Garden CitySC
A town of 11,591. Public schools that outperform most of South Carolina.
Is Garden City a good place to live?
Garden City grades C overall, 105th of 167 graded towns in South Carolina, with clear strengths and some subjects that lag. Its schools outperform 77% of the state's. On the other side, FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 91% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top. 42% of residents are 65 or older in Garden City, against 17% in South Carolina’s towns and 18% across U.S. towns. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 2 have a higher median age than Garden City.
What makes Garden City stand out
Where Garden City beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
Garden City has grown 11% from 2010 to 2020
9,209 counted in 2010 and 10,235 in 2020.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts
How Garden City grades
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Garden City is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Moving to Garden City: who provides what
Garden City 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 Garden City.
Garden City is a second-home town and is healthier than towns with similar incomes, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes).
Garden City earns an A− for schools
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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Seaside ElementaryLargest public elementary schoolGrades PK–4 | Grades PK–4 | 398 | B+ |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
Garden City faces a very high natural-hazard risk, led by hurricanes
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 83% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $1,055 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on.
Since 1979, 1,532 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Garden City.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
| Garden City | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Conserved land | 0.5% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.4 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Huckabee Recreation Complex | — | 9 |
| 2. Sanford Cox Sr. Park | — | 1 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
Four seasons and hot summers in Garden City
July afternoons average 88.7°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 96% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 36.7°.
Garden City has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain. Garden City’s January low is 37°F. Only 8 of the 169 South Carolina towns we compare have a lower July high than Garden City.
| Garden City | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 37°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
Typical low → high °F
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Most of Garden City’s workers commute out: the town has 0.8 jobs for each of them
Most working residents leave Garden City for work: only 8% work in town. Jobs based in Garden City grew to 3,029 in 2023, 406 more than in 2013. The median household income in Garden City is $47,000.
| Garden City | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median household income | $47,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
| Average trip to work | 22 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Work from home | 13% | 8.6% | 11% |
Where working residents work
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
Garden City is less healthy than 56% of U.S. towns
Against the 4,743 U.S. towns with household incomes like Garden City’s, it is healthier than 86%, so its C+ isn’t only a matter of income.
Garden City beats the South Carolina average on 15 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 9. 48% of Garden City adults have high blood pressure. Among 169 South Carolina towns, just 3 have a higher share of adults who had a checkup this year than Garden City.
| Garden City | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 48% | 40% | 35% |
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 27% | 33% | 33% |
| Yearly checkup (CDC PLACES) | 86% | 80% | 79% |
| Binge drink (CDC PLACES) | 12% | 15% | 16% |
| What stands out | Garden City | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer adults facing housing insecurity | 7.7% | 13.3% |
| Fewer adults facing a utility shut-off | 5.2% | 8.9% |
| More adults who have had cancer | 15.1% | 8.6% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
The median home in Garden City sells for about $335K
85% of households own their home in Garden City.
| Garden City | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 85% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,472 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Grand Strand and 5 more within 40 miles
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Garden City. Close and well known come first.
10 mi BeachGrand Strand
7 mi MuseumBrookgreen Gardens
9 mi Theme parkFamily Kingdom Amusement Park
6 mi MuseumHuntington Beach State Park
17 mi MuseumUnited States Post Office
18 mi MuseumBurroughs SchoolPhoto credits
Grand Strand: Phil Guest from Bournemouth, UK, CC BY-SA 2.0 · Brookgreen Gardens: Hisland7, CC BY-SA 3.0 · Family Kingdom Amusement Park: Fk714, 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 Garden City
Colleges nearby
2 within 15 miles of the center of Garden City
About 2 of every 100 Garden City residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
About Garden City
CDP in South Carolina, United States
Garden City, sometimes known as Garden City Beach, is a census-designated place (CDP) in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 9,209 at the 2010 census. Garden City Beach is located directly south of Surfside Beach. The developed part of the beach extends south beyond the limits of the Garden City CDP, into Georgetown County, and ends on a peninsula at the mouth of Murrells Inlet.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
- Area
- 5.5 sq mi
- Elevation
- 20 ft
Garden City’s neighbors
2 towns share a border with Garden City.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Garden City | #105 | C | C+ | — | A− | C+ |
| Surfside Beach | #94 | C | C− | C | A− | B+ |
| Murrells Inlet | #79 | C+ | C− | — | C+ | A− |
Garden City and Murrells Inlet report no FBI crime data of their own. Compare Garden City with a neighbor →
Questions about Garden City
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Is Garden City, SC a good place to live?
Garden City grades C overall, better than 28% of U.S. towns and #105 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades C+ for health and A− for schools. Hazard risk is its weak spot, with a D.
Is Garden City, SC expensive?
The typical home is worth about $217,000, 29% below 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 C+.