Conway vs Carolina Forest: Historic River Town or Large Unincorporated Suburb
Conway and Carolina Forest are the two large interior communities in Horry County, South Carolina, and Conway Medical Center's 2025 community health needs assessment groups them together as younger inland nodes, in contrast with the aging coastal enclaves of Garden City, Little River and North Myrtle Beach. The assessment counts 26,082 residents in Conway and 26,373 in Carolina Forest. Beyond that similarity they are very different. Conway is the county seat, an incorporated city founded in the 1700s on the Waccamaw River with a historic downtown and the county's principal hospital. Carolina Forest is a census-designated place, not a municipality, made of master-planned neighborhoods with a county recreation center and a civic association.
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Conway vs Carolina Forest: the short answer
Conway and Carolina Forest are the two large interior communities in Horry County, South Carolina, and Conway Medical Center's 2025 community health needs assessment groups them together as younger inland nodes, in contrast with the aging coastal enclaves of Garden City, Little River and North Myrtle Beach. The assessment counts 26,082 residents in Conway and 26,373 in Carolina Forest. Beyond that similarity they are very different. Conway is the county seat, an incorporated city founded in the 1700s on the Waccamaw River with a historic downtown and the county's principal hospital. Carolina Forest is a census-designated place, not a municipality, made of master-planned neighborhoods with a county recreation center and a civic association.
A retiree weighing them is choosing between a city government and a county government, between a historic grid and homeowners-association neighborhoods, and between being near the hospital and county offices or near newer shopping, a county recreation center and the airport corridor. Both are inland of the beach and both sit on the evacuation roads that serve the coast.
Several figures come from the 2025 community health needs assessment, which reports survey-based estimates. Tax levies are billed by jurisdiction, so ask the Horry County Auditor for the exact bill and tax district for any parcel. State income tax for retirees is covered in the South Carolina retirement tax guide.
Full profiles: Conway (South Carolina) and Carolina Forest (South Carolina).
Which one fits you
Choose Conway if
- You want a city with a historic downtown, a county seat's offices and the county's principal hospital: Conway Medical Center reports 222 inpatient beds at 300 Singleton Ridge Road.
- You want a walkable river-town setting: the city says the Waccamaw River and old live oaks give downtown its character as a South Carolina Historic River Town, and it publishes a Waccamaw River Blue Trail guide for paddlers.
- You want city parks and recreation, a Sports and Fitness Center and a 2025 parks and recreation master plan.
- You accept a more working-age, lower-income profile than the coast and a city levy on a parcel inside the city limits.
Choose Carolina Forest if
- You want a larger suburban community with a younger, higher-income profile: a median age of 37.6, a median household income of $70,647 and a poverty rate of 14 percent.
- You want a county-run recreation center close by: the Carolina Forest Recreation Center at 2254 Carolina Forest Boulevard has a full-size gymnasium, a fitness room for classes and a rock climbing wall.
- You want health system outposts in the community: McLeod Health Carolina Forest, CMC Pediatrics at Carolina Forest and CMC Women's Health at Carolina Forest.
- You accept that each neighborhood has its own homeowners association, its own dues and no community-wide age rule.
