Myrtle Beach

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans, the Long Bay area was inhabited by the historic Waccamaw tribe. The Waccamaw used the river for travel and fished along the shore around Little River. Waties Island, the primary barrier island along Long Bay, has evidence of burial and shell mounds, remains of the visiting Waccamaw.

The first European settlers along Long Bay arrived in the late 18th century, attempting to extend the plantation system outward toward the ocean. Records are sparse from this period, with most of the recorded history pieced together from English colonial land grant documents. These settlers gained mixed results, producing unremarkable quantities of indigo and tobacco, the two major commodity crops. The coast's soil was sandy and most of the crop yields were of inferior quality.

Prior to the American Revolution, the area along the future Grand Strand was essentially uninhabited. Several families received land grants along the coast, including the Witherses: John, Richard, William, and Mary. This family received an area around present-day Wither's Swash, also known as Myrtle Swash or the Eight-Mile Swash. A separate grant was granted to James Minor, including a barrier island named Minor Island, now Waties Island, off the coast near Little River.

Mary Withers's gravestone at Prince George Winyah Parish Church speaks to the remoteness of the former Strand: "She gave up the pleasures of Society and retired to Long Bay, where she resided a great part of her life devoted to the welfare of her children."

As the American colonies gained independence, the area remained essentially unchanged, and the coast remained barren. George Washington scouted out the Southern states during his term, traveling down the King's Highway. He stayed a night at Windy Hill (part of present-day North Myrtle Beach) and was led across Wither's Swash to Georgetown by Jeremiah Vereen.

The Withers family remained one of the few settlers around Myrtle Beach for the next half-century. In 1822, a strong hurricane swept the house of R. F. Withers into the ocean, drowning 18 people inside. The tragedy made the Withers family decide to abandon their plots along the coast. Left unattended, the area began to return to forest.

Geography

Myrtle Beach has been separated from the continental United States since 1936 by the Intracoastal Waterway, forcing the city and area in general to develop within a small distance from the coast. In part due to this separation, the area directly northwest of Myrtle Beach, across the waterway, remained primarily rural for a while, whereas its northeastern and southwestern ends were bordered by other developed tourist towns, North Myrtle Beach and Surfside Beach. Since then, the inland portion of the Myrtle Beach area has developed dramatically.

Myrtle Beach is 67 miles (108 km) by highway southeast of Florence, 94 miles (151 km) northeast of Charleston, and 74 miles (119 km) southwest of Wilmington.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 23.69 square miles (61.4 km2), of which 23.42 square miles (60.7 km2) is land and 0.27 square miles (0.70 km2) (1.14%) is water.

Climate

According to the Köppen climate classification, Myrtle Beach has a humid subtropical climate or Cfa – typical of the Gulf and South Atlantic states. The city enjoys abundant sunshine year-round with more than 2800 hours annually.

The summer season is long, hot, and humid in Myrtle Beach. Average daytime highs are from 83 to 91 °F (28 to 33 °C) and average night-time lows are near 70 °F (21 °C). The coastal location of Myrtle Beach mitigates daytime summer heat somewhat compared to inland areas of South Carolina: Thus, while nearby Florence averages 65 days annually with high temperatures of 90 °F (32 °C) or higher – Myrtle Beach averages only 21. The Bermuda High pumps in humidity from the tropical Atlantic toward Myrtle Beach, giving summers a near-tropical feel in the city. The warm Atlantic Ocean reaches 80 °F (27 °C) or higher in the summer months off Myrtle Beach, making for warm and sultry summer nights. Summer thunderstorms are common in the hot season in Myrtle Beach, and the summer months from June through September have the most precipitation. In summer, thunderstorms normally build during the heat of the day – followed by brief and intense downpours. On average, September is the wettest month, with August close behind, due to the combination of thunderstorms and tropical weather systems that peaks these months.

