North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina

Area Profile

19,855 residents. Public schools, jobs, income, housing cost, climate and natural-hazard risk for North Myrtle Beach, in Horry County.

62out of 100
Area Score
Top 37% of 4,196 profiles measured

How we calculate this

How this area ranks

Data updated · 16 sources
OpportunityTop 20% of 4,199 cities measured73
SchoolsTop 28% of 4,162 cities measured67
GrowthTop 1% of 4,224 cities measured89
Housing affordability3,675th of 4,218 cities measured43
ClimateTop 9% of 4,225 cities measured85
Physical resilience3,576th of 4,226 cities measured21
Access2,384th of 4,226 cities measured91
Economic stability3,370th of 4,226 cities measured39
The quick read

North Myrtle Beach ranks in the top 20% of cities measured for employment opportunity, with unemployment at 4.4% and median household income of $72,722. The unemployment rate is published for Horry County, SC, which contains North Myrtle Beach, rather than for North Myrtle Beach alone.

In the public schools here, 63% of students met the state standard in mathematics, with 15.8 students for every teacher. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Horry County, SC, which contains North Myrtle Beach, rather than for North Myrtle Beach alone.

Development activity is both elevated and accelerating — 1,008 housing units permitted over the past twelve months, up 21% on the prior year.

These sentences are written by fixed rules from the measurements below — a statement appears because a number crossed a stated threshold, and the values behind it are stored with it. No figure anywhere on this site is invented, estimated or inferred to fill a gap. How this works.

At a glance

Population
19,855
2024 ACS 5-Year
Median household income
$72,722
Top 42% nationally
Density
885/sq mi
22.4 sq mi of land
Median age
61.9
2024 ACS 5-Year
County
South Carolina
Nearest major airport
MYR
16 mi · Myrtle Beach Intl
Median home value
$416,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

Jobs & opportunity

Unemployment across Horry County, SC, which contains North Myrtle Beach, is 4.4% — higher than in all but 47% of the 4,226 measured US cities.

Employment across Horry County, SC, which contains North Myrtle Beach, grew 5.6% over the past year, to 181,309 employed residents.

40% of adults hold a four-year degree, higher than 81% of measured US cities.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Income of new arrivalsHorry County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$82,98964th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Income of those who leftHorry County, SC’s figurefiling years 2022–2023$55,20715th percentileof 4,101filing years 2022–2023
Median household income ±$3,8622024 ACS 5-Year$72,722Top 42%of 29,2232024 ACS 5-Year
Per capita income ±$3,9552024 ACS 5-Year$51,483Top 16%of 31,4202024 ACS 5-Year
Poverty rate ±2%2024 ACS 5-Year6.2%Top 30%of 31,7732024 ACS 5-Year
Average commute ±1.8 min2024 ACS 5-Year22.5 minTop 28%of 31,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Bachelor's degree or higher ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year39.9%Top 19%of 31,9192024 ACS 5-Year
Drove alone to work ±5%2024 ACS 5-Year70.6%29th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
EmploymentHorry County, SC’s figureJuly 2026181,309Top 34%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (3 years)Horry County, SC’s figureJuly 2026+7.4%Top 2%of 4,226July 2026
Employment change (year over year)Horry County, SC’s figureJuly 2026+5.6%Top 1%of 4,226July 2026
Labor forceHorry County, SC’s figureJuly 2026189,71766th percentileof 4,226July 2026
Labor force participation ±4%2024 ACS 5-Year64.6%Bottom 17%of 31,5132024 ACS 5-Year
Mean annual wageMyrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$49,710Bottom 2%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Median annual wageMyrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area’s figure2025 OEWS$37,930Bottom 1%of 3,7292025 OEWS
Public transit to work ±1%2024 ACS 5-Year0.9%84th percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year
Unemployment change (year over year)Horry County, SC’s figureJuly 2026−0.8%Top 17%of 4,226July 2026
Unemployment rateHorry County, SC’s figureJuly 20264.4%Bottom 47%of 4,226July 2026
Worked from home ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year17.9%82nd percentileof 31,4332024 ACS 5-Year

Median household income, successive ACS releases

202120222023202473k64k
Each point is a separate five-year estimate, most recently $72,722 in the 2024 ACS 5-Year. Consecutive releases share four years of sample, so AreaProfile shows them as a record of successive estimates and does not compute a year-over-year change from them.

