The numbers are in for Arizona’s 10 best 55+ communities of 2020. Each summer, 55places determines the best 55+ communities across the country, taking into account many important factors. Among these are the number of homes sold in the last 12 months, the variety of home styles, the community facilities, how active the clubs and classes are, what the surrounding area offers, and data from Gallup’s Wellbeing Index.
These are Arizona’s 10 best 55+ communities for 2020.
1. Sun City – Sun City, AZ
Below $100k – High $800s
The first active adult community in the U.S. is still Arizona’s best 55+ community in 2020, 60 years after it opened. Its amenities include 11 golf courses, 19 shopping areas, 30 churches, a synagogue, a hospital, two libraries, seven fitness centers, a performing arts theater, an outdoor amphitheater, and numerous arts and crafts studios. There are also two fishing lakes, walking and biking trails, indoor and outdoor pools, and numerous courts for tennis, shuffleboard, racquetball, pickleball, and bocce.
Sun City has over 27,000 condo, attached, and single-family homes. It’s a 30-minute drive from Downtown Phoenix and stands between the cities of Peoria and Surprise in the greater Phoenix urban area. Also, the White Tank Mountain Regional Park, with almost 30,000 acres of outdoor recreational activities, is a 30-minute drive from Sun City.
The community has a wide range of home models available. The smallest are attached studio chalets of 635 square feet with one bathroom and a one-car garage. The largest models are single-family homes of 2,137 square feet with two bedrooms, a den, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage.
Request more information about Sun City here.
2. Province – Maricopa, AZ
High $100s – High $500s
Province is a gated community for the 55+ active adult and has 2,217 attached and single-family homes. It’s a few minutes from downtown Maricopa, a city of 50,000 people, and a 40-minute drive from Downtown Phoenix. Outdoor attractions including the South Mountain Park and Preserve and the Estrella Mountain Regional Park are within an hour’s drive.
Amenities include a 32,000-square-foot clubhouse, a fitness center, indoor and outdoor pools, a ballroom, a library, and studios for aerobics, dance, sewing, ceramics, and arts and crafts. Outdoors, there’s an amphitheater, an 18-hole putting green, 50 acres of scenic lakes, 125 acres of parks and natural spaces, and courts for tennis, bocce, basketball, pickleball, and shuffleboard.
There are a few dozen home models available. The smallest at 1,172 square feet offers one bedroom, a den, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The largest offers 2,830 square feet with two to four bedrooms, a den, two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
Request more information about Province here.
3. Mission Royale – Casa Grande, AZ
High $100s – Mid $300s
Mission Royale is a community of 1,792 single-family homes for the 55+ active adult. It’s a 15-minute drive from the center of Casa Grande, a city of almost 60,000 people. It’s a 5-minute drive from Interstate-10, which puts both Phoenix and Tucson within an hour’s reach. Also, Picacho Peak State Park with its hiking trails is a 30-minute drive away.
Amenities include the 18-hole Mission Royale Golf Club, which offers residents unlimited tee times with 12-month, 6-month, and 3-month passes available. Other outdoor facilities include two pools with a spa, tennis courts, pickleball courts, and hiking and biking trails. Indoor amenities include a clubhouse, a ballroom, a fitness center, an aerobics studio, a restaurant, and a hobby and game room.
There are 28 models available. The smallest is 1,071 square feet with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The largest offers 2,439 square feet, three bedrooms, a den, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a two-car garage.
Request more information about Mission Royale here.
T-4. Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch – Florence, AZ
Low $200s – Low $500s
Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch is a 55+ active adult community with 3,800 single-family homes. It’s a 15-minute drive from the center of Florence, a town of about 27,000 people. Downtown Phoenix is just over an hour’s drive away, and the San Tan Mountain Regional Park with over 10,000 acres of outdoor recreational activities is a 30-minute drive away.
Amenities include a 48,000-square-foot clubhouse, a library, a ballroom, a fitness center, an indoor lap pool, an indoor walking track, and studios for hobbies, games, arts, crafts, and activities such as aerobics. Outdoors, there’s a pool and spa, lighted tennis courts, pickleball courts, bocce ball courts, and an amphitheater.
Sun City Anthem is also part of the larger Merrill Ranch master-planned community, and its residents have access to further amenities including the 18-hole Poston Butte Golf Club, indoor and outdoor pools, water park, indoor and outdoor basketball courts, fishing lake, rock-climbing wall, skate park, and facilities for tennis, soccer, softball, sand volleyball, and baseball.
In this community, there are 23 home models. The smallest has 1,099 square feet, one to two bedrooms, a den, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The largest has 2,849 square feet, two to three bedrooms, a den, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
Request more information about Sun City Anthem at Merrill Ranch here.
T-4. The Grand – Surprise, AZ
Low $200s – Mid $800s
Surprise is perhaps the hot spot for 55+ communities in the Phoenix area, and The Grand is consistently ranked at the top. The community has just shy of 10,000 homes and the amenities to match. Buyers have the choice between condos, attached homes, and single-family homes, meaning there’s usually a home or floor plan for whatever you desire.
There are five different amenity centers as well as amenities found throughout the community, including four different golf courses. Outdoors, residents also enjoy fishing lakes, tennis courts, walking trails, a pet park, and pickleball courts.
