Living in Myrtle Beach: A Complete Guide to the Community

Kicking off this series, I want to start where most people's Grand Strand story starts: Myrtle Beach itself. Not the postcard version — the actual, on-the-ground version, backed by real numbers. This one runs long on purpose, because "should I live here" deserves more than a highlight reel.

Where It Sits

Myrtle Beach sits in Horry County, right in the middle of the 60-mile stretch of coastline known as the Grand Strand. It's about 67 miles southeast of Florence, 94 miles northeast of Charleston, and 74 miles southwest of Wilmington, North Carolina — close enough to both South Carolina's biggest cities and North Carolina's coast to make it a genuine hub, not just a beach town.

Who's Living in Myrtle Beach

The city itself is home to an estimated 40,937 residents as of the Census Bureau's July 2025 population estimate, with a median household income of $60,394. That's the city proper — the wider Myrtle Beach metro area, which includes the surrounding Grand Strand communities, is estimated at roughly 479,000 people, making it one of the faster-growing metro areas in the country. In other words: a small city at its core, with a much bigger community built around it.

The Real Estate Market, in One Place

Since this guide is meant to be a practical planning tool, here's where the Myrtle Beach housing market actually stood as of the most recent MLS report (Coastal Carolinas Association of REALTORS®, July 2026, ZIP codes 29572/29577):

• Single-family homes: median sales price of $480,000 in July, with 319 homes on the market and a median of 130 days to sell — up from 119 days a year earlier, meaning buyers currently have more room to negotiate than they did in 2025.

• Townhomes/condos: median sales price of $217,450, with 1,446 units available and a median of 144 days on market.

For the full monthly breakdown and what it means depending on whether you're buying or selling, see this month's market update post — I keep that one refreshed monthly so you always have the current numbers, not last year's.

What It Actually Costs to Live Here

Real estate price is only part of the budget conversation, and it's worth knowing the mechanics before you commit:

Property taxes in South Carolina run on a two-tier system. Owner-occupied primary residences qualify for a 4% assessment ratio under the state's Legal Residence exemption (SC Code of Laws § 12-43-220(c)(1)), which also exempts the property from school operating millage. Second homes, investment properties, and rental properties are assessed at 6% — nearly double the effective tax bill on an identical home. If you're buying a primary residence, you'll need to file a Legal Residence application with the Horry County Assessor (typically by the first penalty date on your tax notice), providing your SC driver's license, vehicle registration, and proof of residency.

Sales tax in Myrtle Beach runs 9% combined — 6% state, plus 1% each for the city, the Horry County School District, and Horry County transportation.

State income tax matters most for anyone relocating for retirement: South Carolina does not tax Social Security benefits, railroad retirement income, or military reserve/National Guard retirement pay. Residents 65 and older can also claim up to a $15,000 deduction against South Carolina income, on top of a $10,000 deduction on qualifying retirement account income. On earned income, the state uses a graduated structure that tops out at 6% for income over $17,830.

(Tax rules change — verify current figures with a CPA or the SC Department of Revenue before making a financial decision based on them.)

A Look at the Neighborhoods

Myrtle Beach isn't one uniform stretch of condos — it's made up of distinct residential pockets, each with its own character: Arcadian Shores, Grande Dunes, Myrtlewood, Ocean Forest, Pine Lakes, Plantation Point, Withers Swash, and Benton Park, among others. Some sit directly on the ocean, some are built around golf courses, and some are quieter and set back from the tourist corridor entirely. The right one for you depends on what you're actually looking for — proximity to the beach, a golf-course lot, walkability, or simply quiet — and that's exactly the kind of thing worth walking through in person rather than guessing from a listing photo. I'll be covering several of these neighborhoods in depth later in this series, with their own dedicated guides.

Climate: What to Actually Expect

Myrtle Beach has a humid subtropical climate with more than 2,800 hours of sunshine a year. Summers run hot and humid, typically in the 83–91°F range during the day, while winters are mild, usually 57–61°F, with only about 33 frost days a year and rare snowfall. Hurricane season runs September through October — a normal part of coastal living here, and one worth planning around with the right insurance and preparation rather than avoiding altogether. (More on that in an upcoming post dedicated entirely to hurricane season prep.)

Beach Access: More Public Than People Expect

One thing that surprises a lot of new residents: beach access here is genuinely public and well maintained. Horry County maintains more than 20 public access points along the Grand Strand, including free, year-round parking at oceanfront accesses in Garden City and at the Nash Street access near Myrtle Beach State Park. Several access points — Cedar Avenue, Holly Avenue, and Azalea — include showers and portable restrooms, and a handful, including Seabreeze Drive and Hawes Avenue, have permanent restrooms. Beach wheelchairs are also available by reservation at many locations for visitors and residents with mobility needs. Living here doesn't mean living behind a resort gate to reach the sand.

Healthcare Access

Grand Strand Health, part of HCA Healthcare, anchors the area's medical care through Grand Strand Medical Center — a 403-bed acute care hospital that operates the region's only cardiac surgery program, neurosurgery program, pediatric intensive care unit, and Comprehensive Stroke Center. The system also runs four 24/7 freestanding emergency rooms across the Grand Strand, along with Level I adult and Level II pediatric trauma services. For a region historically thought of as a tourist destination first, it's a meaningfully robust healthcare footprint for full-time residents.

Schools

Myrtle Beach is served by Horry County Schools, which educates roughly 40,000 students and is the third-largest school district in South Carolina. If school district boundaries matter to your decision, that's a detail I can pull up specifically for any address you're considering — district lines don't always follow neighborhood lines the way you'd expect.

Getting Around Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach International Airport sits about three miles southwest of downtown and offers direct connections to major U.S. destinations, plus seasonal international service — a real advantage if you're relocating from out of state or splitting time between here and somewhere else. Around town, most residents rely on a car, though several beachfront neighborhoods are walkable or golf-cart-friendly for day-to-day errands — something I'll cover in more depth in a future post on walkability along the Grand Strand.

What There To Do While Living in Myrtle Beach

Tourism is the engine of the local economy, and it's a big one: the area draws more than 20 million visitors a year to its beaches, 86-plus golf courses, 1,800-plus restaurants, and attractions like the Myrtle Beach Boardwalk, along with aquariums, amusement parks, and live entertainment venues. If you live here, that means an enormous amount of dining, golf, and entertainment on your own doorstep, year-round — not just during someone else's vacation week.

This is exactly the kind of on-the-ground detail I break down every week on my YouTube channel, The Logic Behind the Lifestyle — because a decision this big should be based on real information, not a highlight reel.

Curious whether Myrtle Beach itself is the right fit, or whether one of the surrounding Grand Strand communities makes more sense for what you're after? Let's talk it through — I'll give you the straight answer, not just the sales pitch.

Lori Lee