Is Horry County a Good Place to Retire Compared to Florida?

Short answer: Yes for many 62+ buyers — if you buy inland, file as a South Carolina resident, and count insurance.

Horry County (Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest, Conway, Longs, Socastee, Little River, Garden City, Surfside) is one of the strongest inbound retirement markets in the country. Van-line data has put the Myrtle Beach metro near 80% inbound. Florida’s net gain of people 65+ collapsed to roughly 800 in a recent annual cycle. That is not a coincidence.

Florida still wins zero state income tax. Horry usually wins the annual cost of owning the house — purchase price, new-buyer property tax, and inland wind insurance — unless you recreate Florida on Garden City Point.

1. The 60-Second Verdict

Horry County is a good place to retire compared with Florida if:

• You want a $300k–$450k house that is not a 1980s condo
• You will live here full-time and file the 4% legal-residence rate
• You can accept regional hospitals instead of Tampa-scale specialty
• You shop Carolina Forest / Longs / Conway / Socastee more than first-row ocean

Horry is a worse trade if:

• You have a Florida Save Our Homes cap you would be foolish to give up
• You draw large taxable IRA income
• You insist on VE / ocean-row and the same insurance fight
• Your doctors cannot transfer

2. Why This Comparison Is Happening Now

People leaving Florida for Horry are not chasing a slogan. They are adding up:

1. Insurance sticker shock
2. Condo / HOA assessments
3. A Florida tax cap that does not follow a new purchase
4. Flood maps that punish barrier-island product
5. Extra days on market in Horry condos that let you underwrite the building

Heading into 2027, Grand Strand houses have often sat near 5 months of supply (closer to balanced). Condos have often sat near 8–8.5 months (buyer’s market). Days on market commonly run ~80–120+. That is leverage on terms and due diligence, not a promise of 15% off every ranch.

3. Insurance Sticker Shock

Florida homeowners insurance remains among the most expensive in the U.S. 2026 published averages vary — FLOIR admitted-market figures near $3,800 including wind, other compilers printing $4,000–$8,000+ statewide. Coastal counties are worse.

South Carolina statewide averages sit lower. Coastal Horry is still coastal. The Horry win is inland new construction with a young roof and a wind-mitigation form.

Budget three layers in both states:

1. HO-3 or HO-6
2. Wind / named storm (deductibles often 2%–5% of dwelling — $12,000 cash on a $400k limit at 3%)
3. Flood if the zone or your risk says so

A “cheap” $329,000 beach condo is not cheap if wind + flood + regime add $800 a month. Quote the address, not the county name.

4. Flood Zones: Horry Lets You Choose Dry

Flood insurance is federally required only when the building is in a Special Flood Hazard Area (A, AE, V, VE) and you have a federally backed mortgage.

Zone X is not a promise of no water. About a quarter of NFIP claims come from outside mapped high-risk zones. Homeowners insurance does not cover flood.

Horry’s advantage versus Florida barrier-island product is inventory of X-zone houses. Use it.

5. HOA Variability

Florida’s post-Surfside rules mailed assessments. Horry still has HOAs. They are not one number:

Ask for budget, reserve study, pending assessments, and rental cap. A funded $500/month regime can beat a $280/month regime about to assess $18,000.

If you fled a Florida condo, the usual correction is a Horry house, not another tower.

6. Housing Cost and Days on Market

Horry retiree bands:

• Socastee / Longs / Conway: often $250k–$380k
• Carolina Forest workhorses: often $300k–$450k
• Newer planned: $400k–$500k+
• Barefoot SF: $400k–$800k+
• Ocean-adjacent: beach premium + wind/flood

Statewide 2026 snapshots have shown SC list medians below Florida (one August table: ~$360k vs ~$415k). Florida inland can meet Horry stickers. Florida coastal often does not — and insurance finishes the argument.

