An active adult community is targeted towards people of 55 years of age or older. Often described as a viable alternative to single-family ownership, active adult communities provide residents with maintenance-free living, close proximity to desirable attractions, and a range of on-site activities and amenities. Each active adult community is designed differently and may include single-family homes, condominiums, town homes, multi-family dwellings, or manufactured housing units.

Active adult communities are designed to offer older adults the chance to enjoy independent, active lifestyles, while providing easy access to a range of social, recreational, and educational pursuits. Many active adult communities offer everything from crafts and movie screenings to tennis and golf. Often, such communities offer designated dining areas and clubhouses as well. In an active adult community, daily living and medical needs are generally not covered. Residents are responsible for seeing to their own dietary, medical, and laundry requirements.

There are two basic types of active adult communities. One type of active adult community is age-restricted, and the other is age-targeted. In the United States, rules created by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) govern age-restricted communities. These rules require at least 80% of the households in an age-restricted active adult community to include an individual who is 55 years of age or older. Individuals under the age of 55 may live in an age-restricted community, but permanent residents must be 19 or older.

An age-targeted active adult community is very much like an age-restricted community. However, age-targeted communities simply aim their marketing materials at individuals who are 55 or older, but do not specifically require residents to be of a certain age. Age-targeted communities make use of carefully structured marketing campaigns to attracted older individuals without minor children, rather than young singles or families. While it is true that children are typically not residents of active adult communities, they are not unwelcome. Many residents have grandchildren visit on a frequent basis.

A popular type of active adult community is the leisure or resort-style community. In this type of active adult community, one can expect to experience resort-style living, complete with pools, golf courses, entertainment, tennis, fitness clubs and more. Some resort-style communities even offer business centers and grand ballrooms.