Youngtown is a town in Maricopa County, Arizona, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the town was 7,056, It is part of the Phoenix metropolitan area.
History
In 1954, two developers bought of farmland and built the United States' first planned community dedicated exclusively to retirees. Designed by Ben Schleifer, who also had the idea of an active retirement community, the community was ironically named Youngtown. Frances Greer who owned the ranch that the development was built on. In 1955, 125 homes were built, with about 85 other lots sold.
Two years later, in 1957, Youngtown was featured in an episode of Wide Wide World. This put national attention on the area. As a result, more people began moving in, sparking a new movement for the community. A year later in 1960, on January 1, Sun City opened just east of the development. That same year, the town of Youngtown was incorporated and the country's first AARP Chapter was established in the town.
In 1996, the town, citing its age restrictions, denied extending the stay of a 16-year-old child to live in the community. In response, Arizona attorney general Grant Woods investigated and determined that the age ordinance was unenforceable. In response, Youngtown repealed the age restrictions in 1999.
Geography
Youngtown is located on the east bank of the Agua Fria River, just south of US 60. It is bordered on the west by El Mirage, on the south by Glendale, and on the east by the much larger retirement community of Sun City. Youngtown is northwest of downtown Phoenix.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which , or 0.40%, are water.
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Youngtown had a population of 7,056. The median age was 37.2 years. 25.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.7% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 91.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.8 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 2,605 households in Youngtown, of which 35.1% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 35.9% were married-couple households, 20.9% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 34.2% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 33.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 20.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
{| class="wikitable"
!#
!Employer
!# of Employees
|-
|1
|Lifestream Senior Living
|180
|-
|2
|Sunview Health and Rehab
|100
|-
|3
|Ventura Winds Retirement Home
|60
|-
|4
|Ace Hardware
|40
|-
|5
|Motel 6
|40
|-
|6
|Desert Golf Carts
|30
|-
|7
|Water Heaters Only
|30
|-
|8
|Albrecht & Son Painters
|30
|-
|9
|Jack in the Box
|30
|-
|10
|General Exterminating
|30
|}
Education
Youngtown is served by the Peoria Unified School District and the Dysart Unified School District.
Transportation
Youngtown is a member of Valley Metro, the regional transportation agency. Valley Metro Bus route 106 serves the east border of Youngtown on 111th Avenue.
References
External links
- Agua Fria Ranch
- Youngtown on Visit Arizona