Wilmington vs Myrtle Beach: Cape Fear City or Grand Strand
Wilmington, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, are coastal cities on either side of the state line. For a retiree they offer a hospital system, a commercial airport and a coastal setting, and they differ in tax structure, evacuation planning, wind and flood coverage and the kind of retirement housing nearby.
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Wilmington vs Myrtle Beach: the short answer
Wilmington, North Carolina, and Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, are coastal cities on either side of the state line. For a retiree they offer a hospital system, a commercial airport and a coastal setting, and they differ in tax structure, evacuation planning, wind and flood coverage and the kind of retirement housing nearby.
Wilmington is the port city and seat of New Hanover County on the Cape Fear River, where the county and the city each levy a rate per $100 and retirement housing includes resale-only active-adult neighborhoods at Riverlights. Myrtle Beach is the centre of Horry County's coast, with county, city and school millage layered in South Carolina's system, an oceanfront that falls in evacuation Zones A and B, and an airport that calls itself a gateway with more than 50 nonstop destinations. Rates, clearance times and flight schedules change, so confirm any figure for the address you are considering. The coastal hurricane and flood insurance guide explains the coverage mechanics common to both, and the North Carolina and South Carolina retirement taxes guides cover state rules.
Full profiles: Wilmington (North Carolina) and Myrtle Beach (South Carolina).
Which one fits you
Choose Wilmington if
- You want a single hospital system with a trauma center in the city: Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center is a Level II Trauma Center with a Zimmer Cancer Center and the AirLink air ambulance service.
- You want to live inside a city that levies its own rate per $100 and are comfortable with a county revaluation cycle that reset rates in 2025 and is scheduled next for 2029.
- You are willing to buy a resale home in an active-adult neighborhood: the Del Webb neighborhood at Riverlights is sold out of new homes.
- You want a downtown on a river with the Cape Fear setting, and you accept a Municipal Service District charge of .0500 per $100 on top of the city rate if you buy downtown.
- You are prepared to buy separate wind coverage, often through the NC Insurance Underwriting Association, and separate flood coverage, since NCIUA states that it does not provide flood insurance.
Choose Myrtle Beach if
- You want an airport with more than 50 nonstop destinations: Myrtle Beach International Airport calls itself a gateway and lists economy parking at $10 per day.
- You are 65 or older and want South Carolina's homestead exemption of $50,000 of fair market value on a legal residence, temporarily $75,000 for tax year 2026 only.
- You want a large coastal city with a range of housing and a retirement-oriented option on the coast such as Del Webb North Myrtle Beach.
- You prefer a tax system in which owner-occupied residential property at the 4 percent assessment ratio is exempt from school operating taxes, with a 15 percent cap on increases over five years for property not purchased that year.
- You accept seasonal crowding and multi-day evacuation planning, with clearance times published for the Horry and Georgetown region from 11.8 to 20.8 hours for Zone A.
Wilmington and Myrtle Beach side by side
| Dimension | Wilmington | Myrtle Beach |
|---|---|---|
| How property tax is expressed and what rates apply | New Hanover County's adopted fiscal year 2026-27 budget keeps the county rate at 30.6 cents per $100 of assessed value. The county's historic rates page lists, for 2026 per $100, City of Wilmington .3315, a downtown Municipal Service District rate of .0500, New Hanover County .3020, Fire District .0725 and Debt Services .0040. The city rate was .2825 for 2025 and .4200 for 2024. Illustration (our arithmetic, for illustration only): on a home assessed at $400,000 the county's 30.6 cents produces $1,224 a year and the city's .3315 adds $1,326, for $2,550 before any Municipal Service District charge. | The South Carolina Association of Counties reports millage as a decimal of assessed value, unlike New Hanover's rate per $100. In its 2025 report, Horry County's countywide millage totals 0.0521, the City of Myrtle Beach levies 0.0834, Horry County Schools levy 0.1091 operating plus 0.0100 for debt service, and a separate 0.0100 Myrtle Beach municipal improvement district is listed. One county mill was worth about $3,890,000 in 2025. Neighborhood tax districts with a Myrtle Beach location, such as Arcadian Shores watershed at 0.0277 and Legends Drive at 0.0115, show why a buyer should ask for the exact tax bill and tax district of a parcel. |
| Revaluation, assessment caps and older-owner relief | The NC Department of Revenue's 2025-26 county table lists New Hanover at .3060, down from .4500 in 2024-25, shows the latest revaluation as 2025 and the next scheduled as 2029. Rates are reset so a county collects roughly the revenue it needs on the new values, so a lower rate does not by itself mean lower bills for a particular home. North Carolina's retirement-related rules, including relief programs, are covered in the state tax guide, and the county tax department has the current assessment for an address. | Horry County's reassessment flyer says the last countywide reassessment took effect as of December 31, 2023, replacing December 31, 2018, that the law calls for reassessment every four years with implementation in the fifth, that existing property is subject to a 15 percent cap on the increase in taxable value over five years unless purchased in the current year, and that the county must roll back millage after reassessment. A purchase can therefore reset the assessed value. For owners 65 or older, the state Department of Revenue describes a complete exemption on the first $50,000 of fair market value of a legal residence, raised temporarily to $75,000 for tax year 2026 only; the Horry County Auditor administers the application. |
