Sun City Texas

Sun City Texas is the largest 55+ active adult community in the Lone Star State and one of the largest in the country, sprawling across roughly 5,300 acres in Georgetown, about 35 to 40 miles north of Austin. Since Del Webb broke ground in 1995, it has grown to more than 7,500 homes and continues to sell new construction, with full buildout targeted in the late 2020s to early 2030s at approximately 9,900 residences. The scale is hard to overstate — locals describe it as roughly ten square miles of community, organized into more than 60 distinct neighborhoods, each of which develops its own identity. Smaller neighborhoods (around 50 homes) tend to be the most cohesive, with active block captains, social committees, and regular programming; larger sections (200–300 homes) sometimes struggle to keep that going, which is why long-time residents consistently advise newcomers to talk to the immediate neighbors before buying. The heart of community life centers on 86,000 square feet of resort-style amenities spread across multiple amenity centers — not one. The newest center features an indoor pool and spa, a large gym, and state-of-the-art fitness equipment; a smaller outlying center offers four pickleball courts, a large outdoor pool with what residents call the biggest hot tub in the community, and a gym with visual arts space. Three championship 18-hole golf courses — Legacy Hills, White Wing, and Cowan Creek — rotate closed days each Monday for maintenance. A single residency membership covers all three courses; tee times book seven days out through the community's Chelsea system, and in summer the courses run shotgun starts at 8 AM and 1 PM to beat the Texas heat. Most neighborhoods have a golf captain who organizes weekly groups (typically Tuesday and Friday), juggling foursomes so you're not always playing with the same people. Racquet sports are a major draw. Sun City Texas offers 26 pickleball courts — one of the largest inventories in any 55+ community nationally — and 12 lighted tennis courts, along with bocce, shuffleboard, lawn bowling, and a softball complex with its own league. Two on-property fishing spots give anglers a fishing culture without leaving home: a catch-and-release pond on the Cowan Creek course (no license required since it's privately owned) and Berry Creek, a state waterway running through the community (license required). The Huntington Fishing Club runs tournaments at the pond. There's also a dedicated RC car track supporting an unusually deep bench of four separate remote-control car clubs, plus a model railroad club, a Corvette club, a classic car club, and a hiking club that has helped design and build more than 60 miles of trails — including wooded nature trails where you can walk three hours without seeing a house. Perhaps the most distinctive single facility is the craft complex. Residents describe it as the largest of any Sun City community in the country. Under one roof it houses a glass shop, a pottery shop, a porcelain painting shop, a sewing shop, a fabric-and-fiber studio, and painting studios. A $20-a-year membership covers access; specialty classes run about $4 each and residents buy their own supplies. Beyond crafts, the community runs 145+ active clubs, special interest groups, and service organizations — bridge, canasta, bunco, poker, mahjong, two investment groups, travel, wine, book, cooking, hiking, cycling, motorcycle, car, RV, Knife RV, veterans, Texas history, genealogy, chorus, theater, singles, and countless others. The Community Association publishes the monthly Sun Rays magazine listing everything going on. A 600-person ballroom (paired with a smaller secondary ballroom) hosts concerts, entertainment, and movies four to seven times a month. Twice-monthly dances rotate between ballroom, rock-and-roll, country-western, and holiday specials, with a distinctly BYO culture — residents bring their own drink, snacks, and folding chairs. Three outdoor pavilions (the largest with bathrooms and a grill) anchor neighborhood tailgates, chili cook-offs, and holiday parties. A lakeside amphitheater hosts free outdoor concerts featuring local Sun City bands, with residents laying out wine, cheese, and crackers. On-site day-to-day infrastructure is surprisingly complete for a residential community. There's a post office, a gas station and convenience store called the City Market (also a truck-stop-style eatery famous among residents for its greasy, sweet-Hawaiian-bun cheeseburger), Wrigley's sports pub (pizza, quesadillas, family food — residents pick up by golf cart), and additional restaurants tied to the golf clubhouses. The horticulture club runs community gardens with 100–200 individual 5-by-25-foot raised beds, plus a set of beds the club itself tends to donate produce to local food pantries. Three dog parks — a pair of big-dog and small-dog parks at the main center plus an older park — make this a pet-friendly community. Golf-cart culture is the norm for getting around internally, and most Echelon-series homes include a dedicated golf-cart garage bay. Home styles include single-family detached homes and attached duplex-style villas. Del Webb currently sells eleven active floorplans across three series. The Scenic series covers smaller homes like the Contour (1,350 sq ft, starting in the mid-$330Ks) and Compass (1,409 sq ft, starting around $340K). The Distinctive series includes the Palmary (1,909 sq ft, mid-$440Ks), Prestige (2,043 sq ft, mid-$460Ks), Mainstay (1,919 sq ft base with optional upstairs bonus suite), and Prosperity. The Echelon series steps up to the Stellar (2,308 sq ft, mid-$560Ks, optional fourth bedroom), Reverence, and the top-of-line Renown (2,784 sq ft, mid-$610Ks). Resales are the more common entry point given the community's maturity, ranging from the low $300s on small villas up through the $700s and $800s on executive homes, with median sales in the high $350s to $370s. HOA fees run $160 to $400 per month depending on the neighborhood, with seven neighborhoods (14a, 24a, 25, 30, 24B1, 24B2, 33) on an optional Del Webb yard-maintenance program adding roughly $1,000 per year; otherwise, lawn care is the homeowner's responsibility. A one-time $1,000 working-capital fee applies at closing on new construction. Fencing is restricted to wrought-iron (no privacy fences), keeping sightlines and breezes open across the community. New construction buyers can be as young as 50 (provided at least one occupant meets the 55+ residency requirement), and the community reports an average household size of about 1.78 — reflecting a notable share of single residents alongside couples. Location is a real strength. Sun City sits inside Georgetown — a charming historic town with a vibrant town square, the San Gabriel River, Blue Hole swimming spot, and one of the most walkable downtowns in Central Texas — with straight-shot access to Austin, Round Rock, and Cedar Park via I-35 and Ronald Reagan Boulevard (TX-195 and SH-130 are the other major regional arteries). HEB grocery is six to ten minutes away; Costco is about ten minutes, with a second Costco under construction nearby. St. David's Georgetown Hospital — one of the highest-rated community hospitals in Texas — is minutes away, and a Baylor Scott & White clinic sits directly adjacent to the community. Austin-Bergstrom International Airport is about 50 minutes south. The Hill Country, Lake Travis, Lake Georgetown, and the Highland Lakes chain are all easy day trips. Community-organized travel is a category of its own: trips have included Morocco, 30-day Atlantic crossings, day excursions to Esther's Follies comedy club in Austin, and plays and concerts in San Antonio. Crime is minimal — residents say the top local concern is scams and fraud rather than property crime. For retirees who want real Texas seasons, an engaged social culture, an unmatched amenity footprint, and a self-contained community with a near-small-town feel, Sun City Texas has set the benchmark — and 55places named it Community of the Year in 2023.