Pros and Cons of Living in Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach's genuine trade-off is a currently #1-nationally-ranked relocation-demand pipeline, below-national-average home prices, and real 65+ tax benefits, against a genuinely severe historical hurricane/flood risk, a structurally tourism-dependent seasonal job market, a real income gap between the city's median household income and county/state/national figures, and a below-average CrimeGrade.org safety rating that carries a real, disclosed tourist-town caveat.
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Learn morePro: A Genuinely Major, Currently #1-Ranked Relocation Pipeline
As detailed in the base record, moveBuddha's 2025-2026 Migration Report found Myrtle Beach had the highest in-moves-to-out-moves ratio of any U.S. city measured (3.28 in-moves per exit), the report's outright #1 national ranking, inside a state that has led all U.S. states for in-moves versus exits three years running. This is a real, current, large-scale relocation signal, not a marginal or dated one.
Pro: Home Prices Below the National Average, Plus Real 65+ Tax Benefits
Redfin's median sale price ($258,000 over the three months through June 2026) runs about 32% below the national average, inside a real, current buyer's market. Layered on top, South Carolina's tax code offers real, substantial benefits for retirees specifically: Social Security fully exempt at any age, plus coordinated retirement-income and age-65 deductions -- alongside an already-large and growing retiree community (27.6% of Horry County residents are 65+).
Con: A Genuinely Severe, Historically Documented Hurricane/Flood Risk
As detailed on the flood-hurricane-risk topic page, this is a real, not hypothetical, risk: Hurricane Hazel (1954) destroyed more than 80% of Grand Strand oceanfront property and produced the East Coast's second-highest recorded storm surge; Hurricane Matthew (2016) passed its center directly over the city; Hurricane Florence (2018) re-flooded many of the same homes Matthew had damaged two years earlier. South Carolina's homeowners insurance already ranks 16th-most-expensive nationally, with Horry County specifically facing a projected 90% premium increase over the next decade.
Con: A Structurally Tourism-Dependent, Seasonal Job Market
Leisure and hospitality alone account for 26.7% of metro nonfarm jobs -- a genuinely different, less-diversified employment structure than most metros covered elsewhere in this project. The city's own median household income ($53,679) runs well below Horry County ($64,623), South Carolina ($66,818), and the U.S. ($78,538), a real income gap that below-national-average home prices don't erase.
Con: A Below-Average, if Context-Dependent, Safety Rating
CrimeGrade.org gives Myrtle Beach an overall D- grade (11th percentile nationally) -- a real, disclosed data point, though it carries a genuine methodological caveat (the rate is calculated against a small permanent resident population while the area hosts roughly 18.2 million visitors a year, a real statistical distortion common to tourist-destination cities). Neither the raw grade nor the caveat is omitted here.
Key takeaways
- Pro: a genuinely major, currently #1-nationally-ranked relocation-demand pipeline per moveBuddha's 2025-2026 report (3.28 in-moves per exit), inside a state leading the nation for in-moves vs. exits three years running.
- Pro: home prices running about 32% below the national average in a real buyer's market, plus real, substantial 65+ tax benefits (Social Security fully exempt, coordinated retirement/age-65 deductions) alongside an already-large retiree community.
- Con: a genuinely severe, historically documented hurricane/flood risk (Hazel 1954, Matthew 2016, Florence 2018) with South Carolina's homeowners insurance already 16th-most-expensive nationally and Horry County facing a projected 90% premium increase over the next decade.
- Con: a structurally tourism-dependent, seasonal job market (26.7% of metro jobs in leisure/hospitality) alongside a real income gap -- the city's own median household income runs well below county, state, and national figures.
- Con: a below-average CrimeGrade.org safety rating (D-, 11th percentile) -- real and disclosed, though it carries a genuine tourist-town-denominator caveat given the area's small resident base versus its ~18.2 million annual visitors.
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