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City cost of living 2026

Cost of living in Myrtle Beach, SC

The Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC metro area (413,391 people) ranks #110 of 149 for prices among the U.S. metro areas we cover. Here's what it costs to live there.

By Data reviewed Data: Census ACS, BEA, BLS, NOAA, IRS, FEMA (methodology)

New York, NY: price level 112.6Los Angeles, CA: price level 113.6Chicago, IL: price level 103.6Dallas, TX: price level 103.1Houston, TX: price level 98.6Miami, FL: price level 114.2Washington, D.C.: price level 108.9Atlanta, GA: price level 100.1Philadelphia, PA: price level 102.6Phoenix, AZ: price level 103.3Boston, MA: price level 108.3Riverside, CA: price level 106.4San Francisco, CA: price level 115.6Detroit, MI: price level 100.3Seattle, WA: price level 111.1Minneapolis, MN: price level 104.8Tampa, FL: price level 100.9San Diego, CA: price level 111.9Denver, CO: price level 105.8Orlando, FL: price level 101.4Charlotte, NC: price level 97.3Baltimore, MD: price level 104.5St. Louis, MO: price level 95.1San Antonio, TX: price level 94.7Austin, TX: price level 98.1Portland, OR: price level 105.4Sacramento, CA: price level 106.7Pittsburgh, PA: price level 94.7Las Vegas, NV: price level 100.2Cincinnati, OH: price level 95.4Kansas City, MO: price level 92.5Columbus, OH: price level 95.5Indianapolis, IN: price level 95.7Cleveland, OH: price level 93.9Nashville, TN: price level 96.3San Jose, CA: price level 110.4Virginia Beach, VA: price level 97.9Jacksonville, FL: price level 99.5Providence, RI: price level 101.8Milwaukee, WI: price level 96.9Raleigh, NC: price level 98.2Oklahoma City, OK: price level 90.4Louisville, KY: price level 93.1Richmond, VA: price level 97.9Memphis, TN: price level 92.2Salt Lake City, UT: price level 100.9Birmingham, AL: price level 91.6Fresno, CA: price level 102.2Grand Rapids, MI: price level 95.5Hartford, CT: price level 102.7Buffalo, NY: price level 95.8Tucson, AZ: price level 96.9Tulsa, OK: price level 89.2Rochester, NY: price level 97.0Omaha, NE: price level 91.9Honolulu, HI: price level 111.0Greenville, SC: price level 93.3Bridgeport, CT: price level 106.9New Orleans, LA: price level 92.6Knoxville, TN: price level 92.6Sarasota, FL: price level 102.4Albuquerque, NM: price level 95.5Bakersfield, CA: price level 100.9McAllen, TX: price level 85.9Albany, NY: price level 99.6Allentown, PA: price level 100.0Baton Rouge, LA: price level 90.8Worcester, MA: price level 102.5El Paso, TX: price level 89.9Columbia, SC: price level 93.7Charleston, SC: price level 101.0Cape Coral, FL: price level 102.3Lakeland, FL: price level 97.1Boise, ID: price level 98.4Oxnard, CA: price level 110.5Dayton, OH: price level 92.7Stockton, CA: price level 105.1Greensboro, NC: price level 92.9Colorado Springs, CO: price level 100.7Little Rock, AR: price level 89.4Provo, UT: price level 98.2Des Moines, IA: price level 91.7Daytona Beach, FL: price level 99.4Poughkeepsie, NY: price level 109.4Madison, WI: price level 97.3Winston-Salem, NC: price level 92.0Akron, OH: price level 93.4Ogden, UT: price level 100.3Wichita, KS: price level 88.9Palm Bay, FL: price level 100.0Syracuse, NY: price level 95.7Augusta, GA: price level 91.9Durham, NC: price level 97.6Harrisburg, PA: price level 98.7Jackson, MS: price level 89.0Fayetteville, AR: price level 91.4Spokane, WA: price level 100.3Toledo, OH: price level 91.5Chattanooga, TN: price level 91.5New Haven, CT: price level 104.6Reno, NV: price level 101.0Portland, ME: price level 101.9Port St. Lucie, FL: price level 100.2Huntsville, AL: price level 93.1Pensacola, FL: price level 97.7Lexington, KY: price level 92.9Killeen, TX: price level 91.1Springfield, MO: price level 88.6Santa Rosa, CA: price level 107.8Wilmington, NC: price level 96.4Fort Wayne, IN: price level 92.6Vallejo, CA: price level 108.5Santa Barbara, CA: price level 108.8Salinas, CA: price level 109.0Savannah, GA: price level 95.2Manchester, NH: price level 105.7Ocala, FL: price level 95.2Asheville, NC: price level 96.5Naples, FL: price level 103.2Myrtle Beach, SC: price level 93.6Anchorage, AK: price level 105.4Spartanburg, SC: price level 91.1Fayetteville, NC: price level 92.0Trenton, NJ: price level 103.2Eugene, OR: price level 101.6Fort Collins, CO: price level 101.1Ann Arbor, MI: price level 100.9Greeley, CO: price level 100.2Gainesville, FL: price level 96.7Clarksville, TN: price level 90.9Boulder, CO: price level 105.2Columbus, GA: price level 89.3Crestview, FL: price level 97.0Sioux Falls, SD: price level 90.6Olympia, WA: price level 103.7Norwich, CT: price level 100.4Bremerton, WA: price level 105.6Fargo, ND: price level 90.9Bend, OR: price level 103.6Daphne, AL: price level 94.7Prescott, AZ: price level 98.3Hilton Head Island, SC: price level 98.0Burlington, VT: price level 100.9Panama City, FL: price level 97.3Jacksonville, NC: price level 92.1Punta Gorda, FL: price level 100.5Billings, MT: price level 93.5The Villages, FL: price level 85.4Cheyenne, WY: price level 96.5

