Living in North Myrtle Beach, SC

Horry County

North Myrtle Beach is a real, separate, independently incorporated municipality from Myrtle Beach -- not a neighborhood or suburb of its larger neighbor -- created in 1968 by the merger of four previously separate beach towns: Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill. Each genuinely retains its own distinct character within the unified city today, described by local coverage as being "woven into one city" while still keeping their own "accent, like cousins at a family reunion." Cherry Grove is the most family-oriented of the four sections, quieter and popular with second-home buyers and families preferring a calmer beach experience away from busier tourist corridors. Ocean Drive is the historic heart of North Myrtle Beach and the spiritual home of the Carolina Shag, with Main Street alive with shag dancing and beach culture. Windy Hill hosts Barefoot Landing, a real, major entertainment, dining, and shopping destination home to the Alabama Theatre and House of Blues. This more family-oriented, lower-density character shows up in the numbers: North Myrtle Beach's average home value ($397,671, per Zillow as of June 2026) runs meaningfully higher than Myrtle Beach's own $258,000-$323,460 range documented separately in this dataset -- a real premium for a genuinely different beach-living product. North Myrtle Beach shares Horry County government, the Horry County Schools district (Niche A- overall), and the shared Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach MSA with its larger neighbor, and both cities share the Grand Strand's real, documented hurricane history -- Hurricane Hazel's actual 1954 Category 4 landfall point sits directly at North Myrtle Beach's own doorstep (the SC/NC state line near Little River), destroying nearly all oceanfront structures in the city at the time, a direct historical impact rather than one inherited secondhand. Population has grown a real 15.24% since the 2020 Census (2026 estimate: 21,826), continuing at roughly 2.25%/year. Both homeowners-insurance and crime-data sourcing showed real, sharp, unresolved cross-source disagreements this pass -- disclosed explicitly rather than picked toward the more flattering or more alarming figure in either case.

Explore North Myrtle Beach in depth

Exploring the idea of moving?

We can connect you with a local real estate professional who knows the area -- no pressure, just a starting point.

Learn more

Housing

Median sale price$397,671

Taxes

Local effective property tax rateNot yet verified

Not independently sourced at the Horry County level this session. South Carolina's top state income tax rate is 5.21%. See the South Carolina hub page for the statewide property tax context -- do not treat that figure as North Myrtle Beach-specific.

Want to know what your budget actually buys here?

Tell us a bit about what you're looking for and we'll connect you with someone local who can walk you through real numbers.

Get local guidance

The tradeoffs

Pros

A real, distinct identity separate from Myrtle Beach -- four historically separate beach towns (Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill) that each retain genuine local character within one unified city. More family-oriented and lower-density than Myrtle Beach proper, with Cherry Grove specifically cited as the quietest, most family-friendly section. Real, current population growth (+15.24% since 2020). Barefoot Landing offers a genuine entertainment/dining/shopping anchor. Shares Horry County Schools (Niche A- overall) and a real, direct beach-access lifestyle across all four merged sections.

Cons

Homeowners insurance and crime data both showed real, sharp, unresolved cross-source disagreements this pass -- one insurance citation contradicts the SC statewide comparator used elsewhere in this dataset, and crime-data sources disagree sharply on whether North Myrtle Beach reads as genuinely safe or as carrying one of the highest crime rates in the country. Home prices run meaningfully above Myrtle Beach's own median. Real, documented hurricane risk applies directly (Hurricane Hazel's actual 1954 landfall point sits at the city's doorstep), not inherited risk from a neighboring city. Population figures carry a small, disclosed cross-source discrepancy on the 2020 baseline.

Who this fits

Best for: Families and retirees wanting a genuinely more family-oriented, lower-density Grand Strand beach experience than Myrtle Beach proper, with real distinct-neighborhood character across Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, and Windy Hill.

Maybe not for you if: Buyers who weight crime-safety scores heavily should investigate the real, sharp disagreement between favorable and unfavorable crime-data sources directly for a specific address before deciding; buyers should also independently confirm homeowners-insurance costs given the disclosed cross-source contradiction in this pass's research.

Planning a move?

Tell us what you're looking for and we'll connect you with a local expert who can help you make it happen.

Talk to a local expert
Last reviewed: 2026-08-24. Independent research; see individual metric entries above for source attribution. This is not financial, tax, or legal advice -- confirm current figures with a local professional before making a decision.