Buyer-favoring conditions to use:

• Condo / oceanfront inventory and longer DOM
• Stale listings (60–90+ days) on houses
• Builder buydowns and credits in Longs and Conway
• Winter/fall showing calendars with fewer vacation bidders

Do not wait for a crash on a well-priced inland house. Do use the extra weeks to read HOA minutes.

7. Property Tax: 4% vs Florida’s Reset

Horry / South Carolina

• Legal residence 4%; second home 6%
• Homestead at 65+: first $50,000 FMV off the taxable base
• Unincorporated Horry (Carolina Forest, much of Socastee, Longs): no city millage
• City of Myrtle Beach mills run higher than North Myrtle Beach (NMB moved toward 50 mills; still well under City of MB)

Effective-rate comparisons have put Horry near ~0.38% versus many Florida coastal counties at ~0.68%–0.82%.

Florida

• Homestead exists
• Save Our Homes caps growth for the current owner
• A 2027 buyer resets to market

If you already own a capped Florida homestead, moving can raise the tax bill. If you are buying Florida now, Horry’s 4% path is usually cleaner — if you actually domicile here.

8. Income Tax: Florida Still Wins the Slogan

Florida: 0% state income tax.

South Carolina: there is a state tax (2026 reform moved the top rate into the low-to-mid 5% range — confirm the current SC1040). Retirees use:

• Social Security not taxed
• Military retirement fully exempt
• Retirement + age-65 deductions (commonly discussed as about $15,000 per person 65+ on non-SS retirement income)
• No estate or inheritance tax (Florida neither)

SS-plus-modest-pension households often net even or better in Horry after insurance. Large IRA-draw households may still prefer Florida on the 1040.

State price-parity figures have shown SC below 100 and Florida above 100. Groceries are part of the story.

9. Lifestyle Fit: County, Not Postcard

Horry is a county, not Ocean Boulevard.

July traffic on the strip is not “retirement.” January on a Carolina Forest cul-de-sac often is.

Healthcare: Grand Strand Medical Center, McLeod Seacoast, Conway Medical Center. Good enough for many. Map specialists before you list the Florida house.

10. Sample All-In Test

Couple, 67, SS $48k, other retirement $40k, $375k cash primary house.

If Florida lines for insurance + tax + HOA exceed Horry insurance + tax + HOA + SC income tax, Horry is the cheaper retirement. Run your numbers.

11. Who Should Stay in Florida

• Locked Save Our Homes assessment
• Doctors you cannot replace
• Large taxable-account income
• Medical need for year-round heat
• You were going to buy VE Horry anyway

12. Decision Framework

1. Inland Horry or ocean Horry?
2. New Florida buy or existing capped homestead?
3. SS-heavy or IRA-heavy?
4. House or condo — and have I read the reserves?
5. Two insurance quotes + FEMA zone on this PIN?
6. Will I file 4% and homestead at 65+?
7. Can I live this street in July?

If 1 is inland, 2 is a new buy, 3 is SS-heavy, and 4 is a house — Horry is usually the better retirement math.

13. FAQ

Is Horry County a good place to retire compared to Florida?

Yes for many full-time buyers who want a house, inland insurance, and 4% tax. Not automatically for oceanfront or high-IRA households.

Does South Carolina tax Social Security?

No.

Is flood insurance required in Horry County?

Only in high-risk FEMA zones with a federally backed loan. Zone X is optional.

Is it cheaper than The Villages?

Different product. Compare an inland Horry house to the Florida house you would actually buy, including HOA and insurance.

Is it a buyer’s market?

Condos: generally yes. Houses: closer to balanced. Use the days on market.

14. Bottom Line

Horry County is a good place to retire compared with Florida when you buy a new construction home or a primary house inland of the dunes, file as a resident, and refuse to recreate Florida’s insurance and assessment stack.

Florida is better when your homestead is already capped or your taxable income is large.

Compare two addresses, two insurance quotes, one HOA packet, and one tax return. The county that wins on paper is the one that still looks smart after those four pages.

Jerry Pinkas Real Estate Experts – 843-839-9870