Conway and Carolina Forest side by side
| Dimension | Conway | Carolina Forest |
|---|---|---|
| Who taxes the parcel | A parcel inside the City of Conway pays city, county and school levies, and the county's reassessment flyer says municipalities and other tax entities establish their own millage rates. Conway runs its own utility system, with about 15,000 utility customers billed by its finance department, so ask the city for a recent utility bill for any address. A parcel just outside the city limits falls under unincorporated Horry County. The county auditor's main office is at 1301 Second Avenue in Conway. | Carolina Forest is a census-designated place, not a municipality, so a typical home pays the county and school levies and no city levy. The county's reassessment flyer says 88 percent of all real property in unincorporated Horry County would see a county-millage increase of $200 or less after reassessment, most seeing $40 to $50, and that this excludes school district and special tax districts. Neighborhood-level special districts can apply, so ask the auditor for the exact tax bill. The auditor has a branch office at 107 Highway 57 North in Little River. |
| Reassessment and relief for older owners | Horry County's flyer says the reassessment took effect as of December 31, 2023, replacing December 31, 2018, that state law requires reassessment every four years with implementation in the fifth, that existing property has a 15 percent cap on the increase in taxable value over five years unless it was purchased in the current year and that millage is rolled back after reassessment. The South Carolina Department of Revenue describes a homestead exemption on the first $50,000 of fair market value of a legal residence for owners over 65, temporarily raised to $75,000 for tax year 2026 only. The Horry County Auditor administers the application. | The same reassessment, cap and rollback apply in Carolina Forest, and so does the homestead exemption. The Department of Revenue tells owners to apply for the 4 percent legal-residence ratio through the county assessor, and owner-occupied property that qualifies for it is exempt from school operating taxes except for mills imposed for school debt. Neither benefit differs between the two places, so the choice should rest on the jurisdiction difference, and a purchase can reset the assessed value, so estimate from the expected post-sale value rather than the seller's bill. |
| Population, age and income | Conway Medical Center's 2025 assessment counts 26,082 residents in Conway, with a median age of 34.3, a median household income of $54,841, a poverty rate of 20.3 percent and a daily commute figure of 22.4. The wider Conway census county division has 51,181 residents, a median age of 43.7 and a median household income of $58,545. The report describes Conway and Carolina Forest as younger than the coastal enclaves, with implications for maternal and child health and primary-care access rather than senior services alone. | The assessment counts 26,373 residents in Carolina Forest, with a median age of 37.6, a median household income of $70,647, a poverty rate of 14 percent and a daily commute figure of 22. The report gives the county median household income as $64,623 in one section and $68,988 in another, so compare across those figures with care. The assessment groups Carolina Forest with Conway as a younger interior node, in contrast with Garden City, Little River and North Myrtle Beach, where the median age is above 60. |
| Hospital and physician access | Healthcare is Conway's strongest argument. Conway Medical Center has 222 inpatient beds, almost 2,000 staff and about 200 physicians across 30 specialties, and in August 2023 it formed a strategic relationship with Novant Health while remaining an independent nonprofit with local governance. Its practices include CMC Physical Therapy at the Conway Sports and Fitness Center. The assessment describes a free-standing emergency department at the Health Plaza South campus in Socastee that was anticipated to open in late 2026. | Carolina Forest has named locations of both major local health systems. McLeod Health lists McLeod Health Carolina Forest among its facilities, and its system-wide list includes emergency and trauma, cardiology, cancer, orthopedic, stroke, primary-care and urgent-care services. Conway Medical Center's directory lists CMC Pediatrics and CMC Women's Health at Carolina Forest, and the assessment describes a planned free-standing emergency department at Highway 90 and Highway 22 to serve inland and northern areas of the county. The county's primary-care ratio was about 1,870 residents per physician in 2023. |
| Hurricane zones and evacuation traffic | Conway is inland of the coastal zones, but the county's zone descriptions place Zone C between Highway 701 and Highway 544, and the Waccamaw River runs past Conway's downtown. Horry County routes evacuees from the Myrtle Beach area along US 501 to Conway, then US 378 to Columbia or US 501 to Marion, and lane reversal may be used on US 501, so roads around Conway carry heavy evacuation traffic even when an address is outside a zone. | Carolina Forest's exposure is described as wind, rain and power outages rather than oceanfront surge, with flood risk depending on the parcel. The state's 2025 estimates count 11,917 Horry residents in Zone A, 27,348 in Zone B and 101,912 in Zone C, and 2026 clearance times run from 11.8 hours for Zone A to 29.4 hours for Zones A, B and C at full compliance and full overnight visitor occupancy. The county's hurricane annex names the Carolina Forest Recreation Center as the primary non-school shelter for tropical events that do not include a mandatory evacuation. |
