers, but it says nothing about job availability or broadband quality; read it alongside income and housing rather than as a stand-alone lifestyle score.

Driving alone is the largest reported mode at 70.7%. A reliable mean commute time is not available for this row, so the mode shares carry the comparison.

Compare commute patterns →

Population

27,003 residents

Small city (10k–49k)

Median Household Income

$63,792 /yr

Below median income · poverty 4.5% (Below-median poverty)

Cost of Living Index (state)

100.7 (US=100)

Above-average cost · BEA RPP 2024, Arizona average

City profile score · Sun City West, AZ

52/100

4 published dimensions · ACS/FBI 2023

Comparative score against U.S. cities with population of 1,000 or more on Census ACS medians (income, poverty, bachelor's share, cost of living) and FBI UCR violent-crime rates when published. Higher means a stronger standing on those published figures, not a livability rating, not a recommendation to move, buy, or pick a "best" city. Missing inputs drop out and redistribute weight. How it is calculated.

Poverty rate B-
4.5%

Share of residents below the poverty line; lower scores better on this axis.

Bachelor's+ share B-
35.3%

Adults with a bachelor's degree or higher; ACS.

Household income D
$63,792

Median household income vs U.S. cities (pop ≥1,000); ACS.

Cost of living F
100.7 index

BEA state Regional Price Parities index (100 ≈ national average); lower is stronger on this axis. Same value for every city in the state.

Violent crime N/A
N/A

No FBI UCR violent-crime rate for this place (coverage is incomplete).

Sun City West profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions) 4-axis radar comparing 1 series across Poverty rate, Bachelor's+ share, Household income, Cost of living. Poverty rateBachelor's+ shareHousehold incomeCost of living 52 C-
Sun City West profile (scored ACS/FBI dimensions)
Read the chart values
  • Poverty rate: 69/100 (B-) · 4.5%
  • Bachelor's+ share: 67/100 (B-) · 35.3%
  • Household income: 40/100 (D) · $63,792
  • Cost of living: 37/100 (F) · 100.7 index

How does Sun City West compare to other US cities?

Here's how Sun City West stacks up against the full field of US cities (population 1,000+), computed live from Census and FBI data.

Household income 41% higher than other cities
Home value 72% pricier than other cities
Median rent 64% pricier than other cities

"Safer than" reflects total crime rate from FBI UCR; the others use Census ACS estimates.

How we calculate these percentiles & ranks

Each percentile compares Sun City West against every qualifying US city; each in-state rank narrows that to Arizona only. Full formula and direction notes: methodology.

Arizona-relative analysis

Median Gross Rent places Sun City West near the bottom of Arizona's cities

Among the 394 Arizona cities PlainCities tracks with reported median gross rent data, Sun City West ranks #1 - the 0th percentile within the state. This is a different, narrower cut than the nationwide percentiles above: it compares Sun City West only against its own state's cities, not the full US field.

Median Household Income
#131 of 333
61st percentile in Arizona
Median Gross Rent
#1 of 394
0th percentile in Arizona
Median Home Value
#66 of 327
80th percentile in Arizona
Poverty Rate
#261 of 393
32nd percentile in Arizona
Bachelor's Degree or Higher
#60 of 394
85th percentile in Arizona
How in-state ranks are ordered

Ranked by raw value (highest first); a higher rank is not automatically "better" for every measure, see each metric's own context above. This is a comparison within Arizona only, not a livability score. See the methodology for the source and calculation.

41stIncome percentile
Gauge source note

41st percentile nationally for median household income. Source: Census ACS 2023 / FBI UCR 2023.

How Sun City West's home value compares nationally

Median home value vs. every US city (population 1,000+)

$350,500 28th percentile more affordable than 28% of 15,600 US cities

Show national distribution $0–$25,000: 5 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $25,000–$50,000: 54 US cities (0%). Below this entry. $50,000–$75,000: 352 US cities (2%). Below this entry. $75,000–$100,000: 1,086 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $100,000–$125,000: 1,516 US cities (10%). Below this entry. $125,000–$150,000: 1,170 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $150,000–$175,000: 1,278 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $175,000–$200,000: 1,229 US cities (8%). Below this entry. $200,000–$225,000: 1,035 US cities (7%). Below this entry. $225,000–$250,000: 976 US cities (6%). Below this entry. $250,000–$275,000: 754 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $275,000–$300,000: 712 US cities (5%). Below this entry. $300,000–$325,000: 521 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $325,000–$350,000: 526 US cities (3%). Below this entry. $350,000–$375,000: 465 US cities (3%). This entry sits in this band. $375,000–$400,000: 393 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $400,000–$425,000: 317 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $425,000–$450,000: 300 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $450,000–$475,000: 307 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $475,000–$500,000: 250 US cities (2%). Above this entry. $500,000–$525,000: 160 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $525,000–$550,000: 156 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $550,000–$575,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $575,000–$600,000: 172 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $600,000–$625,000: 163 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $625,000–$650,000: 167 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $650,000–$675,000: 135 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $675,000–$700,000: 101 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $700,000–$725,000: 95 US cities (1%). Above this entry. $725,000–$750,000: 71 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $750,000–$775,000: 65 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $775,000–$800,000: 70 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $800,000–$825,000: 57 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $825,000–$850,000: 67 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $850,000–$875,000: 60 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $875,000–$900,000: 58 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $900,000–$925,000: 47 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $925,000–$950,000: 37 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $950,000–$975,000: 31 US cities (0%). Above this entry. $975,000–$1,000,000: 470 US cities (3%). Above this entry. $1,000,000–$1,025,000: 0 US cities (0%). Above this entry. Sun City West $0 $1,025,000 every US city, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $25K-wide band; taller bars hold more US cities. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year Estimates · 2023

Sun City West's home-value-to-income ratio: 5.5×

ACS median home value divided by median household income.

