More historic than 8% of U.S. towns · #94 of 140 in Arizona. What drives it
Most of Sun Lakes was built recently: 0.6% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1991. Below: maps from 1914 on and the census since 1980.
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Sun Lakes is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #94 of 140 in Arizona. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
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HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Sun Lakes’ overall grade.
Few Arizona towns list much on the Register (a typical Arizona town has 0.1 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Sun Lakes’ 0.0 sits below most of its state (29% of Arizona towns have fewer) while its 0 listings outnumber those of 23% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on two of the three inputs, so a change in either one moves the letter more than it would with three. The pre-1940 share (±0.6 points) is firm at this size.
Founding year: our sources. Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Sun Lakes’ past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Sun Lakes yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Sun Lakes is a census-designated place (CDP) in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. The population was 14,868 at the 2020 census. Sun Lakes is an active adult community comprising five country club communities in three homeowner associations. These include the gated communities of Oakwood and IronWood (IronOaks), the gated and non-gated communities of Palo Verde and Cottonwood (Cottonwood Palo Verde), and the non-gated community of Sun Lakes 1.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 13,975 to 14,868 (+6%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Sun Lakes is more historic than 8% of U.S. towns, #94 of 140 in Arizona. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
How old are the homes in Sun Lakes?
0.6% of Sun Lakes’ homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate), against a typical 0.4% for an Arizona town; the median home was built in 1991.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
2006
