Retirement places in the Carolinas

Every city and town we have researched, grouped by state and region. Each page covers cost, property tax, insurance and risk, healthcare, climate and housing.

North Carolina

Albemarle & Inner Coastal Plain

EdentonA small waterfront historic town on Edenton Bay in Chowan County, with a state historic site, a 25-bed critical access hospital, and county and town property tax rates of $0.720 and $0.480 per $100.
Elizabeth CityThe city of Elizabeth City in Pasquotank County, a Pasquotank River and Intracoastal Waterway town in the far northeastern corner of North Carolina, with a 90-bed regional hospital, a Coast Guard presence, a county property tax rate of 0.6200 per $100 for 2025-26 and a combined sales tax of 7 percent.
GreenvilleThe city of Greenville in Pitt County, North Carolina, the university and medical hub of eastern North Carolina, home to a 974-bed tertiary teaching hospital, East Carolina University and a 2026 city property tax rate of 0.3954 per $100 on top of Pitt County's 0.5663.

Asheville & Western Mountains

AshevilleThe largest city in Buncombe County in the North Carolina Blue Ridge, home to Asheville Regional Airport with nonstop service to 26 destinations and a central place in the state's Hurricane Helene recovery and in its 2026 property-revaluation dispute.
Black MountainA Swannanoa Valley mountain town east of Asheville with an older-than-average population, a senior center for adults 50 and over, a 0.3550 town tax rate and a river corridor still being rebuilt after Helene.
BrevardThe city of Brevard, county seat of Transylvania County in the North Carolina mountains, where the county reappraised property in 2025, set its county rate at 0.4105 per $100 and runs a county-wide parks, hazard-mitigation and planning program.
Flat RockA low-density historic village in Henderson County with a median age above 63, one-acre zoning, North Carolina's largest historic district, a village tax rate of 11.9 cents per $100 and no municipal utilities of its own.
FletcherThe town of Fletcher in northern Henderson County, North Carolina, about 13 miles south of Asheville beside the Asheville Regional Airport, with a 30-cent town tax rate and a county that ended its Hurricane Helene emergency in July 2026.
FranklinA small western North Carolina town in Macon County with a county tax rate of $0.27 per $100, a 30-bed hospital in a facility it moved into in 2022, a county senior services center and the Nantahala National Forest's district office.
HendersonvilleThe city of Hendersonville in Henderson County, North Carolina, south of Asheville in the Blue Ridge, in a county where 27.4 percent of residents are 65 or older and where the local Hurricane Helene state of emergency lasted 656 days.
HighlandsA high-elevation Blue Ridge plateau town in Macon County, with a critical access hospital between Highlands and Cashiers, a university biological station and Whiteside Mountain in the Nantahala National Forest.
WaynesvilleThe town of Waynesville, county seat of Haywood County in the North Carolina mountains, a town with a 47.9-cent tax rate, a county revaluation postponed to 2027 because of Hurricane Helene and a town recreation system built around a 64,000-square-foot center.
WeavervilleA growing Buncombe County town north of Asheville with a 0.4550 town tax rate, a planned AdventHealth hospital campus, a lake park and a small-town Main Street still rebuilding from Helene.

Brunswick Islands & South Coast

CalabashA small mainland fishing town on the South Carolina line, known for its seafood restaurants, with beaches 6 to 10 miles away and Myrtle Beach 25 miles south.
Carolina ShoresA small Brunswick County town made up of eight planned residential communities, with a $0.10 municipal tax rate, a golf-centered original subdivision and its own emergency management agency.
Holden BeachA small, primarily residential barrier-island town on Brunswick County's south coast, reached by a single bridge and roughly midway between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach.
Ocean Isle BeachA barrier-island town on Brunswick County's south coast, between Wilmington and Myrtle Beach, with a 0.13 town tax rate on top of the county's 0.342 and full coastal evacuation and wind-insurance exposure.
ShallotteA Brunswick County town with its own police and fire departments, a fire department rated ISO Class 2, a free senior shuttle and a municipal tax rate of $0.31 per $100 on top of the county's.
Sunset BeachThe southernmost island town in North Carolina, unusual for including both a small barrier island and a mainland side with golf communities such as Sea Trail.

