Myrtle Beach, SC — Momentum Score, Home Values & Best-For

All states·South Carolina·Myrtle Beach

Horry County · Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach · population 40,535

Growing fastRenter-friendly
Myrtle Beach, SC
Image: Wikipedia · Myrtle Beach, South Carolina
OverviewCost of livingMoving guide
View watchlist →
61
Stable
Momentum score · 0–100

Where Myrtle Beach stands

Population growing 3.2% per year.

Median home $321,339
1-year -1.6%
5-yr CAGR +5.9%
vs 5-yr peak -4.9%
Population +3.2%/yr

Home value trajectory · last 10 years

Zillow ZHVI · monthly
peak 2024-05$321k$171k$231k$291k$352k201620182020202220242026

Lifestyle scores

🚶
Walkability
32/100
Very car-dependent
Estimated from population density. Higher = denser, more amenities within walking distance.
🚉
Public transit
22/100
Transit limited
Curated list of major US transit systems + population-based estimate. Higher = real subway/rail/bus options.
💻
Remote work fit
88/100
Excellent for remote work
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
$1,691/mo$1,198$1,511$1,824202220242026

Home value vs rent · indexed to 100

Both rebased at first month of ZORI data (~2015)
Home valueRent133133100120140202220242026

Rent vs buy

Price-to-rent ratio: 15.8
Lean buy

At a 15.8 price-to-rent ratio, Myrtle Beach 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
69 · w22%
Distance from peak
60 · w18%
Population growth
90 · w16%
Rent YoY
43 · w12%
Home 10-yr CAGR
66 · w10%
Long thesis

Myrtle Beach has been growing population at 3.2% per year while home values compounded +5.9% annually. Demand-driven appreciation — the kind that persists as long as people keep showing up, which they currently are.

Short thesis

Myrtle Beach'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 Myrtle Beach

Myrtle Beach is a city in Horry County, South Carolina, with an estimated population of 40,535. It anchors the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro area. The population has grown 3.2% per year on average between 2020 and 2024 — among the faster-growing communities in the state. The median home value in Myrtle Beach is $321,339 as of 2026-04, down 1.6% over the last 12 months. Over the last five years, home values have averaged +5.9% annual growth (-4.9% from the 5-year peak). Rents in Myrtle Beach average $1,691 per month, roughly flat year-over-year (-0.5%). The composite momentum score is 61 of 100 (Stable). Conditions are neither hot nor cold, so the local fit matters more than market timing.

▲ Bull case

●People are voting with their feet: population growing 3.2% per year since 2020 — that’s faster than ~80% of US cities.
●Healthy 5-year run: +5.9% annualized over 5 years, outpacing US inflation.

▼ Bear case

○Local nuance: city-level data smooths over neighborhood differences. School zones, HOA rules, and street-level character matter — visit before deciding.

About Myrtle Beach (Wikipedia)

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.

Source: Wikipedia · this summary is contributed and licensed under CC-BY-SA.

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.

NWS active alerts (SC)South Carolina Emergency ManagementHow to prepare (NWS)

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.

Neighborhoods of Myrtle Beach

1 tracked · ranked by median home value
1Forestbrook$344,408-1.0%

Cities like Myrtle Beach

Goose Creek, SC68 · RisingNorth Myrtle Beach, SC66 · RisingConway, SC67 · RisingYork, SC70 · Rising

Run the numbers for Myrtle Beach

ToolCan I afford Myrtle Beach?Income → city shortlistToolROI on a Myrtle Beach rentalCap rate, cash-on-cash, DSCRToolCompare Myrtle Beach to anywhereSide-by-side up to 3 citiesToolMyrtle Beach cost-of-livingEquivalent income elsewhere

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 Myrtle Beach listings on the major real-estate sites.

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

Local news & community

Updated 2026-05-21 from Google News + Reddit RSS. Headlines link to original sources.

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.

Cities similar to Myrtle Beach

Explore other places with comparable momentum or affordability.

See all South Carolina cities →    Browse best-of lists →