Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
Myrtle Beach grades D overall, ranked 135th of 167 in South Carolina, mostly because of safety. It reports more crime per resident than 99% of U.S. towns, including 458 violent crimes reported to the FBI in 2025. One bright spot: its schools outperform 77% of the state's. 38% of working residents work locally in Myrtle Beach, above both South Carolina’s towns (6.1%) and U.S. towns (8%). Only 15 of South Carolina’s 262 towns score higher on walkability. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 90% of U.S. communities, with hurricanes at the top.
Where Myrtle Beach beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
27,109 counted in 2010 and 35,682 in 2020; an estimated 40,937 in 2025.
Growth hasn’t slowed: 14.7% since 2020, after 31.6% in the decade before.
U.S. Census 2010 & 2020 counts · Census Bureau estimate, July 1, 2025
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within South Carolina), ordered by how far Myrtle Beach is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 1,597 in 1940, 35,682 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1928 and 4 maps from 1937 on.
8 places on the National Register of Historic Places.
Who provides power, water and the rest in Myrtle Beach, and how to reach them.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Sep 12, 2025.
Ordered by what stands out in Myrtle Beach.
Myrtle Beach is a second-home town, but it carries more natural-hazard risk than most of South Carolina (mostly hurricanes) and reports violent crime at 3 times the South Carolina rate.
Violent crime runs at 11 per 1,000 residents, 3 times the South Carolina rate; the Safety Grade counts each violent crime four times, so this weighs most on its D−. At 99.1 crimes per 1,000 residents a year, it reports more crime than 83% of South Carolina’s graded towns.
Myrtle Beach reports more crime per resident than most U.S. towns we grade: about 99% report less. The violent crime rate in Myrtle Beach is 11 per 1,000 residents. Among 90 South Carolina towns, just 6 have a higher property crime rate than Myrtle Beach.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Violent crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 11 per 1,000 residents | 3.9 | 1.6 |
| Property crimes per 1,000 (2025) | 53.6 per 1,000 residents | 21.1 | 9.9 |
FBI crime data, 2025 · crimes reported to police
Its public schools are run by the Horry 01 school district. Three of its 8 schools are below, each with why it’s listed.
| School | Level | Students | Letter |
|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach MiddleLargest public middle schoolGrades 6–8 | Grades 6–8 | 1,146 | C+ |
| Myrtle Beach HighLargest public high schoolGrades 9–12 | Grades 9–12 | 1,510 | A |
| Palmetto Academy of Learning and Success CharterTop results in townGrades K–8 | Grades K–8 | 320 | A− |
NCES · EDFacts · graded within SC on state tests and graduation
21 miles of trail in 31 parks and preserves. Myrtle Beach’s trail density is 0.9 miles per square mile. The biggest place to walk is Grand Park, 99 acres with 2.5 miles of trail.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miles of trail per square mile | 0.9 miles per square mile | 0.3 | 0.4 |
| Conserved land | 1.7% | 1.8% | 4.3% |
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Grand Park | 2.5 mi | 99 |
| 2. Barc Park South | — | 13 |
| 3. Warbird Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
37,876 jobs are based in Myrtle Beach, 2.7 for every working resident, so most of the people who work here commute in. The average commute takes 17.7 minutes, against 25.6 across South Carolina.
About one in 3 of Myrtle Beach’s working residents works in town. 19% of Myrtle Beach residents live below the poverty line. Since 2013, Myrtle Beach has added 3,935 jobs, to 37,876 in 2023.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 18 minutes | 24 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Below the poverty line | 19% | 17% | 9.6% |
| Work from home | 14% | 8.6% | 11% |
| Median household income | $60,000 | $57,000 | $80,000 |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 78% of South Carolina towns, with expected losses of about $821 per resident a year; that rating is what its D for hazard risk is built on. 850 flood insurance claims have been filed here, and 50 properties have flooded more than once.
Since 1978, 850 flood insurance claims have been paid out in Myrtle Beach.
FEMA flood insurance claims · FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
Myrtle Beach beats the South Carolina average on 2 of 32 CDC measures and trails it on 16. 29% of adults feel lonely in Myrtle Beach.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Feel lonely (CDC PLACES) | 29% | 33% | 33% |
| High blood pressure (CDC PLACES) | 44% | 40% | 35% |
| Diabetes (CDC PLACES) | 16% | 15% | 12% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 17% | 15% | 14% |
| What stands out | Myrtle Beach | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Fewer older adults who have lost all their teeth | 11.9% | 13.9% |
| More adults treating high blood pressure | 83.3% | 80.2% |
| More uninsured adults | 15.7% | 11.8% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
July afternoons average 88.8°: hotter than most of the country, but cooler than 95% of South Carolina places with climate records; January nights average 36.4°.