Floor plans are numerous with a little over 50 on offer for buyers. The smallest offering 427 to 1,021 square feet, while the largest have 2,290 to 3,380 square feet. Whether you want to downsize to and cut out maintenance or upsize and enjoy luxury in retirement, there’s likely a home for you in The Grand.
5. Sundance – Buckeye, AZ
Low $200s – Mid $200s
Sundance is a 55+ community with 1,102 single-family homes. It’s a 15-minute drive from the center of Buckeye, a fast-growing city of 80,000 people. Downtown Phoenix is a 35-minute drive due east along I-10, while the outdoor activities at Skyline Regional Park are a little over ten minutes away.
One of the resort’s main amenities is the Sundance Golf Club with its putting and chipping area, pro shop, and Crooked Putter Restaurant and Bar. Other outdoor amenities include two pools, a spa, walking and biking trails, and courts for tennis, pickleball, racquetball, and bocce. Indoors, residents have access to a 15,000-square-foot clubhouse, a fitness center, a ballroom, a library, billiards, and an arts and crafts studio.
Sundance has 13 models with the smallest offering 1,136 square feet. These have two bedrooms, a den, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The largest models have 2,209 square feet with two bedrooms, a den, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a two-car garage.
Request more information about Sundance here.
6. Sun City West – Sun City West, AZ
Low $100s – High $600s
Sun City West has 16,900 attached and single-family homes for the 55+ active adult. It’s located just a few miles from the original Sun City, with Downtown Phoenix a 40-minute drive away and the White Tank Mountain Regional Park a similar distance.
The numerous amenities include seven golf courses, nine restaurants, a hospital, 18 places of worship, and RV storage facilities as well as shops, banks, pharmacies, and grocery stores. There are four large recreation centers that provide five indoor and outdoor pools, three fitness centers, a dance studio, and studios for arts and crafts, including a dedicated photography studio. Outdoors, there are walking tracks, a putting green, two mini-golf courses, hot tubs, a softball field, and numerous courts for tennis, pickleball, basketball, volleyball, bocce, and shuffleboard.
There are several dozen home models available. The smallest are patio homes with 761 square feet, one bedroom, one bathroom, and a one-and-a-half-car garage. The largest homes go up to 4,651 square feet with three bedrooms, three bathrooms, and a two-and-a-half-car garage.
Request more information about Sun City West here.
7. Canoa Ranch – Green Valley, AZ
High $100s – High $400s
With 2,500 condo, attached, and single-family homes, Canoa Ranch is a gated community for the 55+ active adult. It’s about six miles south of Green Valley, a census-designated place in Southern Arizona with a population of about 25,000 people. Tucson, Arizona’s second city, is a 30-minute drive due north, while the Mexican border town of Nogales is a 35-minute drive south.
Canoa Ranch has its own recreation center, and amenities include a ballroom, an indoor pool and spa, a fitness center, a library, an arts and crafts studio, an aerobics and dance studio, and billiards. There’s also an outdoor pool.
In addition, Canoa Ranch is part of the Green Valley Recreation (GVR) organization. Membership provides access to all of GVR’s facilities throughout Green Valley. These include 12 other recreation centers, four more fitness centers, numerous swimming pools, many arts and crafts facilities, 11 billiard tables, ballrooms, and aerobics and dance studios. Outdoor facilities include 17 tennis courts (nine of them lighted), 52 shuffleboard courts, courts for several other sports, and a large, new pickleball center close to Canoa Ranch.
There are 14 models at Canoa Ranch, with the smallest offering 1,503 square feet. These homes have two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and covered parking for one car. The largest homes have 2,568 square feet with two bedrooms, a den, two bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
Request more information about Canoa Ranch here.
9. Trilogy at Vistancia – Peoria, AZ
High $200s – Low $1Ms
Trilogy at Vistancia is a gated community for the 55+ active adult and has 3,300 single-family homes. It’s a 30-minute drive from Downtown Peoria, a city of 175,000 people and part of the Greater Phoenix urban area. Downtown Phoenix is a 45-minute drive away.
Amenities center around two clubhouses. The 17,000-square-foot Mita Club has a restaurant, a bar and grill, a fitness center, an aerobics and dance studio, and an arts and crafts studio. Outdoors, there’s has a pool and two tennis courts.
The 35,000-square-foot Kiva Club has a fitness center, a ballroom, an indoor pool, a spa, a library, and arts and crafts studios. Outside, there’s another pool, four lighted tennis courts, four pickleball courts, and the 18-hole Trilogy Golf Club at Vistancia.
There are several dozen models available, starting at 1,218 square feet with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The largest homes are 3,223 square feet with four bedrooms, a den, four-and-a-half bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
Request more information about Trilogy At Vistancia here.
10. Encore at Eastmark – Mesa, AZ
High $200s – Low $500s
Encore at Eastmark is a smaller 55+ community with 973 single-family homes. It’s a 30-minute drive from downtown Mesa. Amenities here include a fitness center, a library, an aerobics and dance center, an outdoor pool, and courts for tennis, pickleball, and bocce.
The 16 models start at 1,339 square feet with two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a two-car garage. The largest models are 3,205 square feet with two bedrooms, a den, two-and-a-half bathrooms, and a three-car garage.
Request more information about Encore at Eastmark here.