| Evacuation zones | New Hanover County is one of 21 North Carolina counties with state-designated hurricane evacuation zones under the Know Your Zone program, which the Department of Public Safety describes as a tiered system focused on storm surge and flooding risk. Zone A is typically evacuated first, followed by Zone B and so on, and local officials decide which zones to order out. The county says shelters are shelters of last resort with very basic provisions and limited meal capability, that at least one shelter will be designated a pet co-location shelter accepting only cats and dogs, and that residents should sign up for emergency alerts. | Horry County's Know Your Zone campaign defines three zones by storm-surge vulnerability rather than storm category. In Myrtle Beach, Zone A covers areas east of Kings Road and down Ocean Boulevard to Springmaid Beach and areas east of U.S. Business 17 from Myrtle Beach State Park south, and Zone B includes areas east of U.S. Business 17 from the U.S. 22 interchange to Springmaid Beach. SCEMD's 2025 estimates count 11,917 residents in Horry Zone A, 27,348 in Zone B and 101,912 in Zone C, and its 2026 clearance-time tables for the Horry and Georgetown region run from 11.8 to 20.8 hours for Zone A and up to 29.4 hours when Zones A, B and C evacuate with full compliance and full overnight visitor occupancy. |
| Wind and flood coverage | The NC Department of Insurance says windstorm and hail coverage may be excluded from a primary homeowners policy depending on location and insurer, that a separate policy has its own deductible, and that such policies are often written by the North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association, also called the Coastal Property Insurance Pool. NCIUA eligibility requires an active primary policy from an admitted North Carolina carrier that excludes windstorm, and an NCIUA procedures document from July 2019 names New Hanover among the counties in its defined Coastal Area. NCIUA itself states that it does not provide flood insurance. | Horry County's flood resources list the National Flood Insurance Program, a flood-hazard map application, elevation certificates and NOAA's coastal flood exposure mapper. The county also advises that anyone in flood-prone areas along waterways, and mobile-home residents, should consider evacuating even outside a designated zone. SCEMD's 2023 five-year estimate counts 3,256 mobile homes in Zone A, 2,126 in Zone B and 4,903 in Zone C. Request written quotes for wind and flood for the specific address before an offer. |
| Hospitals and healthcare demand | Novant Health New Hanover Regional Medical Center opened as New Hanover Memorial Hospital on June 14, 1967, began a partnership with Novant Health in 2021 and took its current name in 2022. Its listed services include cardiac care, orthopedics, oncology, pediatrics, women's health, rehabilitation and trauma care, and it states that it is a Level II Trauma Center verified by the American College of Surgeons. Milestones include the Zimmer Cancer Center (2000), AirLink (2001), the Betty H. Cameron Women's & Children's Hospital (2008) and a standalone emergency department in Scotts Hill (2015). | Conway Medical Center, at 300 Singleton Ridge Road in Conway, reports 222 inpatient beds, almost 2,000 staff and about 200 physicians across 30 specialties, and became strategically affiliated with Novant Health in August 2023 while remaining an independent nonprofit. McLeod Health lists McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Carolina Forest with cardiology, cancer, orthopedic, stroke and emergency services. The county's 2025 health assessment reports adults 65 and older as the fastest-growing group, about 20 percent growth projected between 2023 and 2028, and about 1,870 residents per primary-care physician in 2023 against about 2,030 for the state. |
| Airports | Wilmington International Airport's home page shows a map of 25 nonstop destinations on seven airlines: American, Avelo, Breeze, Delta, JetBlue, Sun Country and United. The Town of Leland's profile puts the airport 11 miles from Leland, which is a useful reference for testing the drive from a Brunswick County address. | Myrtle Beach International Airport calls itself a gateway with more than 50 nonstop destinations and lists dining, shopping and Wi-Fi inside the terminal. It lists parking at $10 per day in its economy lots, $12 in the long-term lot and $32 in the short-term lot, which matters for seasonal residents who fly in and out. |
| Active-adult housing nearby | Riverlights, a community on the Cape Fear River just south of downtown, includes a Del Webb 55+ neighborhood that the community says is sold out of new homes, so buying there means a resale home. Riverlights also offers low-maintenance single-level homes, townhomes, traditional and semi-custom single-family homes and rentals that are not described as age-restricted. Communities across the river in Brunswick County are covered under Leland. | Del Webb's Myrtle Beach page lists the Del Webb, Pulte, Centex, DiVosta and John Wieland brands on its community map legend, indicating new-construction options, and a retirement-oriented option on the coast is Del Webb North Myrtle Beach. Condominium and HOA fees vary by building; ask for the association budget, reserve study and special-assessment history of any condominium you consider. |
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.
- Historic Tax Rates — New Hanover County, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Fiscal Year 2026-2027 — New Hanover County, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2025-2026 County Tax Rates — North Carolina Department of Revenue (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Active Adult 55+ Homes at Riverlights in Wilmington, NC — Riverlights (accessed 2026-09-30)
- About New Hanover Regional Medical Center — Novant Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- New Hanover Regional Medical Center — Novant Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Evacuation & Shelters — New Hanover County, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Know Your Zone — North Carolina Department of Public Safety (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Windstorm and Hail — North Carolina Department of Insurance (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Procedures for Submission of Voluntary Premiums (edition July 2019) — North Carolina Insurance Underwriting Association (accessed 2026-09-30)
- NCJUA / NCIUA home page — NC Joint Underwriting Association / NC Insurance Underwriting Association (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Wilmington International Airport (ILM) — Wilmington International Airport (accessed 2026-09-30)
- Community Profile and Economic Data — Town of Leland, NC (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 2025 South Carolina Property Tax Rates by County (revised February 2026) — South Carolina Association of Counties (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)
- 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)
- Myrtle Beach International Airport — Myrtle Beach International Airport (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)
- McLeod Health — McLeod Health (accessed 2026-09-30)
- 55+ Active Adult Communities in Myrtle Beach — Del Webb (PulteGroup) (accessed 2026-09-30)