Little River, SC — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·South Carolina·Little River

Horry County · Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach · population 11,711

Small-town feel
View watchlist →
56
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Little River stands

Steady, no major recent move.

Median home $319,525
1-year -1.7%
5-yr CAGR +5.7%
vs 5-yr peak -5.4%

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-04$320k$165k$227k$289k$351k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
25/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
15/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
62/100
Workable for remote workers
Composite of city size, housing cost, state tax structure, and region's remote-work track record.

Scores are heuristic estimates from population density, state, and known transit/walkable cities. Not based on a paid Walk Score / Transit Score API — see methodology for the formula.

Rent trajectory · last 5 years

Zillow ZORI · monthly
$1,583/mo$1,420$1,570$1,72020242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent9510310020242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 16.8
Lean buy

At a 16.8 price-to-rent ratio, Little River is in the 'depends on horizon' zone. Buy if you'll be there 5+ years and value flexibility on the home; rent if you might move, want zero maintenance friction, or expect rates to drop.

How the momentum score breaks down

methodology →
Home YoY
42 · w22%
Home 5-yr CAGR
68 · w22%
Distance from peak
59 · w18%
Rent YoY
49 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
68 · w10%
Long thesis

Little River has held up across the cycle: home values at $319,525 with +5.7% 5-year CAGR. The bull case is structural — population, location, employer base — and holds even if next year's print is soft.

Short thesis

Little River's bear case is the boring one: the cycle is real and any market that's run hard can stall. Watch for slowing population growth, rising days-on-market, or builder discounts as the early warning signals.

About Little River

Little River is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, with an estimated population of 11,711. It anchors the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro area. The median home value in Little River is $319,525 as of 2026-04, down 1.7% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.7% annual growth (-5.4% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Little River average $1,583 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (+0.5%). The composite momentum score is 56 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

Bull case

Healthy 5-year run: +5.7% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.
The data is the data: Little River has at least 5 years of Zillow tracking, full Census identification, and is included in the 2-criteria momentum score on this page.

Bear case

Thin housing market: small population means fewer transactions and slower resale. Liquidity risk on exit.
Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

Playbook

Buyer

Lifestyle fit matters more than market timing in a Stable market. Take your time on the home and neighborhood; the macro trend isn't urgent. Negotiate normally.

Seller

Price competitively from day one or risk a 60+ day listing. Staging, photography, and presentation matter more in Stable markets than in Hot ones.

Investor

Stable cap rates, no big appreciation story to lean on. Underwrite this as a pure cash-flow play — the math has to work on rent alone.

Local safety & alerts

No active National Weather Service alerts for Horry County right now.

Public-safety links are official .gov sources, not curated by us. Horry County routes NWS alerts; check the state EM portal for non-weather emergencies.

Cities like Little River

Sources: Zillow ZHVI (home values), Zillow ZORI (rents), US Census ACS + place population. Updated when source agencies publish revisions.

Climate & natural-disaster risk

Winter (Jan)
57° / 36°
avg high / low
Summer (Jul)
91° / 71°
avg high / low
Sunny days/yr
220
~60% of year
Annual precip
50″ rain
2″ snow
Disaster risk (1=very low, 5=very high)
Hurricane
High
Tornado
Moderate
Wildfire
Low
Earthquake
Low
Flood
High

State-level averages from NOAA Climate Normals (1991-2020) and FEMA National Risk Index. City-level conditions can vary significantly within a state.

Current weather

Loading current conditions…

7-day forecast on weather.gov →

Find rentals & listings

Open current Little River listings on the major real-estate sites.

Links open the live search on the destination site — results are always current.

Local sports teams

Major professional teams the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach area cheers for. Detailed stats, schedules, and player pages on intherafters.com.

Local economy & environment

Humidity
73%
Humid climate
Median household income
$63,600
South Carolina state median
Top industries (state-level)
Manufacturing (auto)TourismHealthcare

Humidity is annual average relative humidity (NOAA). Income is Census ACS 5-year estimate. Industries are largest employment sectors statewide (BLS); the local mix in a given city may vary.

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