Charlotte & Lake Norman

BelmontA Gaston County mill-town-turned-river-city on a Catawba River peninsula west of Charlotte, with a 0.455 city tax rate, its own hospital campus and a downtown in active redevelopment.
CharlotteMecklenburg County's central city, a large urban option for retirees who want in-city living near two major hospital systems, a major airport, county greenways and a 2027 property revaluation to plan around.
ConcordA fast-growing Cabarrus County city northeast of Charlotte with a historic downtown, a 457-bed hospital, a regional airport with low-cost carriers, a growing greenway network and a county-collected property tax.
CorneliusA Mecklenburg County town on Lake Norman about 20 miles north of Charlotte, with a low town property-tax rate, a newer hospital on its doorstep and a high Mecklenburg sales-tax rate.
DavidsonA college town on Lake Norman in northern Mecklenburg County, with a walkable historic core, a town tax rate above its lake neighbors and a hospital in neighboring Cornelius.
DenverA Lincoln County community on the west shore of Lake Norman with no town property tax, a 7 percent sales tax and a large gated 55+ community, Trilogy Lake Norman.
GastoniaGaston County's largest city, west of Charlotte, with a 476-bed regional hospital, a city microtransit service and a county tax rate that fell sharply after the 2023 revaluation.
HuntersvilleA large, growing town in northern Mecklenburg County with a Novant Health medical center off Gilead Road, a lower town tax rate than Davidson and I-77 access to Charlotte about 14 miles south.
MatthewsA southeastern Mecklenburg County town about 11 miles from Uptown Charlotte, with a hospital that expanded in 2025, an older population profile than Huntersville and no lake access.
Mint HillA suburban town on Charlotte's southeast side whose own comprehensive plan describes households that are smaller and older than neighbors, with senior living, patio homes and a small downtown on NC 51.
MonroeThe Union County seat, a city of nearly 40,000 that runs its own electric, gas and water utilities, charges a city property tax rate of 44.0 cents per $100, operates a 55-and-older active adult center, and has Atrium Health Union, a 182-bed hospital, in town.
MooresvilleAn Iredell County town at the north end of Lake Norman with a steady town tax rate, lower sales tax than Mecklenburg County and property-tax charges that depend on the town line and school district.
Mount HollyA Gaston County city on the Catawba River with Carolina Thread Trail greenways, a 0.5990 county tax rate and CaroMont hospitals in nearby Gastonia and Belmont.
SalisburyA historic Rowan County seat about an hour from Charlotte, Greensboro and Winston-Salem, with a Novant Health hospital, a downtown with ten historic districts and a lower tax base than Concord or Mooresville.

Crystal Coast & New Bern

Atlantic BeachA Bogue Banks oceanfront town next to Fort Macon State Park, with a 0.1525 town tax rate on top of Carteret County's 0.225 and Crystal Coast evacuation and wind-insurance exposure.
BeaufortA small historic waterfront town on Taylor's Creek in Carteret County, where the county's administration and tax offices sit and the county's general aviation airport is about two miles from downtown.
Emerald IsleA low-density barrier-island town at the western end of Bogue Banks with its own fire and ocean rescue services, a low town tax rate and a single-island evacuation and storm exposure.
Morehead CityThe largest town on the Crystal Coast and the working-waterfront hub of Carteret County, home to a state deep-water port, the county's senior services center and paramedic-staffed city Fire-EMS.
New BernA historic city where the Neuse and Trent rivers meet, with its own electric, water and sewer utilities, a 350-bed regional medical center and the nearest commercial airport to the Crystal Coast.
OrientalA small waterfront village of 880 residents on the lower Neuse River, branded the Sailing Capital of North Carolina, where about four in five residents are 50 or older and the main tradeoffs are storm-surge exposure and distance to a large hospital.
Pine Knoll ShoresA Bogue Banks town with the North Carolina Aquarium, a golf course and public beach access, in Carteret County where the countywide rate is $0.225 per $100.
SwansboroA small historic waterfront town where the White Oak River meets the Intracoastal Waterway, with a 0.35 town tax rate, a working-age population mix and a downtown that floods in big storms.

Foothills & Lake Country

HickoryThe city of Hickory in Catawba County, North Carolina, a city of more than 46,000 at the foot of the Blue Ridge on the Catawba River, with a hospital, a small airport, a 10-mile trail system and a combined city and county property tax rate of 0.8585 per $100 for 2026.
Lake LureThe town of Lake Lure in Rutherford County, North Carolina: a lake town of roughly 1,350 year-round residents, where an estimated 41.8 percent of residents are 65 or older and where Hurricane Helene flooding put the lake that gives the town its name into a long recovery.
MorgantonThe Burke County seat on the edge of the mountains, with a UNC Health Blue Ridge hospital, South Mountains State Park and Lake James State Park in the county, and a 2025-26 county tax rate of 0.5550 per $100.

High Country

Banner ElkA small Avery County town in the Blue Ridge Mountains that its own site ties to the two largest winter sports venues in the South, with county-published elevation, climate and airport facts and a Helene recovery still in progress.
Blowing RockA small Watauga County town of 3.1 square miles at 3,600 feet on the Eastern Continental Divide, reached by US 321 and 221 and close to Blue Ridge Parkway milepost 292.
BooneThe Watauga County seat and home of Appalachian State University, a mountain college town with a downtown, a university-sized calendar of arts and athletics, and a local hospital system.
West JeffersonA railroad-depot town in Ashe County, in a valley between Mount Jefferson and Paddy Mountain, chartered in 1915 and designated an NC Small Town Main Street community.

