Myrtle Beach composite
32.8 /100
Grade F · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Myrtle Beach vs Spartanburg
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC and Spartanburg, SC side by side, cost of living, rent, wages, crime, schools, childcare and environment, all from the same federal datasets so every number is directly comparable.
- 32.8
- Myrtle Beach Life Score
- F
- Myrtle Beach grade
- 45.7
- Spartanburg Life Score
- C+
- Spartanburg grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Myrtle Beach scores higher on 2 (safety, childcare) and Spartanburg on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Where each metro wins, and by how much
Every dimension is a national percentile (0–100). Each bar leans toward the stronger metro, a long lean is a decisive edge, a near-even split is a toss-up. The radar shows the overall shape; this shows the per-dimension margins.
◖ Myrtle Beach Spartanburg ◗
cost of living
49
69
wages
21
43
rent
34
65
safety
18
17
schools
32
32
childcare
70
69
environment
8
8
Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Myrtle Beach has a cost-of-living index of 93.6 vs Spartanburg's 91.1 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $59,331 in Myrtle Beach and $63,034 in Spartanburg. A 2-bedroom averages $1,465/mo vs $1,187/mo.
Beyond the headline numbers
Reading the Myrtle Beach vs Spartanburg Comparison
The cost gap above compounds fastest through housing: the difference in HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent between Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg works out to $3,336 over a year, the largest single line item behind the headline spread.
Adjusted for cost of living rather than compared as nominal dollars, $100,000 earned in Myrtle Beach carries the same local purchasing power as $97,233 in Spartanburg - the more honest read than the salary headline above, because nominal wages and rents move together in tight metros. State-level violent crime, the most reliable geographic tier FBI UCR publishes, is 439.3 per 100,000 residents in SC vs 439.3 in SC, with property-crime rates of 1988.2 and 1988.2 respectively.
Schools are reported at the state tier by NCES: SC lists 1,215 public schools at a 13.8:1 student-teacher ratio, while SC lists 1,215 schools at 13.8:1, a signal of class-size staffing, though individual district and school-level variation within each state is substantial. Department of Labor center-based infant care runs $7,732/yr in the Myrtle Beach area versus $7,732/yr in Spartanburg - a line item that shifts the real cost-of-living picture for households with children under five far more than headline RPP does. When these pieces are read together rather than in isolation, Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg are not simply "cheaper" or "more expensive" - they trade across dimensions, and which metro wins depends on whether your household optimizes for rent, wages, schools, childcare, safety, or environment. Treat the tables below as inputs to that trade-off, not as a single ranking.
Spartanburg composite
45.7 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Environment score gap
0 pts
Spartanburg cleaner, national percentile
Safety score gap
0 pts
Myrtle Beach safer, national percentile
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach composite (Grade F)
Spartanburg
Spartanburg composite (Grade C+)
Composite is a weighted roll-up of seven dimensions: cost (20%), wages (20%), rent (15%), safety (15%), schools (10%), childcare (10%), environment (10%). Each input normalized to a 0–100 percentile across all metros.
💰 Cost of Living BEA →
| Category | Myrtle Beach | Spartanburg |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 93.6 | 91.1 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.3 |
| Services | 88.0 | 88.3 |
| Rents | 83.1 | 68.0 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Spartanburg gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Myrtle Beach?
