Cost of living in Myrtle Beach
compared with your city.

The short answer

Your money buys a lot more house here

The typical home in the Myrtle Beach area sells for about $342,000. In the New York area it is about $737,000. Boston is about $742,000, Washington about $580,000 and Philadelphia about $392,000. Sell in any of those and you can often buy here outright, or buy a much bigger house for the same payment.

Day to day costs move less than the house does. Food, power and everyday items run close to the national average. Rent is the one that clearly drops, at about 17 percent below average.

Not every move saves you money on a house. Cleveland runs about $254,000 and Pittsburgh about $232,000, so both are cheaper than here. If you are coming from the Midwest, put your city in the calculator before you assume the coast is a bargain.

Real bills

What our customers actually pay each month

These are real bills from a customer in a 1,400 square foot two-story house in 2026, not an area average. Power runs about $119.89 and water about $51.42. Your bill moves with the size of the house and how cold you keep it.

Internet runs about $40 to $75 a month. Most addresses can choose between a local fiber co-op and cable, so it is worth getting both prices.

Peak Hours: how your power bill really works

Both utilities that serve Horry County, Santee Cooper and Horry Electric Cooperative, charge a residential account two ways. You pay for the power you use, and you pay again for your highest single hour of use that month. On their published 2026 schedules that second charge runs $8 to $12 for each kilowatt in that one hour.

The company calls that window Peak Hours. It runs 3pm to 6pm from April to October, and 6am to 9am from November to March. Run the dryer, the oven and the pool pump together at 5pm in July and you pay for it all month. Spread them out and the same power costs less.

Opening an account needs a credit check and may need a deposit. Water and sewer outside the city needs one day of notice, so call before you move in. Who serves your street is on our moving checklist.

Side by side

What you pay in taxes now, and what you would pay here

It opens on a real example. Change any line to your own numbers and press Calculate. It estimates the income tax, the local income tax where your town charges one, and the property tax on both ends, and what the price of the house puts back in your pocket. Estimates, not facts. Nothing you type leaves your browser.

An estimate, not a fact. Rates, brackets and retirement rules come from each state's own department of revenue and statutes for 2026, and the Myrtle Beach property tax uses Horry County's 2025 certified millage for an owner-occupied home outside the city limits, with the 4 percent residential ratio, the school operating exemption and the 65 and older homestead exemption. Left out on both sides: federal tax, car taxes, insurance, and any credit that depends on your own return. Where a state rule is too detailed to model we leave it out, and almost every one of those left out would RAISE the bill in the state you are leaving, not lower it: Connecticut's tax recapture, New York's supplemental tax, and the exemption phase-outs in Maryland and Ohio. Two run the other way and we would rather name them: Pennsylvania's tax forgiveness and the Massachusetts senior circuit breaker are low-income credits we do not apply, so if you qualify for one, your bill up north is lower than we show. Insurance is its own question on this coast and usually costs more here than up north; the coastal insurance page has the real numbers. Your accountant has the last word, and we will sit down and go through it with you.

Taxes

Taxes are lower here

Taxes drop for almost everyone who moves here. The drop is bigger than the price difference on food or power.

This is general information, not tax advice. Rates and deductions change, and your own situation decides the answer. Confirm anything you plan around with a tax professional or the Horry County Auditor.

Income tax

For the 2026 tax year, South Carolina charges 1.99 percent on your first $30,000 of taxable income and 5.21 percent above that. No city or county adds its own income tax. Social Security is not taxed. Military retirement pay is not taxed at any age. Other retirement income gets a deduction of up to $3,000 before you turn 65 and up to $10,000 after. At 65 there is also a deduction of up to $15,000 against any income, but it is reduced by whatever retirement deduction you already took, so the two do not stack. A couple where both are 65 can claim up to $30,000.

Property tax

These are assessment ratios, not tax rates. Only 4 percent of a main home's value is assessed, and a main home is also exempt from the school operating tax. For a second home or a rental, 6 percent is assessed and the school tax applies. On a $350,000 house in the unincorporated county that is roughly $1,300 a year as a main home against roughly $4,200 as a second home. You have to apply for the lower rate yourself. Our property tax page has the form and a calculator.

Car tax, which is new for most people

South Carolina taxes your car every year. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Ohio do not. North Carolina, Virginia and Massachusetts already do, so check yours. The tax reaches past cars: the county bills boats and campers every year too. A $30,000 car costs about $360 a year outside the city and about $460 inside Myrtle Beach, plus a $50 road fee. You also pay $250 once per car when you first register it here. Devin, who wrote this page, arrived from Ohio three years ago, and this tax was the one that caught him.

Sales tax and gas

Sales tax is 8 percent in the county and 9 percent inside Myrtle Beach. Food you cook at home is not taxed at all here. Gas is cheaper too. In August 2026 South Carolina ran about 40 cents a gallon below the national average, about 45 cents below Ohio and about 45 cents below New York. Devin calls cheaper gas the best everyday change since his own move from Ohio.

Common questions

Myrtle Beach cost of living FAQ

Sources: US Bureau of Economic Analysis, Zillow, SC Department of Revenue, Horry County, AAA fuel prices. Our own bills are marked as ours. Prices and rates change.