ForestbrookSC
A town of 7,479. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Is Forestbrook a good place to live?
Forestbrook gives you more for your money than most places: a typical home costs about $336K, 5 years of the Myrtle Beach metro’s $67K median household income. It grades B+ overall, ranked 29th of 167 in South Carolina. The low prices come with trade-offs. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. On the plus side, its public schools beat 77% of South Carolina towns on state tests and graduation. Only 10 of South Carolina’s 263 towns score lower on history. Most errands need a car: it is less walkable than 75% of U.S. towns. Only 6 of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare have a higher share of households owning their home than Forestbrook.
What makes Forestbrook stand out
Where Forestbrook beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Forestbrook has grown 44% from 2010 to 2020
4,612 counted in 2010 and 6,656 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Forestbrook grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Forestbrook is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Forestbrook: who provides what
Forestbrook is unincorporated, so Horry County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
The data
Ordered by what stands out in Forestbrook.
Forestbrook pairs an A− for schools with modest home prices and has hotter summers than most of the country, though not than most of South Carolina; it also carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
Hurricanes leads a very high hazard risk in Forestbrook
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 78% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $659 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1981, 68 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Forestbrook.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
For schools, Forestbrook earns an A−
Its A− for schools comes with a B+ for cost of living: the typical home is worth about $336K.
Its public schools are run by the Horry 01 school district. One of its 2 schools is below, with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Forestbrook ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–5 | Grades PK–5 | 930 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Most working residents commute out of Forestbrook
Forestbrook has 687 jobs for its 2,799 working residents: even if every job went to a resident, most would still commute out.
Most working residents leave Forestbrook for work: only 1% work in town. 6.8% of residents live below the poverty line in Forestbrook, where South Carolina’s towns sit at 17% and U.S. towns at 9.6%. Since 2013, Forestbrook has added 455 jobs, to 687 in 2023.
| Forestbrook | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Below the poverty line | 6.8% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Working residents who work in town | 1.4% | 6.3% | 8% |
| Median household income | $81,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Older than South Carolina overall
People 65 and older are 28% of residents (19% statewide); adults 18 to 34 are 15% of residents (22% statewide). At 50.5 years, Forestbrook’s median age is above both South Carolina’s towns (38.9 years) and U.S. towns (40.5 years). 17% of residents are under 18 in Forestbrook.
| Forestbrook | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 50.5 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Aged 65 or older | 28% | 17% | 18% |
| Under 18 | 17% | 22% | 22% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 30% | 23% | 29% |
Ages · share of residents
Education · adults 25 and older
Women and men · all residents
55% women, 45% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±6.4 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Forestbrook | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 5.2% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 11.3% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 5.8% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 8.7% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 11.7% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 11.8% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 17.9% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 19.5% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 5.1% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 23.5% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 31% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10.1% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 16.2% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 14.1% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
In Forestbrook, expect four seasons and hot summers
July afternoons average 89.7°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 83% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 35.8°.
Forestbrook has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. The January low in Forestbrook is 36°F.
| Forestbrook | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 36°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 90°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Forestbrook ranks healthier than 62% of the country’s towns
Its widest gap with South Carolina is tooth loss: 7.1% of those 65+ have lost all their teeth, against 13.9% statewide.
Forestbrook beats the South Carolina average on 11 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 3. 28% of Forestbrook adults feel lonely.
| Forestbrook | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 33% | 33% |
| Obesity (CDC PLACES) | 31% | 37% | 35% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 82% | 80% | 79% |
| Food insecurity (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 21% | 14% |
| What stands out | Forestbrook | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 7.1% | 13.9% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.9% | 8.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 11.1% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
Conserved land covers 2.8% of Forestbrook
Just 65 of its 2,338 acres are conserved, so there is little public open land in Forestbrook itself; its outdoors grade is C−.
0.3 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Forestbrook’s trail density is 0.1 miles per square mile.
| Forestbrook | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.1 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 2.8% | 1.7% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Forestbrook Park | — | 4 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Homes in Forestbrook sell for about $350K
The median sale price was $350,000 in May 2026.
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Grand Strand and 5 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Forestbrook. Close and well known come first.
6 mi BeachGrand Strand
5 mi Theme parkFamily Kingdom Amusement Park
16 mi MuseumBrookgreen Gardens
16 mi MuseumHuntington Beach State Park
9 mi MuseumUnited States Post Office
9 mi MuseumBurroughs SchoolPhoto credits
Grand Strand: Phil Guest from Bournemouth, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Family Kingdom Amusement Park: Fk714, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Brookgreen Gardens: Hisland7, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Huntington Beach State Park: Original uploader was Pendragon1998 at en.wikipedia, Public domain · United States Post Office: Pubdog, Public domain · Burroughs School: Pubdog, Public domain
Everything we know about Forestbrook
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Forestbrook
About 4 of every 100 Forestbrook residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
99% of working residents leave Forestbrook for work
Where Forestbrook’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
About Forestbrook
Census-designated place in South Carolina, United States
Forestbrook is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 4,612 at the 2010 census, up from 3,391 at the 2000 census.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 3.7 sq mi
- Elevation
- 16 ft
Questions about Forestbrook
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Forestbrook, SC a good place to live?
By most measures, yes. Forestbrook grades B+ overall, better than 67% of U.S. towns and #29 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades B for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Forestbrook, SC expensive?
Not for the area. The typical home is worth about $336,000, 10% above the South Carolina typical home. Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades B+.