Hover over or tap a dot to see its value.

Price level of the 149 metros we cover
See all 149 cities

Price level, from cheaper to pricier.

Salary to match $75k
$73,000
vs. an average-priced, no-income-tax area
Median rent
$1,433
per month · need $57,320 income
Median home
$325,300
need about $82,689 to buy

Compare Myrtle Beach with your city

See what you'd need to earn in Myrtle Beach to keep your lifestyle, after taxes and local prices. The calculator starts from New York, NY, which sends the most households here of the metros we cover (IRS, 2022–2023), at about its median household income. Pick your own city and salary.

Equal salary in Myrtle Beach: $74,400

Compare any two of 149 U.S. metro areas. All cities

To keep the same lifestyle, you need about $74,400 in Myrtle Beach, SC to match $100,000 in New York, NY ($25,600 less), after 2026 taxes and local prices.

Single filer, W-2 salary. Uses New York and South Carolina state income tax; includes New York City resident tax $3,441 (inside city limits).

Take-home in New York
$70,467
29.5% total tax
Take-home in Myrtle Beach
$74,936
25.1% total tax
Prices in Myrtle Beach
-16.9%
vs New York (BEA 2024)
Renting: change after selected costs
+$9,365
per year, after taxes, rent and power; excludes food, transport, healthcare, child care and moving costs

See the full New York to Myrtle Beach report

What things cost in Myrtle Beach

Price level by category (U.S. = 100)
Below the U.S. average
Overall93.6
Housing83.1
Goods96.3
Utilities88.0
Other services98.3

The vertical line marks the U.S. average (100). BEA Regional Price Parities 2024 for the metropolitan area.

Taxes in Myrtle Beach

On a $70,000 salary (about the area's median household income), a single filer keeps $55,749 after 2026 federal tax ($6,570), Social Security and Medicare ($5,355) and South Carolina income tax ($2,326).

