PlainCompare

Metro Life Score

Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC

46.6
Life Score / 100
C+
Grade (curved)
#247
of 387 metros
36%
of metros outranked

Data updated May 2026

Verify: BEA · BLS · HUD · FBI · NCES · EPA · Census

The verdict

Myrtle Beach ranks #247 of 387 US metros, ahead of 36% - carried by its safety (97/100) and held back most by wages (6/100).

97
strongest: Safety
70
then: Childcare
6
weakest: Wages
7
weighted dimensions

Where Myrtle Beach sits among all US metros

Composite Life Score vs the national field

47 36th percentile higher than 36% of 387 US metros

25–30: 1 US metros (0%). Below this entry. 30–35: 16 US metros (4%). Below this entry. 35–40: 46 US metros (12%). Below this entry. 40–45: 53 US metros (14%). Below this entry. 45–50: 81 US metros (21%). This entry sits in this band. 50–55: 67 US metros (17%). Above this entry. 55–60: 68 US metros (18%). Above this entry. 60–65: 40 US metros (10%). Above this entry. 65–70: 12 US metros (3%). Above this entry. 70–75: 3 US metros (1%). Above this entry. This metro 25 75 every US metro, bucketed by value

Each bar is a band; taller bars hold more US metros. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source PlainCompare composite of BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, EPA data · May 2026

How the score is built

Reading the Myrtle Beach Life Score

Myrtle Beach's composite score of 46.6 out of 100, a grade of C+, places the metro at rank #247 of 387, ahead of 36% of US metros. The strongest inputs are Safety (97/100) and Childcare (70/100), which pull the composite upward, while Wages (6/100) and Schools (27/100) drag it downward. (How the weighting works.)

BEA RPP 93.6 (rent-RPP 83.1). BLS median salary $59,331, 135,370 jobs (Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Fast Food and Counter Workers). HUD 2BR FMR $1,465/mo (studio $1,145).

FBI UCR (SC): 439 violent, 1988 property/100K. NCES: 14.3:1 ratio, 7.2% charter. DOL infant childcare $7,732/yr. EPA: 34 Superfund sites (SC). Ranks #244-#250 below.

Dimension detail

How Myrtle Beach scores, dimension by dimension

Score Breakdown

Cost of Living Wages Rent Safety Schools Childcare Environment

Dimension Scores

Cost of Living 49/100 (20%)
Wages 6/100 (20%)
Rent 34/100 (15%)
Safety 97/100 (15%)
Schools 27/100 (10%)
Childcare 70/100 (10%)
Environment 63/100 (10%)

Key Data Points

93.6
Cost Index (RPP)
$59,331
Avg Median Salary
$1,465
2BR Fair Market Rent
439
Violent Crime/100K (SC)
14.3:1
Student-Teacher Ratio
$7,732
Infant Childcare/yr (SC)
34
Superfund Sites (SC)
135,370
Total Employment

Crime, schools, childcare, and environment data shown at state level where metro-specific data is unavailable.

Compare Myrtle Beach With...

Myrtle Beach vs Spartanburg Compare → Myrtle Beach vs Sumter Compare → Myrtle Beach vs Florence Compare → Myrtle Beach vs Wildwood Compare → Myrtle Beach vs Waterloo Compare → Myrtle Beach vs Paducah Compare →

Ranking Context

Myrtle Beach outranks 36% of U.S. metros.

Rank Metro Score Grade
#244 Trenton-Princeton, NJ 46.7 C+
#245 El Centro, CA 46.7 C+
#246 Lewiston-Auburn, ME 46.8 C+
#247 Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC 46.6 C+
#248 Asheville, NC 46.6 C+
#249 El Paso, TX 46.6 C+
#250 Gainesville, FL 46.5 C+

SC Metro Scores

Spartanburg, SC A 64.4 Sumter, SC A- 60.5 Florence, SC A- 60.2 Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC A- 59.2 Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC B+ 58.5 Columbia, SC B 52.6

Using Myrtle Beach's Life Score

Myrtle Beach is a regional baseline, not a neighborhood reading, use it to shortlist, then dig into the dimensions that matter to you.

  • Its strongest dimension is safety (97/100) and its weakest is wages (6/100) - weigh those against your own priorities. How the score is built
  • Put Myrtle Beach head-to-head against another metro before you decide, every dimension, side by side. Compare metros
  • See where Myrtle Beach lands on the national rankings for cost, safety, pay and more. Browse rankings

Scores summarize federal data at the metro level; crime, schools and cost vary widely within a single metro.

Explore more

Frequently Asked Questions

What are Myrtle Beach's biggest strengths? ▼
Myrtle Beach's strongest dimensions are Safety (97/100), Childcare (70/100), Environment (63/100). Safety is top-tier nationally.
What are Myrtle Beach's weakest areas? ▼
Myrtle Beach's lowest-scoring dimensions are Wages (6/100), Schools (27/100), Rent (34/100). Wages weighs heavily on the composite.
How expensive is Myrtle Beach compared to the national average? ▼
Myrtle Beach's Regional Price Parity is 93.6 (6.4% less than national); rent RPP 83.1.
What is the average salary in Myrtle Beach? ▼
Myrtle Beach median salary: $59,331, 135,370 jobs. Top: Retail Salespersons, Waiters and Waitresses, Fast Food and Counter Workers.
How is the life score calculated? ▼
Myrtle Beach's 46.6/100 blends 7 federal-data dimensions - see our methodology page for the weighting.

Research Guides

Data from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OES, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Not affiliated with the U.S. Government.

Related

Data sourced from official public datasets. See our methodology for details. Retrieved and formatted by PlainCompare Editorial

Disclaimer: This information is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional advice. Data is sourced from BEA, BLS, HUD, FBI, NCES, DOL, and EPA. Consult a qualified professional before making decisions based on this data.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

All federal data sources used on this page
  • U.S. Census Bureau ACS - multi-dimension demographic + housing + income aggregates for cross-area comparison. census.gov/programs-surveys/acs
  • BEA Regional Economic Accounts - GDP, personal income, employment by state and metro. bea.gov/data/regional
  • BLS Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (OEWS) - wage estimates for comparable-area indexing. bls.gov/oes
  • FBI Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) - crime statistics for safety-score component. fbi.gov/ucr
  • NCES Common Core of Data - public-school quality indicators by area. nces.ed.gov/ccd
  • EPA AirNow + Air Quality System (AQS) - air-quality measurements by area. epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data
  • HUD Fair Market Rents (FMR) - county and metro housing-cost indicators. huduser.gov/datasets/fmr

Every figure on PlainCompare is loaded directly from BEA, HUD, FBI UCR, BLS OEWS, NCES, DOL, EPA, and the Census Bureau, no number is typed in by an editor. This metro's Life Score is computed directly from the 7 federal sources cited above. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of 2026.