Myrtle Beach has mild winters and warm summers, with plenty of rain.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| January low | 36°F | 34°F | 22°F |
| July high | 89°F | 91°F | 85°F |
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
17.3% of homes are seasonal or vacation homes, against 4.5% statewide, which helps explain the older median age.
Myrtle Beach has grown 15% since 2020, to 40,937 residents in the Census Bureau’s 2025 estimate. 34% of adults 25 and older have a bachelor’s degree or more, vs 32% across South Carolina.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Median age | 47.3 years | 38.9 years | 40.5 years |
| Under 18 | 16% | 22% | 22% |
| Aged 65 or older | 24% | 17% | 18% |
| Bachelor’s degree or more, 25+ | 34% | 23% | 29% |
51% women, 49% men
That’s an even split within the survey’s margin of ±1.8 points. Across South Carolina, 51.3% of residents are women.
| Myrtle Beach | SC | U.S. | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Under 10 | 8.2% | 11.4% | 11.6% |
| 10 to 17 | 8% | 10.1% | 10.3% |
| 18 to 24 | 6.5% | 9.1% | 9.1% |
| 25 to 34 | 14.3% | 12.8% | 13.7% |
| 35 to 44 | 10.4% | 12.5% | 13.2% |
| 45 to 54 | 10.5% | 12% | 12.2% |
| 55 to 64 | 18.5% | 13.2% | 12.7% |
| 65 to 74 | 15.7% | 11.4% | 10.2% |
| 75 and older | 8% | 7.4% | 7% |
| No diploma | 7.6% | 9.9% | 10.4% |
| High school | 27.7% | 28.2% | 26% |
| Some college | 21.2% | 19.8% | 19.1% |
| Associate’s | 10% | 10% | 8.8% |
| Bachelor’s | 21.4% | 19.8% | 21.6% |
| Graduate | 12.1% | 12.3% | 14.1% |
Census population estimates, 2025 · U.S. Census Bureau · ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates
The typical Myrtle Beach home is worth about $323,000, up 0.5% in a year, 6% above the South Carolina typical home.
| Myrtle Beach | South Carolina towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 61% | 65% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,261 a month | $1,058 a month | $1,185 a month |
Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
Museums, parks, gardens and other places to visit around Myrtle Beach. Close and well known come first.
2 mi BeachGrand Strand
in town Theme parkFamily Kingdom Amusement Park
18 mi MuseumBrookgreen Gardens
17 mi MuseumHuntington Beach State Park
13 mi MuseumUnited States Post Office
13 mi MuseumBurroughs SchoolGrand 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
2 within 15 miles of the center of Myrtle Beach
About 4 of every 100 Myrtle Beach residents are enrolled in college, against 6 across South Carolina.
Where Myrtle Beach’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
8 places in Myrtle Beach on the National Register of Historic Places.
25 notable people were born in Myrtle Beach.
City in South Carolina, United States
Myrtle Beach is a resort city in Horry County, South Carolina, United States. It is located in the center of a long and continuous 60-mile (97 km) stretch of beach known as the "Grand Strand” in the northeastern part of the state, on the East Coast of the United States. Its year-round population was 35,682 as of the 2020 census, making it the 13th-most populous city in South Carolina. Myrtle Beach is one of the major centers of tourism in South Carolina and the United States. The city's warm subtropical climate, miles of beaches, 86 golf courses, and 1,800 restaurants attract over 20 million visitors each year, making Myrtle Beach one of the most visited destinations in the country. Located…
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
2 towns share a border with Myrtle Beach.
| Town | SC rank | Overall | Cost | Safety | Schools | Health |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach | #135 | D | C− | D− | A− | C |
| Socastee | #66 | B− | B− | — | A− | C+ |
| North Myrtle Beach | #100 | C | C− | D | A− | B |
Socastee reports no FBI crime data of its own. Compare Myrtle Beach with a neighbor →
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Myrtle Beach grades D overall, better than 10% of U.S. towns and #135 of 167 in South Carolina. It grades C for health, D− for safety and A− for schools. Safety is its weak spot, with a D−.
Yes. That is 4.8 years of the area's median household income ($66,880 across the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC metro area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades C−.
25 notable people were born here, including Madison Iseman and Ramon Sessions.