Myrtle Beach has mostly mild winters of short duration: Average daytime highs range from 57 to 61 °F (14 to 16 °C) and nighttime lows are in the 36 to 38 °F (2 to 3 °C) from December through February. Winter temperatures vary more than summer temperatures in Myrtle Beach: Some winters can see several cold days with highs only in the upper 40s °F (7–9 °C), while other winter days can see highs in the upper 60s and low 70s °F (19–23 °C). Myrtle Beach averages 33 days annually with frost, though in some years less than 15 days will see frost. Snowfall is very rare in Myrtle Beach; however, at least a trace of snow falls a few times each decade. In February 2010, a rare 2.8 inches (71 mm) of snow fell in Myrtle Beach. The spring (March, April and May) and fall (September, October and November) months are normally mild and sunny in Myrtle Beach, with high temperatures in the 60s and 70s Fahrenheit (16 to 25 C). The beach season in Myrtle Beach normally runs from late April through late October. Sea surface temperatures are often in the lower 80's °F (26–28 °C) off South Carolina in summer and early fall.

The temperature range measured in Myrtle Beach has historically ranged from a record high of 104 °F (40 °C) on June 26, 1952, and August 5, 1954, to the record winter cold of 9 °F (−13 °C) on February 18, 1958. In spite of the mild winter averages, ice days have been recorded, albeit rarely. The coldest daily maximum was 25 °F (−4 °C) on January 11, 1962, whereas the normal year between 1991 and 2020 had the coldest maximum average of 37 °F (3 °C). Overnight lows can be extremely hot and muggy, although the record warm low of 88 °F (31 °C) on July 12, 1942, is some way above the means of 81 °F (27 °C) for the warmest annual minimum.

Demographics

Myrtle Beach is the largest principal city of the Myrtle Beach-Conway, SC Combined Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 479,426 in 2024, and includes the Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metropolitan Statistical Area (Horry County) and the Murrells Inlet, SC Micropolitan Statistical Area (Georgetown County).

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 35,682 people, 16,759 households, and 7,678 families residing in the city.

The median age was 49.4 years, with 15.8% of residents under the age of 18 and 25.4% aged 65 years or older, and there were 97.5 males for every 100 females, dropping to 95.5 males for every 100 females age 18 and over.

Of those households, 18.4% had children under the age of 18 living in them, 40.2% were married-couple households, 22.4% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 30.3% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present; about 35.3% were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 22,456 housing units, of which 25.4% were vacant, with a homeowner vacancy rate of 2.9% and a rental vacancy rate of 10.9%.

100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.

2010 census

At the 2010 census, the population of Myrtle Beach was 27,109.

2000 census

At the 2000 census, there were 22,759 permanent residents in Myrtle Beach, 10,413 households, 5,414 families, 1,356.5 per square mile (523.7/km2), with 14,658 housing units at an average density of 873.5 per square mile (337.3/km2).

The city's racial makeup was:

72.3% White

13.9% Black

0.7% Native American

1.5% Asian

0.3% Pacific Islander

8.7% from other races

2.7% from two or more races.

Hispanic or Latino residents, of any race, were 13.7% of the population.

Of the total Myrtle Beach population:

18.0% were 1–17

11.0% were between 18 and 24

33.6% were between 25 and 44

22.5% were between 45 and 64

15.0% were 65 or older

Median age was 37 years

103 males per 100 females overall

101 males per 100 females age 18 and over

Overall median income for a household in the city was $50,173

Median income for a family was $43,900

Economy

Myrtle Beach's economy is dominated by the tourist industry; hotels, motels, resorts, restaurants, attractions, and retail developments exist in abundance to serve visitors.

Tourism

Hosting over 20 million visitors annually, the Grand Strand is home to an array of tourist attractions, and the area receives a large influx of visitors during all seasons. It is estimated that nearly 100,000 visitors a year are international travelers, including tourists from Canada, Germany and the United Kingdom.

Myrtle Beach hosts a variety of special conventions, events, and musical concerts. The area's attractions include its beaches and courses, amusement parks, an aquarium, Legends in Concert, retail developments, shopping complexes and over 1,900 restaurants including seafood restaurants. The area also has dinner theaters, nightclubs, and many tourist shops. Myrtle Beach has approximately 425 hotels, with many on the beachfront, and approximately 157 accommodation units in total. The area is also home to over 80 golf courses and over 30 miniature golf courses. Live shows are offered year round at theaters including the Alabama Theatre, Carolina Opry, Asher Theater, Calvin Gilmore Theater, Legends in Concert, and Medieval Times Family Dinner Theater. Several shows offer special holiday themed shows.