Largest occupations — Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC

OccupationPeople employedMedian annual wage
Retail Salespersons7,780$29,320
Waiters and Waitresses6,390$17,350
Fast Food and Counter Workers5,200$27,600
Cashiers4,710$27,850
Cooks, Restaurant3,420$35,190
Registered Nurses3,150$80,640

Searches the 40 largest occupations here that have a published wage.

Occupational employment and wages are published for metropolitan areas rather than for individual cities or ZIP areas, so these describe the wider labor market this location sits in. 2025 OEWS, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes city-level labor data only for places of 25,000 or more. This is the figure for Horry County, SC, which contains this city.

63% of students met the state standard in mathematics and 61% in reading, across the schools here that reported results. Math proficiency and 1 other measure here are published for Horry County, SC, which contains North Myrtle Beach, rather than for North Myrtle Beach alone.

There are 15.8 students for every full-time teacher across 1 public school, more than in most measured places. The student-teacher ratio is published for Horry County, SC, which contains North Myrtle Beach, rather than for North Myrtle Beach alone.

Public schools
1
2024-25 school year
Students per teacher
15.8
across all schools here
Math proficiency
62.8%
Top 25% in South Carolina
Reading proficiency
61.0%
Top 33% in South Carolina

The proficiency and staffing figures above are for Horry County, SC: too few schools in North Myrtle Beach reported a usable figure on their own to weight one honestly. The schools listed below are this place’s own.

The one public school on record, largest first.
SchoolDistrictStudentsPer teacherMathReading
Ocean Drive ElementaryHorry 0185215.871%63%

Public schools only, from the NCES Common Core of Data, placed by ZIP code — which schools are in this place, not which one a particular address is zoned for. A dash in a proficiency column is a gap in the federal file, not a bad result. Proficiency is measured against South Carolina’s own standard, so it is ranked within state. How to read school figures.

Prices for everything a household buys run about 6% below the national average — the Bureau of Economic Analysis index reads 93.8, against 100 for the nation. Nationally, housing drives most of the spread between places in this index; other goods vary far less.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency’s house price index for the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area is up 52% over five years, and up 0.8% over the last year. It follows repeat sales of the same homes, so it measures price change rather than which homes happened to sell.

Homeowners here who pay a tax bill pay a median of $1,453 a year in real estate taxes, about 0.35% of the median home value.

HUD’s Fair Market Rent for a two-bedroom, set near the 40th percentile of recent new leases, is $1,465, some 16% above the $1,263 tenants already here pay.

At HUD’s Fair Market Rent of $1,465 a month for a two-bedroom, keeping rent to 30% of income takes a household income of about $58,600 a year, about 81% of the median household income here of $72,722.

The typical renter household here spends 34% of its income on rent, above the 30% threshold at which a household is considered cost-burdened. Median gross rent runs $1,263 a month.

A median home at $416,900 costs 5.0 times the median income of its owner-occupied households, $83,735, above the historic benchmark of about 3 times income.

Cost of living
93.8

Prices here run about 6% below the national average. The spread between places is driven mostly by housing — goods vary far less — and this excludes taxes.

Published for the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area as a whole. Prices are regional — people shop, commute and rent across a metropolitan area rather than within a city boundary — so this describes the cost of living around this place better than a figure drawn to its own limits would.

Rent as a share of income
34.2%
Above the 30% cost-burdened threshold
Home price to income
5.0×
median home value ÷ owner household income
Market rent, two bedroom
$1,465
what a new lease costs · FY2026
Median gross rent
$1,263
what tenants now pay · 2024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value
$416,900
2024 ACS 5-Year

