Cost of Living in Surfside Beach
Surfside Beach's cost of living centers on a genuinely hard-to-pin-down housing market, Horry County's real sales-tax and property-tax structure, and South Carolina's current two-bracket income tax -- not a no-income-tax state.
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Learn moreHousing costs carry real, disclosed uncertainty
Sources disagreed sharply on Surfside Beach's current home prices this session: Zillow's average home value ran $347,773 (Feb 2026) to $360,900 (June 2026), while Redfin's median sale price ranged from $530,000 to $770,000 depending on the month, and a separate source cited an August 2026 median listing price of $352,000. Treat any single number as directional only given the town's small housing stock and correspondingly volatile monthly medians.
Horry County sales tax applies here
The combined sales tax rate runs a minimum of 8% countywide (South Carolina's 6% state rate plus Horry County and local add-ons) -- the same rate documented for Myrtle Beach elsewhere in this dataset, since Surfside Beach sits in the same county tax jurisdiction.
South Carolina's real, current two-bracket income tax
South Carolina replaced its prior three-bracket schedule with two brackets effective tax year 2026 under Act 110: 1.99% on the first $30,000 of SC taxable income, 5.21% above that. Social Security is fully exempt regardless of age; the age-65 deduction ($15,000) and retirement-income deduction (up to $10,000) are coordinated, not additive -- a combined $15,000 maximum benefit, not $25,000.
Income context: county and state medians, not a town-specific figure
A Surfside Beach-specific median household income figure was not independently confirmed this session; Horry County's figure ($64,623) and South Carolina's statewide figure ($66,818) are the best available reference points, reused with attribution from this dataset's Myrtle Beach research.
Key takeaways
- Housing costs carry genuine, disclosed uncertainty this session -- confirm current pricing directly rather than anchoring on any single cited figure.
- Combined sales tax runs a minimum 8% countywide, shared with the rest of Horry County.
- South Carolina's two-bracket income tax (2026): 1.99% under $30,000 taxable income, 5.21% above -- not a no-income-tax state.
- A Surfside-specific median income figure is unconfirmed; Horry County ($64,623) and SC statewide ($66,818) figures serve as the best available reference.
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