Myrtle Beach composite
46.6 /100
Grade C+ · weighted across 7 dims
Metro comparison
Myrtle Beach vs Sumter
Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC and Sumter, 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.
- 46.6
- Myrtle Beach Life Score
- C+
- Myrtle Beach grade
- 60.5
- Sumter Life Score
- A-
- Sumter grade
Head-to-head verdict
Across the seven dimensions, Myrtle Beach scores higher on 2 (safety, childcare) and Sumter on 5 (cost of living, wages, rent, schools, environment). The radar shows the full shape; the tables below break out every figure.
Myrtle Beach vs Sumter across all seven dimensions (each scored 0–100 as a national percentile, bigger area = stronger overall)
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 Sumter ◗
cost of living
49
87
wages
6
12
rent
34
52
safety
97
96
schools
27
28
childcare
70
69
environment
63
88
Myrtle Beach and Sumter differ across eleven dimensions of livability. Myrtle Beach has a cost-of-living index of 93.6 vs Sumter's 88.0 (national average = 100). Median salaries are $59,331 in Myrtle Beach and $56,027 in Sumter. A 2-bedroom averages $1,465/mo vs $1,276/mo.
How to read this matchup
Reading the Myrtle Beach vs Sumter Comparison
Myrtle Beach (SC) and Sumter (SC) are assembled here from the same federal data pipeline, BEA Regional Price Parities, HUD Fair Market Rents, BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, FBI Uniform Crime Reports, NCES public-school counts, and EPA environmental indicators, so every number on this page is directly comparable. The overall cost index reads 93.6 for Myrtle Beach against 88.0 for Sumter, a 5.6-point gap on a scale where 100 equals the U.S. average. HUD's 2-bedroom Fair Market Rent, the figure used to set housing-choice voucher payment standards, is $1,465/mo in Myrtle Beach and $1,276/mo in Sumter, a $189/mo difference that compounds to $2,268 over a year.
On wages, BLS OES reports a median salary of $59,331 across 135,370 jobs in Myrtle Beach against $56,027 across 28,110 jobs in Sumter. Adjusted through the BEA cost-of-living lens, $100,000 earned in Myrtle Beach carries the same local purchasing power as $93,996 in Sumter - the most honest way to read the salary headline, 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 14.3:1 student-teacher ratio, while SC lists 1,215 schools at 14.3:1, 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 Sumter - 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 Sumter 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.
Sumter composite
60.5 /100
Grade A- · weighted across 7 dims
Cost-of-living gap
5.6 pts
Myrtle Beach vs Sumter BEA RPP
2-bed rent delta
$189 /mo
Myrtle Beach priced higher
Composite life score on the national 0–100 scale
Myrtle Beach
Myrtle Beach composite (Grade C+)
Sumter
Sumter composite (Grade A-)
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 | Sumter |
|---|---|---|
| Overall RPP | 93.6 | 88.0 |
| Goods | 96.3 | 96.3 |
| Services | 88.0 | 87.3 |
| Rents | 83.1 | 60.8 |
Salary Equivalent Calculator
What salary in Sumter gives the same purchasing power as your salary in Myrtle Beach?
$
Equivalent in Sumter:
$93,996
Based on BEA Regional Price Parities (Myrtle Beach: 93.6, Sumter: 88.0, national avg = 100).
🏠 Rent (Fair Market Rent) HUD →
| Bedrooms | Myrtle Beach | Sumter |
|---|---|---|
| Studio | $1,145/mo | $880/mo |
| 1 Bedroom | $1,229/mo | $972/mo |
| 2 Bedroom | $1,465/mo | $1,276/mo |
| 3 Bedroom | $1,805/mo | $1,530/mo |
| 4 Bedroom | $2,111/mo | $1,871/mo |
💼 Wages & Employment BLS →
| Metric | Myrtle Beach | Sumter |
|---|---|---|
| Avg Median Salary | $59,331 | $56,027 |
| Total Employment | 135,370 | 28,110 |
🛡️ Crime Rates (state-level) FBI →
| Crime Type (per 100K) | Myrtle Beach (SC) | Sumter (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 | 14.3:1 | 14.3:1 |
| 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 | 557 | 557 |
| Superfund Sites | 34 | 34 |
| Water Violations | 647 | 647 |
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 | Sumter |
|---|---|---|
| Median AQI | 40.0 | 43.4 |
| Good Air Days | 78.8% | 70.8% |
| Unhealthy Air Days | 0 days | N/A |
Sumter air quality shown at state level. Myrtle Beach has metro-level data.
💧 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 | 0/100 | 0/100 |
| Population in Shortage Area | 100.0% | 100.0% |
| HPSA Designations | 264 | 264 |
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 Sumter? ▼
Myrtle Beach has a cost of living index of 93.6 compared to Sumter's 88.0 (national average = 100). Myrtle Beach is 5.6 points above Sumter on the BEA Regional Price Parity scale.
What is the rent difference between Myrtle Beach and Sumter? ▼
A 2-bedroom apartment averages $1,465/mo in Myrtle Beach vs $1,276/mo in Sumter, based on HUD Fair Market Rent data. Studios range from $1,145/mo to $880/mo.
How do salaries compare between Myrtle Beach and Sumter? ▼
The average median salary across all occupations is $59,331 in Myrtle Beach and $56,027 in Sumter, 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 $93,996 in Sumter.
Is Myrtle Beach or Sumter 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 Sumter? ▼
SC has 1,215 public schools with an average student-teacher ratio of 14.3:1, while SC has 1,215 schools at 14.3:1. 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 Editorial