Best Places to Live in Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach)
This region's eight places split along a real spectrum from Myrtle Beach's tourism-and-hospitality density through North Myrtle Beach's family-oriented quieter beach sections, inland Conway's affordability, and Pawleys Island's/Murrells Inlet's genuinely decisive retirement-community character.
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Learn moreThe Nation's #1 Relocation-Demand Market
This region carries an unusually strong, current relocation-demand signal: moveBuddha's 5th annual Migration Report found Myrtle Beach had the highest in-moves-to-out-moves ratio of any US city measured nationally (3.28 in-moves per exit), consistent with South Carolina ranking #1 among states for in-moves versus exits for a third consecutive year. Golf is a genuinely distinct, quantified pillar within this region's tourism economy -- a $1.6 billion 2024 economic impact across 78 courses.
Family-Oriented Beach Living
North Myrtle Beach's four distinct sections (Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill) each retain their own character within one unified city, genuinely more family-oriented and lower-density than Myrtle Beach's own tourist corridor -- Cherry Grove specifically popular with second-home buyers and families preferring a calmer beach experience. Surfside Beach earned its real 'Family Beach' identity honestly, including a dated 2016 distinction as the first autism-friendly travel destination in the country.
Decisive Retirement Communities
Surfside Beach (median age 55.4, independently cited #4 Best Place to Retire in South Carolina), Little River (median age 61.4, a senior population share of roughly 43.6%, nearly triple the national average), Pawleys Island (median age 68.3, town-level senior share approximated at 70.6%), and Murrells Inlet (median age 60.4) together form one of the most decisive retirement-demographic clusters documented anywhere in this project -- each drawing on genuine tourism-to-relocation crossover from the region's beaches, golf, and attractions.
Inland Affordability and College-Town Character
Conway, Horry County's seat, offers a genuine college-town alternative to the beach economy via Coastal Carolina University (ranked the 7th-best university in South Carolina by Niche), at a real, meaningfully lower price point than any of this region's beachfront places. Georgetown, South Carolina's third-oldest city, is currently working through a major, real economic disruption -- International Paper's 90-year-old pulp/paper mill closure -- even as its Waccamaw Neck area (Pawleys Island, Litchfield) has absorbed the county's real population growth.
Key takeaways
- Myrtle Beach posted the highest in-moves-to-out-moves ratio of any US city measured nationally in moveBuddha's 2025-2026 report.
- North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach both offer genuinely more family-oriented, lower-density alternatives to Myrtle Beach's tourist corridor.
- Surfside Beach, Little River, Pawleys Island, and Murrells Inlet together form one of the most decisive retirement-demographic clusters in this entire project.
- Conway offers inland affordability and a genuine college-town identity; Georgetown is working through a major industrial-employer disruption even as its coastal Waccamaw Neck area grows.
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