The Myrtle Beach Boardwalk opened in 2010 and has been recognized as the nation's #3 boardwalk by National Geographic and one of the best US boardwalks by Travel + Leisure magazine. The Myrtle Beach Skywheel opened at the boardwalk in May 2011, and is a 200-foot (61 m) observation wheel, similar to a ferris wheel, with glass gondolas that look over the Atlantic Ocean. This is the first wheel of its kind in the U.S. Pier 14 is by the Boardwalk.

Myrtle Beach State Park, established in 1935, has just under a mile of Grand Strand beach and is a prime location for camping, swimming, hiking, biking, and fishing.

The Myrtle Beach Convention Center is a large facility that hosts a variety of meetings, conferences, exhibits, and special events every year. The expansive center, which opened in 2003, has a Sheraton hotel and resort.

Each March since 1951 during Ontario's spring break, Myrtle Beach has hosted Canadian-American Days, also known as Can-Am Days. Tens of thousands of tourists flock to the area for a week's worth of special events. Myrtle Beach is also home to Coastal Uncorked, a food and wine festival held in the late spring annually. The city hosts Sun Fun Festival early each June. Later in June, Myrtle Beach is a popular destination for recently graduated high school seniors for Senior Week.

Shopping

Major shopping malls in Myrtle Beach include:

Barefoot Landing is an outdoor shopping complex that consists of several divided sections on filled land over top of Louis Lake, next to the Intracoastal Waterway. It contains many stores and attractions such as House of Blues (opened in 1997) and the Alabama Theatre. Opened in 1988.

Broadway at the Beach is a shopping complex set on 350 acres (1.4 km2) along the US 17 Bypass surrounding the 23-acre (9.3 ha) Lake Broadway. It is the largest festival entertainment complex in South Carolina.

Coastal Grand Mall opened in 2004 and is the second largest indoor malls in the state. The mall, which has indoor and outdoor shopping areas, has a gross leasable area of 1,047,732 square feet (97,300 m2). The single-story facility has five anchor stores (including Sears, Belk, JCPenney, and Dillard's), a 14-screen movie theater, a food court, and roughly 170 stores in total.

The Market Common is a lifestyle district housing several upscale retail and apartments. It is on the site of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

Myrtle Beach Mall is 525,385 square feet (48,800 m2), and has three anchor stores, Bass Pro Shops, Belk and JCPenney. The single-story mall also has a 12-screen movie theater, a food court, and other specialty stores. It used to be known as Colonial Mall, and was built as Briarcliffe Mall.

Tanger Outlets is a shopping outlet center. There are two locations, one near Briarcliffe Acres and one near Carolina Forest.

Sports

Golf

The area is home to numerous golf courses and mini-golf courses along the Grand Strand and further inland. Myrtle Beach has been called the "Golf Capital of the World" because of the roughly 100 golf courses there, the record 4.2 million rounds played, and many miniature golf courses. 3.2 million total rounds of golf were played in 2017, down a "few hundred rounds" from a decade earlier. The number of golf courses more than doubled to over 120 over a 20-year period before declining late in the first decade of the 21st century. Tiger Woods declared Myrtle Beach "the mecca of golf" when visiting in 1997. The majority of the area's golf courses are public. The Grand Strand is home of "Hootie and the Blowfish Day After the Masters Tournament". Extensive Chinese investment to the Myrtle Beach area golf market has resulted in a significant surge of Chinese tourists to the area and also resulted in 25+ golf courses being owned and/or operated by Chinese nationals.

Some of the notable golf courses and/or resorts include Barefoot Resort & Golf and TPC of Myrtle Beach.

Long-distance running events

From 1998 to 2009 and again starting in 2011 (no Saturday races were held in 2010 due to snow), the area hosted the Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon presented by Chick-fil-A, every February featuring (since 2004) the Friday night Royal Bank of Canada 5K and the Saturday Dasani Half Marathon and Bi-Lo Marathon (from 1998 until 2008, a relay was held but dropped because of the popularity of the other events). Marathon day draws the limit of 6,000 runners annually (2,500 full, 3,500 half) and results usually in an unusual dawn as the race starts before dawn (6:30 am) in order to finish by 2:30 pm.