$
Equivalent in Spartanburg:
$97,233
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Myrtle Beach: 93.6, Spartanburg: 91.1, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Myrtle Beach | Spartanburg |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,145/mo | $1,034/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,229/mo | $1,083/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,465/mo | $1,187/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,805/mo | $1,439/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,111/mo | $1,661/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Myrtle Beach | Spartanburg |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $59,331 | $63,034 |
| Total Employment | 135,370 | 158,460 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Myrtle Beach (SC) | Spartanburg (SC) |
|---|---|---|
| Violent Crime | 439.3 | 439.3 |
| Property Crime | 1988.2 | 1988.2 |
🎓 Schools (state-level) NCES →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Total Schools | 1,215 | 1,215 |
| Student-Teacher Ratio | 13.8:1 | 13.8:1 |
| Charter Schools | 7.2% | 7.2% |
👶 Childcare Costs (Annual Avg) (state-level) DOL →
| Age Group | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Infant (Center) | $7,732/yr | $7,732/yr |
| Toddler (Center) | $7,449/yr | $7,449/yr |
| Preschool (Center) | $7,402/yr | $7,402/yr |
🌿 Environment (state-level) EPA →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| EPA Facilities | 660 | 660 |
| Water Systems | 558 | 558 |
| Superfund Sites | 34 | 34 |
| Water Violations | 720 | 720 |
Government-verified data - Air quality (EPA AQS), water safety (EPA SDWIS), healthcare access (HRSA), and disaster risk (FEMA NRI) are sourced directly from U.S. federal agencies. No crowdsourced estimates.
💨 Air Quality (EPA AQS) EPA AQS →
| Metric | Myrtle Beach | Spartanburg |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 39.0 | 48.0 |
| Good Air Days | 82.5% | 55.1% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 3 days | 0 days |
💧 Water Safety (EPA SDWIS, state-level) EPA SDWIS →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Water Safety Score | 45/100 | 45/100 |
| Total Violations | 38,355 | 38,355 |
| Health-Based Violations | 9,705 | 9,705 |
| Systems with Violations | 65.3% | 65.3% |
🏥 Healthcare Access (HRSA, state-level) HRSA →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Healthcare Access Score | 16/100 | 16/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 83.9% | 83.9% |
| HPSA Designations | 267 | 267 |
HPSA = Health Professional Shortage Area, designated by HRSA. Higher access score = better healthcare availability.
⚠️ Natural Disaster Risk (FEMA NRI, state-level) FEMA NRI →
| Metric | SC | SC |
|---|---|---|
| Disaster Safety Score | 36/100 | 36/100 |
| NRI Risk Score (avg county) | 70.7 | 70.7 |
| Expected Annual Loss Score | 65.2 | 65.2 |
FEMA National Risk Index (NRI) scores are county-level percentiles (0–100). Higher disaster safety score = lower relative risk. State-level values are county averages.
Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level. Metro-specific data for these dimensions is not available.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Myrtle Beach more expensive than Spartanburg? ▼
Myrtle Beach has a cost of living index of 93.6 compared to Spartanburg's 91.1 (national average = 100). Myrtle Beach is 2.6 points above Spartanburg on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,465/mo in Myrtle Beach vs $1,187/mo in Spartanburg, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,145/mo to $1,034/mo.
How do salaries compare between Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $59,331 in Myrtle Beach and $63,034 in Spartanburg, according to BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics. After adjusting for cost of living, $100,000 in Myrtle Beach has the same purchasing power as $97,233 in Spartanburg.
Is Myrtle Beach or Spartanburg safer? ▼
At the state level, SC has a violent crime rate of 439.3 per 100,000 residents compared to SC's 439.3 per 100,000. Property crime rates are 1988.2 vs 1988.2 per 100,000 respectively, based on FBI Uniform Crime Report data.
How do schools compare between Myrtle Beach and Spartanburg? ▼
SC has 1,215 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 13.8:1, while SC has 1,215 schools at 13.8:1. Charter schools make up 7.2% of SC schools vs 7.2% in SC. Data from the National Center for Education Statistics.
Where does the comparison data come from? ▼
All data comes from official U.S. government sources: Bureau of Economic Analysis (cost of living), HUD (fair market rents), BLS (wages), FBI UCR (crime), NCES (schools), Department of Labor (childcare), EPA (environment, air quality, water safety), HRSA (healthcare access), and FEMA NRI (disaster risk). No crowdsourced estimates or proprietary ratings are used.
Research Guides
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Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, EPA AQS, EPA SDWIS, HRSA, and FEMA NRI. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.
Disclaimer: This comparison is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute financial, legal, or relocation advice. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.
Related
Data sourced from official public datasets, current as of 2026. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare