Sun Lakes, Arizona
19 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1914 and the latest in 1994. It stands in the Chandler census division. It lies in ZIP code area 85248. The Survey maps it on the Gila Butte NW quadrangle. 14,868 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 1,194 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresSun Lakes grew from 13,975 to 14,868 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 13,975 | |
| 2020 | 14,868 | +893 (+6%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
11 surveys from 19 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1914 USGS Gila Butte quadrangle1:62500
- 1917 USGS Gila Butte quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1952 USGS Gila Butte quadrangle1:62500, 2 printings
- 1952 USGS Gila Butte NW quadrangle1:24000, 3 printings
- 1954 USGS Mesa quadrangle1:250000, 4 printings
- 1957 USGS Mesa quadrangle1:250000
- 1958 USGS Mesa quadrangle1:250000
- 1960 USGS Mesa quadrangle1:250000
- 1964 USGS Mesa quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Gila Butte NW quadrangle1:24000
- 1994 USGS Mesa quadrangle1:100000, 2 printings
Fires near this place
452 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 452 fires within 5 miles of Sun Lakes between 1992 and 2020, burning about 4,085 acres in total. 2 started naturally. 31 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 306 |
| Debris and open burning | 59 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 31 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 25 |
| Smoking | 15 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 10 |
| Natural | 2 |
| Recreation and ceremony | 2 |
| Fireworks | 1 |
| Power generation/transmission/distribution | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 9 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-111932 |
| 8 September 1993 | Debris and open burning | 50 acres | Pima Agency | HAMMER |
| 8 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Pima Agency | BAHE |
| 7 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-110539 |
| 7 September 1994 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Pima Agency | RIGGS |
| 7 September 1992 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 5.0 acres | Pima Agency | ST.PETER#2 |
| 6 September 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Arizona Department of Forestry and Fire Management - State Office | AZ-110538 |
| 5 September 2018 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | under an acre | Chandler Fire Department | 329217 |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
8 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 8 workings within 5 miles of Sun Lakes: 7 past producers, 1 unknown. None of them still produces. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | ||
| Gravel Pit | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Unknown | ||
| Sand and Gravel Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sand and Gravel | |
| Sand and Gravel Quarry | Sand and Gravel, Construction | Past Producer | Sand and Gravel |
Storms near this place
8 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Sun Lakes in 8 storm reports between 1999 and 2023: 5 thunderstorm wind, 1 lightning, 1 heavy rain, 1 hail. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| August 1999 | Lightning | Sun Lakes | 1 hurt | A worker was struck by lightning while installing an air conditioner in a new home in Sun Lakes. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sun Lakes | $1,000,000 | Microburst winds hit Chandler airport and flipped at least two planes. Winds also damaged a fence and other property. Northeast winds peaked at 67 mph at 3:25 pm. |
| August 2004 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sun Lakes | $200,000 | Severe thunderstorms developed along the Maricopa and northwest Pinal County line, in vicinity of Sun Lakes. Damaging high winds, multiple microbursts, were primarily in the southern side of Sun Lakes, and the adjacent desert to the south of the community in Pinal County (6 N Bapchule). 80 manufactured mobile homes sustained heavy damage, roofs, carports, sheds, and awnings, and 25 medium to large trees were uprooted. |
| September 2011 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sun Lakes | $15,000 | Scattered thunderstorms with strong damaging wind moved across the eastern greater Phoenix area during the evening hours on September 10th. At 830 pm a trained weather spotter in Chandler reported that several tree branches as large as 9 inches in diameter were broken off by strong wind. At approximately 8 pm, local media reported a number of trees down in northeast Gilbert, between Elliot and Baseline roads on Val Vista. |
| August 2021 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sun Lakes | $1,500 | Photos on social media showed a large uprooted tree along Alma School Road between Ray Road and Chandler Boulevard, causing damage to a block wall along with knocking down a light pole. No injuries were reported. |
| September 2023 | Hail | Sun Lakes | - | Public report of hailstones of 3/4 inch in diameter near Germann Rd and Dobson Rd. |
| July 2010 | Heavy Rain | Sun Lakes | - | Heavy rain produced standing water across Interstate 10. |
| August 2008 | Thunderstorm Wind | Sun Lakes | - | Several trees down and a hangar door damaged at the airport. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ocotillo | 2.4 miles | 20 | |
| Serape | 2.5 miles | 20 | |
| Hamilton Corner | 3.1 miles | 20 | |
| Pozo | 4.9 miles | 20 | |
| Rancho de Chandler | 6.1 miles | 20 | |
| The Haciendas | 6.3 miles | 20 | |
| Hightown | 6.7 miles | 21 | |
| Chandler | 6.8 miles | 20 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Sun Lakes | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q613472 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 25113. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.