Housing

MeasureMyrtle Beach area
Median rent$1,433/mo
Median home value$325,300
Median property tax$1,087/yr
Monthly cost to own the median home (20% down)$1,929
Median household income$68,534

Climate and jobs in Myrtle Beach

In the Myrtle Beach area the average January low is 37°F and the average July high 88°F, and the area has about 21 days a year at 90°F or hotter. Unemployment averaged 5.2% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%), and the median wage across all jobs was $37,930 a year, 26% below the U.S. median.

Climate in the Myrtle Beach area: NOAA 1991–2020 normals
Climate1991–2020 average
January low37°F
July high88°F
Days 90°F or hotter21 a year
Precipitation48 in a year
SnowfallNot measured
Jobs and pay in the Myrtle Beach area compared with the U.S. (Bureau of Labor Statistics)
Jobs and payMetro areaU.S.
Unemployment rate, 2025 average5.2%4.3%
Median wage, all jobs (May 2025)$37,930$50,980
Wage and salary jobs (May 2025)146,260155.5 million

Climate: NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020 averages at the North Myrtle Beach Airport station (USW00093718); no nearby station has a snowfall normal. Weather varies across a metro area, especially with elevation and distance from the coast. Jobs: unemployment from BLS Local Area Unemployment Statistics; wages and job counts from BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, which count wage and salary jobs, not the self-employed; wages are before taxes. The 2025 average covers 11 months: October 2025 data were not collected during the federal government shutdown.

Retiring in Myrtle Beach

A single retiree spends about $2,918 a month here if they own their home outright, or $3,967 renting, based on typical spending for households 65 and older (BLS 2024) adjusted for local prices. See where your budget goes furthest.

Where people move to and from Myrtle Beach

Leaving Myrtle Beach for… (households)
Charlotte428
Charleston408
Wilmington292
Columbia276
New York221
Greenville217
Raleigh154
Miami113
Moving to Myrtle Beach from… (households)
New York1,538
Charlotte654
Washington, D.C.480
Philadelphia397
Wilmington344
Baltimore291
Charleston291
Poughkeepsie272

IRS county-to-county migration data, 2022–2023, aggregated to the 149 metro areas we cover.

Natural hazard risk

FEMA rates the Myrtle Beach area among the highest for natural hazard risk (score 98.2 of 100), with expected losses of about $833 per resident per year. Disaster risk by county in South Carolina.

Highest relative risks (national percentile)
Higher risk than most U.S. counties
Hurricane100
Tornado97
Earthquake96
Lightning96
Winter weather96

The vertical line marks the middle of U.S. counties (50).

Frequently asked questions

What salary do you need to live in Myrtle Beach?

To match the buying power of $75,000 in an average-priced area with no state income tax, you need about $73,000 in Myrtle Beach. Renting the median home at 30% of income takes $57,320, and buying the median home with 20% down takes about $82,689.

Is Myrtle Beach expensive?

The Myrtle Beach metro area's price level is 93.6 (U.S. = 100), #110 of the 149 metro areas we cover, from most to least expensive. Its housing price index is 83.1, 17% below the U.S. average.

Are people moving to Myrtle Beach?

Counting moves to and from the other 148 metro areas we cover, Myrtle Beach had a net gain of about 4,759 households in 2022–2023 (IRS county migration data).

What is the weather like in Myrtle Beach?

In NOAA's 1991–2020 climate normals for the Myrtle Beach area (North Myrtle Beach Airport weather station), the average January low is 37°F and the average July high 88°F. The area has about 21 days a year at 90°F or hotter and gets 48 inches of precipitation a year.

What are jobs and pay like in Myrtle Beach?

The Myrtle Beach metro area's unemployment rate averaged 5.2% in 2025, above the U.S. rate (4.3%). The median wage across all jobs was $37,930 a year in May 2025, 26% below the U.S. median of $50,980 (Bureau of Labor Statistics).

What natural disasters affect Myrtle Beach?

FEMA's National Risk Index rates the area among the highest overall (score 98.2). The highest relative risks are hurricane, tornado, earthquake.

Compare Myrtle Beach with other cities

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