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Demographics of Myrtle Beach, SC
Affluence Level in Myrtle Beach, SC
A middle-class area roughly in line with national averages across income, home values, education, and employment.
People of Myrtle Beach, SC
The people of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, today form a population of 37,214 that is 67.7% White, 14.3% Black, 12.6% Hispanic, and 8.3% foreign-born, with a college attainment rate of 34.1%. The city is characterized by a transient, service-oriented workforce tied to tourism and a growing retiree and second-home segment, creating a demographic profile distinct from the more industrial inland counties. Its identity is shaped by a sharp divide between long-term, multi-generational residents and a constant inflow of newcomers drawn by beachfront lifestyle and lower taxes.
How the city was settled and grew
Myrtle Beach was not a colonial-era settlement. The area was sparsely inhabited by the Waccamaw and Winyah tribes until European contact, and the first permanent non-Native residents were rice and indigo planters who established plantations along the Waccamaw River and the Intracoastal Waterway in the 18th and early 19th centuries. The city itself was incorporated in 1938, a direct result of the 1901 arrival of the Conway & Seashore Railroad, which opened the Grand Strand to timber and turpentine industries. The original population was overwhelmingly White and rural, drawn from the surrounding Horry County farmlands. The first concentrated settlement grew around the railroad depot at what is now the Downtown Myrtle Beach district, where boarding houses and general stores served timber workers. A small Black population, descended from enslaved plantation laborers, established the Booker T. Washington neighborhood (also known as "The Hill") near 9th Avenue North and Carver Street, which became the historic center of the city's African American community. By 1950, the population was still under 4,000, overwhelmingly White and native-born, with a small Black minority concentrated in that single neighborhood.
Modern era (post-1965)
The 1965 Immigration and Nationality Act had a minimal direct effect on Myrtle Beach; the city's modern demographic shifts are driven almost entirely by domestic migration. The post-1965 boom was fueled by the completion of the Intracoastal Waterway and the expansion of U.S. 17 and Highway 501, which turned Myrtle Beach into a drive-to tourist destination. The population surged from 9,000 in 1970 to 22,000 by 1990, with the new arrivals being predominantly White retirees and service-sector workers from the Northeast and Midwest. These newcomers settled in the Market Common district (a former Air Force base redeveloped after 1993) and the Carolina Forest area, a master-planned community that absorbed most of the city's post-2000 growth. The Hispanic population, now 12.6%, began arriving in the 1990s, primarily from Mexico and Central America, to work in construction, hospitality, and landscaping. They concentrated in the Forestbrook and Socastee areas, where lower housing costs and proximity to service jobs created informal ethnic enclaves. The Black population, 14.3%, remains heavily concentrated in the historic Booker T. Washington neighborhood and the Midtown corridor along 21st Avenue North, though some middle-class Black families have moved into newer subdivisions in Carolina Forest. The East/Southeast Asian population (1.0%) is small and scattered, with no distinct ethnic neighborhood; most are owners of small businesses, particularly restaurants and motels. The Indian-subcontinent population is effectively zero (0.0%), a notable absence compared to larger South Carolina cities like Charleston or Greenville.
The future
Myrtle Beach is homogenizing rather than tribalizing. The city's population is projected to grow to roughly 45,000 by 2035, driven by continued domestic in-migration of retirees and remote workers from higher-tax states. The Hispanic share is likely to rise to 15-18% as the service economy expandsaint, but these families are dispersing into the same suburban subdivisions as White newcomers rather than forming a permanent barrio. The Black population share is stable or slightly declining, as younger Black residents leave for larger cities with better job markets. The foreign-born share, currently 8.3%, will likely plateau near 10-12%, as the city lacks the industrial base or refugee resettlement programs that drive higher immigration in other metros. The biggest demographic story is the aging of the White population: the median age is already 43.5, and the retiree influx will push it higher, creating a city that is simultaneously more affluent and more dependent on a low-wage, largely Hispanic service workforce.
For someone moving in now, Myrtle Beach is becoming a two-tier city: a comfortable, mostly White and older coastal suburb for those who can afford the beachfront and golf-course homes, and a younger, more diverse service workforce living in the inland corridors. The historic Black and Hispanic neighborhoods are not disappearing, but they are not expanding either. The city's future is one of slow, steady growth, with demographic change driven by domestic retirees rather than international immigration.
* Values derived from national, state, county, city and local statistics and may differ in a specific area. Last updated: 2026-04-29T19:15:11.000Z
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