Band
pressured
> 5.0×
National rank
#13,574 of 15,516
More affordable than 13% of tracked cities (pop. 1,000+)
Size class
#2,813 of 3,317
Small cities (10,000–49,999)

At 5.5×, Sun City West sits in the pressured band: national rank #13,574 of 15,516 and #2,813 of 3,317small cities (10,000–49,999). Housing value is high relative to the citywide income median, a comparison flag, not a verdict on any household.

How this ratio is calculated

Ratio = Census ACS 2023 median home value ÷ median household income for cities with both fields and population ≥ 1,000. Rank 1 = lowest ratio (most compact). Bands match the fleet affordability thresholds used on guides (<3.0 / 3.0–5.0 / >5.0). This is not a mortgage payment estimate and does not include rates, taxes, insurance, or down payment.

Income distribution context

$63,792 Sun City West, AZ median household income (Census ACS)

Show U.S. national quintile / Lorenz context Household income distribution - Sun City West, AZ Sun City West, AZ's median household income ($63,792) against the U.S. national quintile-share pattern. The Lorenz curve and quintile bars are national context, not Sun City West, AZ-specific shares. $ Household Income Distribution Sun City West, AZ median $63,792/yr, vs. U.S. national quintile pattern QUINTILE SHARE OF AGGREGATE INCOME Lowest 20% 3.4% Second 20% 9.2% Middle 20% 15.1% Fourth 20% 23.2% Top 20% 49.1% LORENZ CURVE cumulative income vs. population 100% 0% 100% pop. 0%
Sun City West, AZ median household income (Census ACS 5-year) with U.S. national quintile shares for context. Diagonal = equality; the curve is national, not computed for Sun City West, AZ.

Key socioeconomic indicators

Bachelor's degree or higher (adults 25+) 35.3%

Census ACS S1501, educational attainment

Poverty rate (households below FPL) 4.5%

Census ACS S1701, poverty status

Labor force participation (adults 16+) 12.5%

Census ACS S2301, share of working-age residents in the labor force

Population
27,003
Median Income
$63,792
Median Home Value
$350,500
Median Age
74.9
Poverty Rate
4.5%
Labor force participation
12.5%
Bachelor's Degree+
35.3%

Commute Patterns

Commute source

How workers travel to work, Census ACS 2023

Drive Alone
70.7%
Carpool
2.7%
Public Transit
0.0%
Walk
0.6%
Work from Home
22.1%
Other
3.9%

Based on 3,243 workers 16 and over.

Monthly Utility Costs

Arizona statewide monthly utility average (EIA 2023): $215

EIA 2023 residential energy data puts average monthly utilities across Arizona at $215 (electricity about $131 , water and sewer about $50 ).

These are Arizona statewide averages, not a meter reading for Sun City West. Actual bills vary by home size, usage, and local rates. Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023.

Living Costs & Risk

Arizona's BEA cost-of-living index is 100.7 (Near Average; US average = 100, RPP 2024). HUD Fair Market Rent for a typical two-bedroom in the county around Sun City West is $1,419/mo. FEMA's National Risk Index, averaged to Arizona statewide on PlainCities, rates natural-hazard exposure at 84.5 / 100 (High).

Cost/risk geography note

Cost of living is a Arizona statewide BEA average; rent is a county-level HUD Fair Market Rent for the county Sun City West sits in; the FEMA hazard score shown here is a statewide average of county NRI inputs, not a parcel-level reading.

How Sun City West compares to similar-size Arizona cities

Same-state peer method

Closest same-state population matches, not geographic neighbors. Population + median household income come from Census Bureau ACS 5-year B01001 and B19013.

City Population Median Household Income
Sun City West (this city) 27,003 $63,792
Drexel Heights 27,636 $75,152
Florence 25,961 $76,259
Fortuna Foothills 28,227 $57,583
Primary sources on this page

Source: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 5-Year 2023, Census ACS B08301/B08136, U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) 2023, BEA Regional Price Parities 2024, HUD Fair Market Rents 2026, FEMA National Risk Index.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Citation & verification links Data sourced from the U.S. Census Bureau. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCities

Primary sources: Census ACS, FBI UCR, NOAA Climate Normals, NCES. Joins use OMB Bulletin 23-01 / FIPS keys.

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Estimate caveats

ACS and UCR figures are citywide estimates with vintage lags; they do not replace a local visit, school visit, or insurance quote.

Editorial standards, provenance, and how to cite this page

Every figure on PlainCities is rendered directly from Census ACS source data, no number is typed in by an editor. This page draws directly on Census ACS source data, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error.

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