Cost of Living & Housing in Grand Strand (Myrtle Beach)
The Grand Strand's eight member places share Horry and Georgetown counties' beach-tourism economy, but split into real, distinct price tiers -- from Myrtle Beach's genuinely below-national-average pricing to Daniel Island-adjacent Pawleys Island's ultra-high-end, tiny-sample luxury market.
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Learn moreMyrtle Beach Runs Genuinely Below the National Median
Myrtle Beach's median home price runs roughly 32% below the national average (Redfin: $258,000, though Zillow's differently-methodologized estimate ran $323,460 for the same period), in a genuine current buyer's market (121 median days on market, about 1 offer per listing). North Myrtle Beach -- a real, separately incorporated municipality, not a suburb of Myrtle Beach -- runs meaningfully higher ($397,671 average), a real premium for its more family-oriented, lower-density character across its four historic sections (Cherry Grove, Ocean Drive, Crescent Beach, Windy Hill).
Conway Offers "Coastal Lifestyle for Half the Price"
Conway, Horry County's inland seat roughly 15 miles from the beach, runs meaningfully below both Myrtle Beach and North Myrtle Beach ($280,000-$319,880), with one source specifically framing it as offering 'coastal lifestyle for half the price of Myrtle Beach.' Little River, at the region's northern tip near the NC line, has genuinely softened recently (Zillow down 1.3%, Redfin down a sharper 8.3% to $292,000), a real cooling trend distinct from some of this region's steadier markets.
Pawleys Island and Kiawah-Tier Luxury Volatility
Pawleys Island's incorporated town -- just 130 residents on 0.99 square miles -- carries a real, disclosed pricing spread ($548,832 Zillow average against an implausible $2.0 million Redfin figure in one query window, almost certainly a small-sample luxury-transaction distortion). Murrells Inlet and Georgetown both carry their own real, wide cross-source price disagreements ($334,500-$495,000 and $250,282-$325,000 respectively), reflecting genuinely diverse property types and locations within small, low-transaction-volume markets.
Rising Insurance Costs Layer Onto Every Price Tier
South Carolina's average homeowners premium already ranks 16th-most-expensive nationally, and Horry County specifically is projected toward a 90% premium increase over the next decade -- a real, current, rising cost pressure that applies across every member place in this region regardless of specific home price.
Key takeaways
- Myrtle Beach runs roughly 32% below the national median home price; North Myrtle Beach carries a real, meaningful premium for its more family-oriented, lower-density character.
- Conway offers a genuinely lower-cost inland alternative -- explicitly marketed as coastal lifestyle at roughly half Myrtle Beach's price.
- Pawleys Island, Murrells Inlet, and Georgetown all carry real, wide cross-source price disagreements, reflecting small, low-transaction-volume luxury or mixed-property markets.
- Horry County's homeowners insurance is projected toward a 90% increase over the next decade -- a shared cost pressure across every member place in this region.
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