| Flooding and the river | Conway's particular hazard is high water on the Waccamaw and its low-lying surroundings after heavy rain. Horry County's flood resources page lists NOAA's real-time river gauge observations, a flood-hazard map application, elevation certificates and the National Flood Insurance Program, and links to the Waccamaw Riverkeeper program at Coastal Carolina University. Before an offer, look up the parcel's flood zone, ask for an elevation certificate where one exists and get written quotes for flood and wind coverage. | The county advises that anyone in flood-prone areas along waterways, and anyone in a mobile home, should consider evacuating whether or not they are in a designated zone, and its flood page lists NOAA river gauges, a flood-hazard map application and elevation certificates. The state estimates count 3,256 mobile homes in Horry Zone A, 2,126 in Zone B and 4,903 in Zone C. For a specific Carolina Forest home, request written quotes for wind and flood coverage and the parcel's flood zone before an offer. |
| Recreation and community life | Conway's lifestyle is small-city and river-oriented. The Parks and Recreation Department manages city parks, the Conway Sports and Fitness Center, street festivals, programs and athletics, and has published a 2025 master plan. The city's website lists Conway Downtown Alive and the Celebration of Lights, and transit is available through CoastRTA. The beach is a drive away rather than a walk: Conway gives up the oceanfront but keeps the county's hospital, county offices and a walkable historic downtown. | Horry County Parks and Recreation operates the Carolina Forest Recreation Center, with a gymnasium, a fitness room, a multipurpose room, locker rooms, a kitchen and a rock climbing wall, and the Palmetto Adventure Land playground behind the library. Classes include Gentle Yoga, Pilates, Forever Fit, Line Dancing and Zumba Toning. The Carolina Forest Civic Association, a nonprofit 501(c)(4) resident association with by-laws adopted on November 14, 2012, holds monthly meetings and publishes resident resolutions, which suits engaged retirees but not someone who wants a quiet age-targeted setting. |
| Housing, associations and governance | Conway's housing stock ranges from historic downtown homes built around the early 1900s rebuilding after a fire to newer subdivisions on the edge of town. The city's website lists departments for fire, police, public works, solid waste, utilities, parks and recreation and planning and development, and lists Home Repair and Down Payment Assistance among its housing services. A parcel just outside the city falls under unincorporated Horry County, so ask the seller for the current tax bill and confirm the parcel's jurisdiction. | Carolina Forest is a large collection of master-planned neighborhoods, condominiums and single-family subdivisions, and each neighborhood has its own association with its own rules, fees and governing documents, so there is no single answer on dues, rental rules or age limits. Carolina Forest is not an age-targeted place, so there is no community-wide age rule, and some neighborhoods may be age-restricted by their recorded covenants. Ask the association for its budget, reserve study, recorded covenants and special-assessment history, and Myrtle Beach International Airport lists more than 50 nonstop destinations. |
Related guides
Sources and review date
Last reviewed . Facts on this page come from the sources below; where a rule or figure can change, check the linked source before relying on it.
- About Conway — City of Conway (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Finance — City of Conway (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Parks & Recreation — City of Conway (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Reassessment, Rollback Millage, Property Value (flyer) — Horry County Government (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Auditor — Horry County Government (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Property Tax Exemptions (Exempt Property) — South Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Know Your Zone — Horry County Emergency Management (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Evacuations — Horry County Emergency Management (accessed 2026-09-30)
- SC Hurricane Plan, Annex C: Evacuation Zones and Clearance Times (May 2026) — South Carolina Emergency Management Division (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Flooding Preparedness Information — Horry County Emergency Management (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Comprehensive Emergency Management Plan, Section 6-2 Hurricane Annex (January 2025) — Horry County Government (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2025 Community Health Needs Assessment, Horry County — Conway Medical Center (accessed 2026-09-30)
- About Us — Conway Medical Center (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Recreation Centers — Horry County Parks and Recreation (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Carolina Forest Civic Association — Carolina Forest Civic Association (accessed 2026-09-30)
- McLeod Health — McLeod Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Myrtle Beach International Airport — Myrtle Beach International Airport (accessed 2026-09-30)