Athletic teams and facilities

Myrtle Beach is home to the Myrtle Beach Pelicans, a Carolina League baseball team and a Chicago Cubs farm franchise. It was also home to the Myrtle Beach Mutiny, a pro soccer team playing in the Premier Development League until 2018.

Pelicans Ballpark is the home field of the Myrtle Beach Pelicans. It opened in 1999. It is the finish point of the Bi-Lo Myrtle Beach Marathon. Pelicans Ballpark is also home of the annual "Baseball at the Beach" collegiate baseball tournament. Hosted by Coastal Carolina University each year, the tournament pits participating NCAA Division I baseball programs in the United States.

NASCAR

NASCAR-sanctioned Stock car racing was held at Myrtle Beach Speedway, a .538-mile (866 m), semi-banked, asphalt-paved oval track lon US 501. Drivers in the Late Model classes will compete (against those of Greenville-Pickens Speedway) for the South Carolina Championship in the NASCAR Whelen All-American Series. South Carolina Champions' scores will be calculated against other state and provincial champions for a continental championship. It hosted the 2010 UOA Nationals where 8 collegiate ultimate teams from 5 conferences would be represented.

On August 15, 2020, the track held its final race, as the track was closed and demolished soon after, it is now the site of new townhomes.

Government

The city of Myrtle Beach has a council-manager government. The mayor sits as a council member-at-large and presides over city council meetings. If the mayor cannot preside over a city council meeting, the mayor pro-tem is the presiding officer of the meeting until such time as the mayor returns to the seat. The city manager is responsible for the administration and the day-to-day operation of all municipal services and city departments. The city manager also maintains intergovernmental relationships with federal, state, county and other local governments. The city of Myrtle Beach reformed into a council-manager government system in 1974 under the administration of Mayor Bob Hirsch and city manager David Stradinger, who moved away from the city's former strong-mayor form of government.

Mayors

Mark Kruea is the mayor of Myrtle Beach. He has served since 2026.

Education

Primary and secondary education

Public schools

Horry County is served by a single public school district. Horry County Schools educates around 40,000 students and is the third largest school district in South Carolina.

Charter schools include:

Bridgewater Academy (K–8)

Coastal Leadership Academy (9–12)

Private schools

Below is a list of private schools within or near the city of Myrtle Beach.

Higher education

Myrtle Beach has the following college and post-secondary schools:

Media

Television

The Grand Strand and Florence, South Carolina, share a common defined market by Nielsen Media Research in Horry, Marion, Dillon, Darlington, Marlboro, Scotland, Robeson, and Florence counties. Two major stations are licensed to Myrtle Beach: NBC affiliate WMBF-TV 32 and Fox affiliate WFXB 43. Myrtle Beach is also served by PBS member stations WHMC/WJPM-TV 23/33, licensed respectively to Conway and Florence, and two commercial stations licensed to Florence: CBS affiliate WBTW 13 (with MyNetworkTV on DT2) and ABC affiliate WPDE-TV 15, (with The CW on 15.2). WBTW has moved most of its operations to Myrtle Beach, while WPDE is now based in Conway.

Radio

The Myrtle Beach area is served by the following full power FM radio stations:

Weather radio frequencies: 162.4, 162.5, 162.55

AM radio frequencies: 900, 1050, 1200

Newspapers

The Sun News has traditionally been the largest daily paper published along the Grand Strand, with a readership base extending from Georgetown, to Sunset Beach. The paper has been in existence since the 1930s and was formerly published by Knight Ridder before that company was bought by The McClatchy Company. Like many newspapers, the paper has declined in recent years due to shifts in readership and financial pressures at its parent company. It stopped local printing operations and downsized its newsroom in May 2020.

Myrtle Beach is also served by The Myrtle Beach Herald, a weekly newspaper that is part of the Waccamaw Publishers group. The Herald also produces a newspaper targeted at tourists called Visit!.

In 2020, Charleston-based The Post and Courier set up an official bureau in Myrtle Beach, after years of attempting to move into the market and purchasing The Georgetown Times, which it merged with the new operation.

