Youngtown is a small community on the western side of the Valley of the Sun (Phoenix Metroplex). Back in 1954, Ben Schleifer (a local real estate broker) and Clarence Suggs (a local banker) bought 320 acres of cotton farmland and formed the Youngtown Land & Investment Company to develop Arizona's first master-planned community exclusively for retirees. Youngtown was incorporated in 1960 as a town inhabited exclusively by senior citizens. AARP Chapter #1 was formed in Youngtown that same year.

Since then, Youngtown has grown in size from 0.5 square miles to 1.3 square miles. The age limit was changed in 1998 and now folks of all ages are allowed to live in Youngtown. However, because of that humble beginning, Youngtown still retains that quiet small town feel while providing residents with an excellent city library, a lake, a clubhouse and 5 city parks.