Living in Little River, SC

Horry County

Little River is a genuinely distinct, unincorporated Horry County fishing village turned relocation community at the northern tip of the Grand Strand, where the Intracoastal Waterway meets the ocean near the North Carolina line -- a real maritime heritage, not a marketing veneer, still visible in its historic waterfront district of seafood restaurants, docks, and marinas. Demographically, this is one of the most decisive retirement-market signals found anywhere in this dataset's South Carolina batch: a median age of 61.4 years and a senior population share cited at roughly 43.6% -- nearly triple the national 65+ average and well above even Horry County's own elevated 27.6% countywide figure. Housing has genuinely softened here, a different trend from some other markets in this batch: Zillow's average home value fell 1.3% year over year to $321,349, and Redfin's median sale price fell a sharper 8.3% to $292,000 over the three months ending May 2026, with homes taking longer to sell (122 days on average, up from 114 the prior year) -- a real cooling market, not a stable one. This session's population research surfaced a genuine, unresolved tension worth disclosing rather than hiding: Wikipedia (citing the Census Bureau) states the 2020 Census population at 11,711, while a separate WorldPopulationReview estimate implies a lower 2020 base of 9,692 -- the two do not reconcile, most plausibly due to differing geographic boundary definitions. Crime data reads as a genuinely moderate, mixed picture (39th safety percentile per one source, alongside a separately reported slight year-over-year decline in both violent and property crime) rather than a clearly favorable or unfavorable verdict. Little River shares Horry County's tax and school jurisdiction with Myrtle Beach -- the same 8% minimum combined sales tax rate and Horry County Schools' overall A- Niche grade -- and, as an unincorporated CDP, carries no separate municipal government or municipal tax layer. South Carolina's real, current two-bracket income tax (Act 110, 2026) and coastal hurricane/flood exposure documented at the state level apply here as elsewhere on the Grand Strand.

Explore Little River in depth

• Moving to Little River: Pros, Cons & What to Know
• Cost of Living in Little River
• Housing in Little River
• Taxes & Insurance in Little River
• Climate in Little River
• Schools & Families in Little River
• Healthcare & Safety in Little River
• Pros and Cons of Living in Little River
• Retiring in Little River

Housing

Taxes

The tradeoffs

Who this fits

Best for: Retirees specifically drawn to a genuine, historic fishing-village setting with a softening, more affordable housing market than some other Grand Strand markets, and buyers comfortable with an unincorporated community that carries no separate municipal government or municipal tax layer.

Maybe not for you if: Buyers who want a fully settled, single-source population and demographic picture should note this session found a real, unresolved discrepancy in Little River's population data across sources; those most focused on a strong, unambiguous safety reputation should weigh the moderate, mixed crime read here against more clearly favorable-reading markets elsewhere in this batch.