Infrastructure

Healthcare

Grand Strand Medical Center (GSMC) is a 369-bed acute care hospital and Level 1 Adult Trauma Center known for its programs in cardiology, heart surgery, and stroke treatment. It was opened on 21 April 1978 to succeed the former Ocean View Memorial Hospital (1958–1978), the first major hospital in Myrtle Beach. GSMC contains the only cardiac surgery and neurosurgery programs in the greater Myrtle Beach area and was a recipient of the Healthgrades 100 Best Hospitals for Cardiac Surgery in 2012 and 2013. As a teaching hospital, Grand Strand Medical Center is the home of ACGME accredited residency training programs (internal medicine, general surgery, emergency medicine, and family medicine), and hosts rotating medical students from the University of South Carolina and Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine (VCOM). Over 270 physicians and 1,400 staff serve at the facility.

Transportation

Myrtle Beach International Airport is a county-owned public-use airport three miles (4.8 km) southwest of the central business district of Myrtle Beach. It was formerly known as Myrtle Beach Jetport (1974–1989) and is on the site of the former Myrtle Beach Air Force Base. The 11,500-square-foot (1,070 m2) general aviation terminal, opened in May 2010, is located on the opposite side of the airport on Airdrome Street, near The Market Common. The terminal replaced a building previously used as base operations for the Myrtle Beach Air Force Base.

The Waccamaw Coast Line Railroad is a 14.1-mile (22.7 km) short-line railroad division of the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad, extending from a connection with the Carolina Southern Railroad, another division of that company, at Conway to Myrtle Beach. The line was opened in 1900 by the Conway Coast and Western Railroad, a predecessor of the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Seaboard System Railroad sold the line to Horry County in November 1985, and it was operated by the Horry County Railway until October 1987, when the WCLR took over. The Carolina Southern Railroad acquired the WCLR in September 1995, and since then it has been a division of the Baltimore and Annapolis Railroad. Horry County owns the line but leased it to the Carolina Southern Railroad in 2000.

Carolina Southern Railroad is a short line rail operator running on less than 95 miles (153 km) of rail at a maximum speed of 10 mph (16 km/h). It transports mostly freight brought to it from national rail operators. The company makes one scheduled delivery per month into the City of Myrtle Beach. It is off of Main Street in Conway, South Carolina, and is one of the few remaining train depots in South Carolina. It has been painstakingly restored to its former glory and the Carolina Southern Railroad has become one of the frequent destinations for freight services as well as passenger cars and observational locomotives. The railroad was originally erected in late 1886 and the first train steamed into the Conway Depot in December 1887.

The Carolina Southern Railroad stands as a permanent landmark in Southern History. Carolina Southern Railroad is a member of the Carolina Rails system with connections that run from Whiteville, North Carolina, to Mullins, South Carolina, and also from Chadbourn, North Carolina, to Conway. Carolina Southern railroad is also responsible for operation of the Waccamaw Coast Line Railroad, which is a railway that runs from Conway to Myrtle Beach.

Notable people

Sigmund Abeles, figurative artist

Robert Abraham, NFL linebacker

Ryan Arambula, professional soccer player

Meher Baba, spiritual master who established the Meher Spiritual Center near Myrtle Beach

Steve Bailey, bassist

Robert H. Brooks, founder of Naturally Fresh, Inc. and Hooters of America chains

Lester Brown, CFL running back

Dusty Button, ballet dancer

Shane Carruth, filmmaker

Brandon Frye, NFL offensive tackle

Everett Golson, CFL quarterback

Madison Iseman, actress

Anthony James, character actor in films and television

Dustin Johnson, PGA Tour player (attended Coastal Carolina University)

Ewa Laurance, professional billiards player

Elliot Levine, keyboardist and member of Heatwave

Johnathan McClain, actor, screenwriter, and audiobook narrator

Clint Newton, rugby league player for the Penrith Panthers

Nancy O'Dell, television personality

Sister cities

Myrtle Beach has five sister cities, as designated by Sister Cities International:

Burlington, Ontario, Canada

Keighley, West Yorkshire, United Kingdom

Pinamar, Argentina

Killarney, County Kerry, Ireland

Tiberias, Israel