Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Population

Growing. Up 5.5% since 2020.

4,392

people, the 72nd-largest of South Carolina's cities and towns.

Census Population Estimates, 2025. Rank among South Carolina's cities and towns computed by the Almanac. Sources: Census Population Estimates

The workday

9 in 10 jobs here go to people who live somewhere else.

93.3%

of 3,019 jobs located in Surfside Beach are filled by in-commuters.

Census LEHD LODES, 2023. Sources: Census LEHD LODES

Rent

Median rent is up 48% since the 2005–2009 survey, before inflation.

$1,274

a month. South Carolina's median is $1,180.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024 (latest), with earlier 5-year windows. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

The seam

Cross one tract line and median rent doubles.

A $2,306 gap between neighbors, the sharpest rent edge between adjacent tracts in Horry County.

• $1,195 Tract 501.02
• $3,501 Tract 502

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024, adjacent tracts compared by the Almanac. Tract estimates carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year

Room to build

The median rent is above what local wages can carry.

$719–$1,079

is the monthly rent range local workforce wages support.

• $1,274 median

Supportable rent computed by the Almanac from 2023 source wage data. Median rent: Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Sources: Computed by the Almanac, Census ACS 5-year

Building

Most of the housing here is older than 2000.

• 256 homes permitted in ten years, 2016–2025
• 5% of those were in multifamily buildings
• 78% of all homes were built before 2000

Census Building Permits Survey, 2016–2025; Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census Building Permits Survey, Census ACS 5-year

Units needed

Closing the gap would add 0.1–0.7% to the 4,254 homes here.

4–30

is the estimated number of missing housing units, from the lowest to the highest of three estimates.

Range computed by the Almanac from 2023 jobs and household data, using three demand models: 1% of jobs located here, 1% of renter households, and a rate by town size applied to renters. The low end is the lowest of the three and the high end the highest. It is an estimate, not a count. Sources: Computed by the Almanac

Home value

A median home costs 74% more than South Carolina's.

$450,100

median home value in Surfside Beach.

• $450,100 Surfside Beach
• $259,000 South Carolina
• $332,700 U.S.

Census ACS 5-year, 2020-2024. Survey estimates for a place this size carry wide margins of error. Sources: Census ACS 5-year