The figures above are measured against North Myrtle Beach’s median household income of $72,722, which describes the place rather than you. Enter your own and the ratio is recomputed against it. It stays in this browser.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Cost of living indexthe Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area’s figure202393.8Top 21%of 3,7002023
Home price change (1 year)the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+0.8%15th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (5 years)the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+52.1%85th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price change (10 years)the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area’s figure2026 Q2+109.2%74th percentileof 4,1542026 Q2
Home price to income ±0.42024 ACS 5-Year5.0Bottom 9%of 26,8152024 ACS 5-Year
Homeownership rate ±3%2024 ACS 5-Year82.2%63rd percentileof 31,7172024 ACS 5-Year
Housing units ±7532024 ACS 5-Year27,60898th percentileof 32,1772024 ACS 5-Year
Market rent, one bedroomFY2026$1,229Top 39%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, three bedroomFY2026$1,805Top 34%of 4,072FY2026
Market rent, two bedroomFY2026$1,465Top 38%of 4,072FY2026
Median gross rent ±$1172024 ACS 5-Year$1,263Bottom 29%of 23,1202024 ACS 5-Year
Median home value ±$17,3652024 ACS 5-Year$416,90084th percentileof 29,1112024 ACS 5-Year
Median property taxes ±$902024 ACS 5-Year$1,45341st percentileof 26,4402024 ACS 5-Year
Owner household income ±$6,6022024 ACS 5-Year$83,735Top 44%of 27,5482024 ACS 5-Year
Property tax rate ±0.03%2024 ACS 5-Year0.35%3rd percentileof 20,5432024 ACS 5-Year
Rent as a share of income ±7%2024 ACS 5-Year34.2%Bottom 23%of 22,9502024 ACS 5-Year
Seasonal and second homes ±7282024 ACS 5-Year13,34799th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year
Second homes2024 ACS 5-Year48.3%97th percentileof 31,8952024 ACS 5-Year
Vacancy rate2024 ACS 5-Year15.6%80th percentileof 31,7692024 ACS 5-Year
Vacant housing units ±5812024 ACS 5-Year17,64199th percentileof 32,3302024 ACS 5-Year

These measures come from the same ACS release as the income they are compared with. They compare housing cost with local earnings only: transport, groceries, healthcare, insurance and taxes are not in them. How to read affordability, the two rent figures and the cost-of-living index.

Development Momentum

89/ 100
Top 1% of 4,224 published city profiles
Permitting has been rising for the last 2 years of a series running from 2020 to 2025. That is the direction of the recent run. The chart below compares the first year with the last, which can point the other way.

An AreaProfile calculation combining permit volume per resident, its direction over one and three years, population change and employment growth. Permit volume alone is not the measure.

Population has grown 10% since 2020, reaching 20,798 in 2024.

Population is still rising but the pace is easing: 20,798 residents in 2024, up 2.2% over the year, a smaller gain than the year before.

New construction is predominantly single-family: of 1,008 units permitted over the past twelve months, none were in buildings of five or more homes.

Federal tax returns show Horry County, which contains North Myrtle Beach, gained about 3.7% of its residents through moves within the US in the most recent year, counting those who arrived against those who left. Households that moved in reported an average income of $82,989, above the $55,207 of households that moved out.

At 50.8 permitted units per 1,000 residents, building activity is above the median for measured US cities.

Units permitted
1,008
12 months ending July 2026
Per 1,000 residents
50.8
Top 1% nationally
Year over year
+21%
vs the prior twelve months
Multifamily share
0.0%
units in 5+ unit buildings

Population, annual estimates

2020202120222023202421k19k
Census Population Estimates Program, July 1 of each year. These annual estimates are designed for year-over-year comparison, unlike the ACS five-year figure shown as this profile's population. It has been rising for the last 4 years, over a series running from 2020 to 2024.

People moving in and out

Net migration
+3.7%
of residents, in a year
Arrivals from another state
86%
of people moving in
Income of arrivals
$82,989
average per tax return
Income of those who left
$55,207
average per tax return

Where newcomers came from

  1. Georgetown County, SC 906 people · 3.5% of arrivals
  2. Suffolk County, NY 558 people · 2.2% of arrivals
  3. Brunswick County, NC 416 people · 1.6% of arrivals
  4. Mecklenburg County, NC 351 people · 1.4% of arrivals
  5. Wake County, NC 316 people · 1.2% of arrivals

Where people who left went

  1. Georgetown County, SC 856 people · 5.9% of departures
  2. Brunswick County, NC 356 people · 2.4% of departures
  3. Marion County, SC 345 people · 2.4% of departures
  4. Charleston County, SC 300 people · 2.1% of departures
  5. Florence County, SC 269 people · 1.8% of departures

Based on the address on federal tax returns, compared with the same filers a year earlier. It counts people who file, and sees a move only when the address on a return changes. Domestic moves only: people arriving from abroad are left out. This is the figure for Horry County, SC. IRS Statistics of Income, filing years 2022–2023.

Housing units permitted per year

202020212022202320242025967380
Annual totals from the Census Building Permits Survey. Permitting in 2025 was higher than 2020 (+154%).

Weather & climate

8 of the twelve months have a normal average temperature between 55°F and 80°F. July averages a high of 88°F and January a low of 37°F.

