What is Fueling the Migration to South Carolina’s Grand Strand?
People are flocking to the Palmetto State, but the Myrtle Beach region remains a top destination.
While South Carolina’s Myrtle Beach is not known for being a post-pandemic hotspot like Austin or Tampa, new findings from Placer.ai show that movers have kept flocking to the beachside community, adjacent regions and are buoying the local real estate market.
According to the software firm’s report, the Palmetto State is experiencing the second-highest rate of net migration in the country, after Idaho, while the Grand Strand, Myrtle Beach, and Charleston regions are taking in movers en masse.
Placer.ai found that between Q1 2020 and Q2 2024, net migration to Myrtle Beach—defined as the number of people who moved in minus the number who left—increased by 12.9%, while the Charleston and North Charleston areas saw an increase of 4.7%.
“In many regions of the country, suburban areas are experiencing the most substantial population growth. But in Myrtle Beach—and in South Carolina more generally—urban areas are on the rise,” Placer.ai stated in its report. “Between June 2020 and June 2024, South Carolina’s urban population grew by 4.3%, compared to 3.3% for suburban communities and 2.3% for rural ones.”
Urban areas in the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach metro area saw a 9.9% population increase from Q1 2020 to Q2 2024, while suburban and rural areas saw increases of 6.5% and 8.5%, respectively.
Placer.ai attributed the metro area’s population growth to its low cost of living, strong job market, and access to outdoor activities. The firm’s findings align with those from RealPage, which reported in April that apartment absorption in both North and South Carolina accounted for approximately 10.3% of all units absorbed in 2023, despite the two states comprising only 4.2% of the country’s total multifamily stock.
A market report from Colliers found that the vacancy rate in the Myrtle Beach area at the end of Q2 reached 2.06%. Colliers noted that the area has transitioned from welcoming movers after the pandemic to becoming a top destination for movers from the Northeast and Midwest. The firm reported that seven out of nine submarkets in the region have vacancy rates below 1.7%.