Amenities Per Capita Comparison
Sun City vs Margaritaville vs The Haven vs Four Seasons
What Buyers Should Actually Care About
When buyers compare 55+ communities, they often hear:
- “Tons of amenities”
- “Resort-style living”
- “Endless activities”
What they rarely hear is how many people are sharing those amenities.
For buyers coming from the Northeast, where crowding and access matter, the amenities-per-capita ratio often becomes the deciding factor after the first visit.
Methodology
To keep this honest and defensible, this comparison uses:
- Published or commonly cited resident counts or planned home counts
- Amenities confirmed on official community or builder websites
- Ratios expressed as “per 1,000 residents” or “per 1,000 homes”
Where communities are still building out, ratios are shown at full planned buildout, which is the fairest long-term comparison.
Community Size Snapshot
Note: Active adult communities typically average ~2 residents per home, which is why homes are converted to residents where needed.
Amenity Inventory
Sun City Hilton Head
Published amenities include:
- 3 golf courses
- 6 swimming pools
- 18 and soon to be 30 pickleball courts mostly outdoor and some lit.
- Multiple fitness centers
- 2 large amenity campuses
- Softball complex
- Theater
- Hundreds of clubs and activity spaces
Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head
Published amenities include:
- Resort pool complex
- Indoor lap pool
- Fitness center
- Latitude Town Square
- Bandshell and concert venue
- Pickleball and tennis courts
- Walking and biking trails
The Haven at New Riverside
Published amenities include:
- Clubhouse
- Pool
- Fitness room
- Pickleball courts
- Tennis courts
- Bocce
- Activity rooms
Four Seasons at Carolina Oaks
Published amenities include:
- Clubhouse
- Resort-style pool
- Fitness center
- Pickleball courts
- Tennis courts
- Bocce
- Walking trails
- Dog park
Amenities Per Capita Comparison
Golf Courses Per 1,000 Residents
Interpretation:
Sun City has golf, but it is heavily shared due to population size. Great if you like variety. Less great if you want spontaneous tee times.
Pools Per 1,000 Residents
Interpretation:
Smaller communities win here. This is why buyers often say:
“The amenities feel less crowded”
They are.
Clubhouse / Social Space Density
Interpretation:
Sun City offers variety, but The Haven and Four Seasons offer access. This is a key quality-of-life difference.
Pickleball Access
Interpretation:
This is where boutique communities quietly outperform mega-developments.
What This Means for Buyers
Sun City Hilton Head
- Best for variety and scale
- Amenities are impressive but heavily shared
- Works best for full-time residents who plan ahead and use many different facilities
Latitude Margaritaville
- Entertainment-first model
- Amenities are destination-focused rather than distributed
- Works best if events and social programming matter more than daily access
The Haven at New Riverside
- Highest amenities-per-capita ratio
- Fewer total amenities, but easier access
- Works well for buyers who value calm, predictability, and less crowding
Four Seasons at Carolina Oaks
- Strong balance of access and variety
- Modern amenities with fewer users
- Attractive to buyers who want new construction and lower congestion
The Takeaway
If you care about:
- Availability instead of abundance
- Ease of use instead of size
- Predictable access instead of scheduling
Smaller 55+ communities often outperform large ones on a per-person basis, even if they have fewer total amenities.
This is one of the most common “wish we had known this earlier” comments I hear from buyers.
Next step
If you want, I can:
- Match your lifestyle to the best amenities-per-capita fit
- Show you where crowding complaints tend to surface
- Walk you through which amenities you will realistically use weekly vs occasionally
Tell me:
- Full-time or part-time
- Top two communities
- Which amenities you actually use (golf, pickleball, fitness, social, pools)
If you are curious about the HOA and transfer fees CLICK HERE.
That is how you make the right call the first time. You can always reach out to me at carl@SCLowcountryRealEstate.com or 843.247.9373.