Normal annual precipitation is 48.5 inches.

Air quality measures a median index of 40, in the Good band, and no day in the year passed 100.

30°50°70°90°JFMAMJJASOND
Solid line: normal daily high. Dashed line: normal daily low. 1991-2020 normals from NOAA station N MYRTLE BCH AP, 1.4 miles from this location.

Precipitation

JFMAMJJASOND6.7"
Normal monthly precipitation, in inches.
MetricValueSource period
90th percentile air quality index2024 calendar year552024 calendar year
Annual precipitation1991-2020 Normals48.5"1991-2020 Normals
Average January low1991-2020 Normals37°F1991-2020 Normals
Average July high1991-2020 Normals88°F1991-2020 Normals
Comfortable months1991-2020 Normals81991-2020 Normals
Days above AQI 1002024 calendar year02024 calendar year
Median air quality index2024 calendar year402024 calendar year
Seasonal temperature swing1991-2020 Normals34°F1991-2020 Normals

Air quality

Median air quality index
40
Good on a typical day
Worst tenth of days
55
90th percentile index
Days above 100
0
unhealthy for sensitive groups

A comfortable median and a bad tail are different problems. Wildfire smoke and summer ozone show up in the worst tenth of days, not in the middle of the year.

Climate figures are thirty-year normals, not current conditions. Air quality is measured by EPA monitors and published by county only where a monitor sits; a county without one shows nothing rather than an estimate, and a county reading is still the county’s. How to read climate and air quality.

Physical risk

21 / 100
Physical resilience

The hazards accounting for most of this area's expected annual loss are hurricane, inland flooding and earthquake, with hurricane alone responsible for 69% of it. Inland flooding is independently rated low or minimal nationally, so this describes how the loss is composed, not how large that hazard is.

HurricaneHigh
EarthquakeElevated
LightningModerate
Coastal floodingModerate

Low or minimal exposure: tornado, winter weather, heat wave, ice storm, inland flooding, wildfire, cold wave, strong wind, drought, hail, landslide, tsunami, volcanic activity, avalanche.

Hazard ratings are AreaProfile calculations derived from the FEMA National Risk Index v1.20.0 (December 2025). FEMA publishes at county level. City values are the population-weighted mean of the counties the city overlaps, using AreaProfile place-to-county land-area weights. FEMA does not endorse this presentation. Higher physical resilience means lower exposure.

Violent crime
305
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year
Property crime
3,860
per 100,000 residents · 2025 calendar year

Below these are deaths rather than offenses, published for the county. The two measure different things and are not comparable with each other.

North Myrtle Beach's police department reported 305 violent offenses per 100,000 residents, near the middle of places with a department reporting. Property crime runs at 3,860.

Horry County records 5.0 homicide deaths per 100,000 residents a year, near the middle of counties measured. The CDC does not publish this below county level.

Firearm deaths of all intents run at 19.1 per 100,000 — more than the homicide rate, since the figure counts suicides and accidents as well as homicides.

Drug overdose deaths run at 27.7 per 100,000 residents in Horry County.

Homicide
5.0
per 100,000 residents
Firearm deaths, all intents
19.1
per 100,000 residents
Drug overdose
27.7
per 100,000 residents
Suicide
17.9
per 100,000 residents

Firearm deaths count every intent together, and nationally the majority are suicides rather than homicides, so the firearm figure and the homicide figure above it count some of the same deaths twice over. They overlap and should not be added together.

Offenses are reported to the FBI by North Myrtle Beach’s own police department and shown only where it reported every month of the year; a partial year is withheld rather than scaled up. Reported crime is what police recorded, which is not the same as what happened. Death rates are crude rates — deaths divided by population, not adjusted for age — except where a count was too small for the CDC to publish and it modeled the rate, which the card marks. They come from provisional death certificate records, published by the CDC by county and not below it. So they describe the county around North Myrtle Beach (Horry County) rather than North Myrtle Beach itself. Neither is part of the Area Score. How to read crime rates and death rates.

What this profile does not cover

Each of these is absent for a reason, not by oversight. The Area Score is calculated without them; the weighting is on the methodology page.

Taxes
Income and sales taxes are not published: no source covers them nationally with a method open enough to check. Property taxes are shown in the housing section but are not part of the score. The cost-of-living index above is a price level for all consumption, not a household budget, and it excludes taxes. Nothing here is individualized tax advice.
Anything about a specific address
Every figure describes an area, not a street or a house.

