Myrtle Beach, South Carolina Cost Of Living

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C

Overall 1%

Goods & Services 2%

Housing 8%

Date & Last Updated: This data reflects 2020 and was released from C2ER in January, 2021; this is the most current data available.

The cost of living index is based on a national average of 100. For example, if the cost of living is 90, then it is 10% lower than average. If the cost of living is 110, then it is 10% higher than average. The breakdown for each index is as follows: goods & services (33%), groceries (13%), health care (5%), housing (30%), transportation (9%) and utilities (10%). If the cost of living data was unavailable for this city, estimates based upon nearby cities were used.
Index	Myrtle Beach	South Carolina	National
Cost of living	99	94	100
Goods & Services	102	99	100
Groceries	98	103	100
Health care	107	94	100
Housing	92	80	100
Transportation	108	92	100
Utilities	103	107	100

Key findings

The cost of living in Myrtle Beach is 6% higher than the South Carolina average
The cost of living in Myrtle Beach is 1% lower than the national average
Myrtle Beach housing is 8% lower than the national average
South Carolina general sales tax is 18% higher than the national average
South Carolina state income tax is 100% lower than the national average

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Price difference in compared to

Cost of living index
Goods & Services index
Groceries index
Health care index
Housing index
Transportation index
Utilities index

Median Income & Debt-To-Income Ratio

Median Income	Per Year	Per Month	Max Budget (28% DTI)	Max Budget (36% DTI)
Owners	$52,272	$4,356	$1,220	$1,568
Renters	$26,824	$2,235	$626	$805

A good way to judge both the affordability of the housing and the cost of living in Myrtle Beach is by simply calculating the maximum that should be spent on housing, otherwise known as the debt-to-income ratio (DTI). The plan is to avoid spending more than 28 percent of the gross income on costs that pertain to housing and no more than 36 percent on all expenses and debts. Myrtle Beach has a median income of about $52,272 for people who own homes. Based on that number, a maximum of $1,220 should be spent on expenses related to housing. Renters have a slightly different median income, which is $26,824. Based on this average, renters should spend no more than $626 on all rental costs if they want to maintain a non-impoverished standard of living.

South Carolina Sales Tax

State	General Sales Tax	With Max Surtax
South Carolina	6%	9%

South Carolina Income Tax

State	Income Tax (Low)	Income Tax (High)
South Carolina	0%	7%

Goods & Services

Item	Myrtle Beach	National avg.	Difference
Haircut	$15.00	$18.62	19.5%
Beauty Salon	$42.50	$39.05	8.8%
Toothpaste	$3.23	$2.34	38.0%
Shampoo	$1.07	$1.06	1.3%
Movie	$10.35	$10.68	3.1%
Bowling	$13.67	$14.67	6.8%

Groceries

Item	Myrtle Beach	National avg.	Difference
Ground Beef	$4.32	$4.22	2.3%
Fried Chicken	$1.48	$1.39	6.8%
Milk	$2.58	$2.05	25.9%
Potatoes	$4.30	$3.29	30.8%
Pizza	$8.99	$10.62	15.4%
Beer	$9.69	$9.38	3.3%

Health Care

Item	Myrtle Beach	National avg.	Difference
Optometrist	$116.40	$108.57	7.2%
Doctor	$121.67	$116.17	4.7%
Dentist	$120.22	$99.13	21.3%
Ibuprofen	$7.97	$9.68	17.6%
Lipitor	$418.23	$466.92	10.4%

Housing

Item	Myrtle Beach	National avg.	Difference
Home Price	$173,600.00	$184,700.00	6.0%
Avg. Mortgage Payment	$1,047.17	$1,197.42	12.5%
Apartment Rent	$824.00	$949.00	13.2%

Transportation

Item	Myrtle Beach	National avg.	Difference
Gasoline	$2.50	$2.22	12.5%
Tire Balancing	$63.96	$50.07	27.8%

Utilities

Item	Myrtle Beach	National avg.	Difference
All Electricity	$180.80	$167.67	7.8%
Phone	$177.09	$175.64	0.8%

Although the cost of living data is updated regularly, this cost of living information is to be used as estimates only as prices can change on an ongoing basis.

Nearby cities with low cost of living

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Bucksport, SC	805	89	-11%
Atlantic Beach, SC	239	91	-9%
Garden City, SC	9,456	94	-6%
Conway, SC	20,631	95	-5%
Forestbrook, SC	5,218	97	-3%
Myrtle Beach, SC	30,106	99	-1%

Cities with similar population

City, State	Population	Cost of Living Index	National Avg.
Orcutt, CA	30,109	136	36%
Helena, MT	30,102	98	-2%
Burlingame, CA	30,118	274	174%
Holly Springs, NC	30,126	109	9%
Lawrenceville, GA	30,127	95	-5%
Myrtle Beach, SC	30,106	99	-1%

Source: The Myrtle Beach, SC cost of living data displayed above is derived from the Council for Community and Economic Research (C2ER) for 2020.