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Moving to
Sun City Center.
Sun City Center is an unincorporated community in Hillsborough County, FL. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.
What it's like to live in Sun City Center
Sun City Center is an unincorporated community in Florida with a highly educated workforce. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.
The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Sun City Center deals with rent well above the national average, commute times longer than most cities, air quality that falls short of national benchmarks, and larger class sizes than the national average.
The good
- Highly educated workforce
The not so good
- Rent well above the national average
- Above-average commute times
- Air quality concerns
- High student-teacher ratio
- High rent burden for renters
- Hot summers
How Sun City Center compares
Median household income
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
What it takes to move to Sun City Center
Based on Sun City Center's median rent, home value and household income
To rent
$4,312
up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit
- Income to keep rent under 30%: $86,240 a year
- 62% of Sun City Center renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent
To buy
$63,400
a 20% down payment on the median home
- With 10% down: $31,700
- Homes cost 4.3× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)
Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.
The details
Cost of living▲ 53% above US
$2,156/mo median rent
Rent is expensive here, at $2,156 a month median and well above the national average. This is the kind of city where housing costs deserve serious budgeting before committing to a move. Home prices are reasonable, with a median around $317,000. Not a steal, but not intimidating either.
Median home value $317,000 · 62% of renters cost-burdened
Job market
4.0% county unemployment
Unemployment in Hillsborough County is 4.0%, close to the national average of 4.3%. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.
Hillsborough County (county-wide)
Safety
126 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction
Sun City Center doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.
Property crime 436/100k · Policed by Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data
Getting around▲ 29% above US
34 min average commute
Traffic is a real factor here. The 33.5 minute average means plenty of commuters are pushing 45 to 60 minutes on a bad day. Proximity to work matters more here than it might elsewhere. 7 in 10 workers drive to work; 29% work from home.
How workers get to work
Climate
Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 91°F, and winters are mild, with lows rarely dropping below 53°F. Rainfall is regular throughout the year.
Average month
30-year averages, 1991–2020
Healthcare
1 hospital
There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 2.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.
Medicare-certified hospitals
Education & workforceNear US average
39% bachelor's degree or higher
Education levels run about average, with 39% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.
Schools
3 public schools inside the boundary
There are 3 public schools inside the boundary. The student-to-teacher ratio is 20:1, above the national average of 16:1.
Parks & recreation
The nearest national park or historic site is De Soto National Memorial (22 miles away).
Bottom line
Sun City Center's strongest point is a highly educated workforce; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and commute times longer than most cities. A year of median rent ($2,156/mo) equals 35% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (29% of workers here already work from home). It may be a harder fit for renters on a tight budget and people who dread long commutes.
Other places near Sun City Center
All Florida guides →Moving to Ruskin →
5 mi away · pop. 29,834
Rent $1,419/mo · Income $79,235
Compare with Sun City Center →Moving to Apollo Beach →
5 mi away · pop. 33,355
Rent $2,293/mo · Income $127,617
Compare with Sun City Center →Moving to Gibsonton →
10 mi away · pop. 18,754
Rent $1,386/mo · Income $83,875
Compare with Sun City Center →Not sure Sun City Center is the one?
Put it side by side with another city.