Access

2 major airports lie within 100 miles, the nearest Myrtle Beach Intl at 16 miles.

MetricValueCompared nationallySource period
Broadband access ±6%2024 ACS 5-Year93.7%Top 31%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
Distance to major airportNASR current cycle16 miTop 46%of 4,226NASR current cycle
Major airports within 100 milesNASR current cycle2Bottom 8%of 4,226NASR current cycle
No internet access ±0.9%2024 ACS 5-Year1.6%Top 17%of 31,5882024 ACS 5-Year
AirportCodeDistanceLongest runway
Myrtle Beach IntlMYR16 mi9,503 ft
Wilmington IntlILM55 mi8,016 ft
Charleston AFB/IntlCHS100 mi9,001 ft

Airport identity, position and runway data come from the FAA. “Major airport” is an AreaProfile classification — a public-use civil airport with a paved runway of at least 8,000 feet — not an FAA hub designation. Distances are straight-line, not driving distance.

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Area Score
62
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Other cities in Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC

Same metropolitan area, measured the same way
CityCountyPopulationArea ScoreCompare
Myrtle BeachHorry County38,37158Myrtle Beach vs North Myrtle Beach
ConwayHorry County27,26356Conway vs North Myrtle Beach
Carolina ForestHorry County26,26366Carolina Forest vs North Myrtle Beach
SocasteeHorry County23,79664
Red HillHorry County15,92064
Little RiverHorry County11,77160
Garden CityHorry County11,59162
Murrells InletHorry County10,04465

Every city here is measured on the same scale from the same source releases, so the comparison is like for like. A higher Area Score reflects AreaProfile’s standardized weighting rather than a judgment about which is the better place to live.

Compare

Put North Myrtle Beach side by side with a similar place.

North Myrtle Beach vs Little RiverNorth Myrtle Beach vs Palm Coast

Moving to North Myrtle Beach from somewhere else?

You get the difference in prices, rent and weather, and the income that would keep pace.

Data & methodology

Used forSourceSource period
AccessFederal Aviation Administration
Airports (NASR) — Aeronautical Data Delivery Service
NASR current cycle
SafetyFederal Bureau of Investigation, Crime Data Explorer
Summarized offense counts by law enforcement agency
2025 calendar year
Physical riskFederal Emergency Management Agency
National Risk Index
National Risk Index December 2025 (v1.20.0)
Demographics, IncomeInternal Revenue Service, Statistics of Income Division
U.S. Population Migration Data (county to county)
filing years 2022–2023
ClimateNOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
U.S. Climate Normals 1991–2020 (Monthly)
1991-2020 Normals
HousingU.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis
Regional price parities and county personal income
2023
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics
2025 OEWS
JobsU.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Local Area Unemployment Statistics
July 2026
DemographicsU.S. Census Bureau
Population Estimates Program
July 1, 2024 estimate
DevelopmentU.S. Census Bureau
Building Permits Survey
12 months ending July 2026
Access, Demographics, Housing, Income, JobsU.S. Census Bureau
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates (Table-Based Summary File)
2024 ACS 5-Year
SafetyU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Center for Health Statistics
Provisional county-level mortality by intent
March 2025 to February 2026; May 2025 to April 2026
SchoolsU.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Common Core of Data and EDFacts assessments
2018-19 school year; 2024-25 school year
HousingU.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, Office of Policy Development and Research
Fair Market Rents
FY2026
ClimateU.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Air Quality System
Daily Air Quality Index by county
2024 calendar year
HousingU.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency
House Price Index (traditional, all-transactions)
2026 Q2
Current conditionsNOAA National Weather Service
National Weather Service current conditions
Live observation, read when the page opens

Profile recalculated October 8, 2026. Recalculation is not the same as new source data — each figure above shows the period its source actually covers. Read the full methodology, or every source with how often each updates.

ZIP codes in North Myrtle Beach

2 ZIP areas

Every ZIP area in North Myrtle Beach with census figures of its own, largest first. The ones linked below diverge enough from the city as a whole to carry a full profile; the rest track North Myrtle Beach closely, so their figures are here rather than on a page that would repeat this one. An Area Score is calculated for published profiles only, which is why it is blank on those rows.

ZIPPopulationMedian household incomeMedian home valueArea Score
2958220,158$71,723$413,800—
2956817,097$62,653$254,90061