Is Myrtle Beach a cheap place to live?

It is affordable rather than cheap. CostLiving’s moderate benchmark for Myrtle Beach is $3,275 a month for a single person, which sits near the middle of the US pack, so it is a reasonable-value coastal town but not a bargain in absolute terms. What makes it feel cheap to many newcomers is context. Compared with beach living in Florida, California, or the Northeast, Myrtle Beach undercuts them clearly, and South Carolina’s low property taxes and modest state income tax mean more of your income stays with you than in higher-tax states. The budget tier of $1,965 a month shows that a careful single person living inland, sharing or renting modestly and cooking at home, can live here for well under the moderate figure. The forces pulling the other way are home insurance, which reflects hurricane and flood risk and runs higher than inland states, and the oceanfront premium, which makes the postcard version of the town anything but cheap. So the fair verdict is good value for a coastal community, especially for retirees on a fixed income, provided you treat beachfront living as the splurge it is. Full tier breakdown on our Myrtle Beach cost of living page.