Outer Banks

CorollaThe northern end of the Outer Banks in Currituck County, reached only through Dare County, where there is no town government, public safety is funded through a Corolla fire district and county taxes, and the Banker wild horses roam the beaches north of the paved road.
DuckDare County's northernmost town and the Outer Banks' newest, incorporated in 2002, with a soundside park and boardwalk, privately accessed beaches, a town tax rate of 18 cents plus beach-nourishment districts, and a single evacuation route out.
Hatteras IslandThe string of Dare County villages from Rodanthe through Hatteras Village, inside Cape Hatteras National Seashore, where retirement means NC 12 and ferry dependence, a handful of grocery stores, one family medicine practice and a road that storms repeatedly close.
Kill Devil HillsA barrier-island town in Dare County on North Carolina's Outer Banks, with about 2.6 miles of oceanfront, a town-run beach nourishment program, Know Your Zone evacuation Zone B and a 24-hour hospital emergency department in neighboring Nags Head.
Kitty HawkA Dare County barrier-island town at the northern end of the Outer Banks' main developed stretch, with 3,689 residents at the 2020 census, nearly a quarter of them 65 or older, most of its land in a flood hazard area and a 22-cent town property tax rate for 2025-26.
ManteoThe Roanoke Island town on Shallowbag Bay that sits across the sounds from the Outer Banks beaches, with Fort Raleigh National Historic Site, a walkable waterfront, a county airport, a primary-care clinic and no ocean beach of its own.
Nags HeadA Dare County barrier-island town on the Outer Banks that hosts The Outer Banks Hospital, funds beach nourishment through six special tax districts and has adopted a local elevation standard above the federal flood maps.
Southern ShoresA planned, mostly residential northern Outer Banks town with no commercial strip, civic-association parks and beach stairs, private septic, a nourished beach and a single seasonal traffic choke point at the Wright Memorial Bridge.

Sandhills & Pinehurst

AberdeenA railroad-founded town in southern Moore County, North Carolina, on the southern edge of the Pinehurst golf area, with a younger and more mixed age profile than Pinehurst, a 42-cent town tax rate and its own water and sewer system.
PinehurstA village in Moore County, North Carolina, known for golf, with a planned village center, a National Historic Landmark District and a wide range of golf-oriented housing.
SanfordA city of 30,261 (2020 census) and the seat of Lee County, North Carolina, on U.S. 1 between the Sandhills and the Triangle, with its own hospital, a city tax rate of 55.5 cents on top of a 65-cent county rate and a younger age profile than the Pinehurst area.
Seven Lakes (Seven Lakes and West End)An unincorporated lake community in western Moore County, North Carolina, along NC 211 about 9 miles from Pinehurst, made up of separately governed North, South and West sections, with no municipal property tax and an older-than-average population.
Southern PinesA town in Moore County, North Carolina, with a historic downtown built around an Amtrak depot, a Donald Ross golf heritage and access to the same golf, hospital and airport as neighboring Pinehurst.
Whispering PinesA lake-centered residential village in Moore County, North Carolina, between Southern Pines and Carthage, where a village government maintains eight lakes and their dams, taxes are set at 40 cents per $100 in 2026 and the population has grown younger as military-linked families arrived.

Triad: Greensboro, Winston-Salem & High Point

BurlingtonAn Alamance County city with a city property tax rate of $0.4836 per $100 under a proposed 8 cent increase for 2026-27, a state-certified senior center for adults 55 and older, and water and sewer fees the city says rank in the lowest 10 percent of North Carolina municipalities.
GreensboroThe Guilford County seat, with a 2026-27 combined county and city property tax rate of $1.5880 per $100 after the county's January 1, 2026 reappraisal, a 6.75 percent sales tax and more than 100 miles of trails.
High PointA furniture-market city that spans four counties at the southwest edge of the Triad, with a hospital in town, a city-run senior transit service, a new Center for Active Adults and a property-tax picture that depends on which county the parcel is in.
KernersvilleA town straddling the Forsyth and Guilford county line between Winston-Salem and Greensboro, with its own Novant Health hospital, ten town parks and a property tax bill that depends on which county the parcel is in.
Winston-SalemThe Forsyth County seat and home of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist and Novant Health Forsyth Medical Center, with a Forsyth County rate of $0.5352 per $100 for 2025-26 after its 2025 reappraisal and a Winston-Salem city rate of $0.5890.

Triangle: Raleigh, Durham & Chapel Hill

ApexA historic railroad town in western Wake County with a preserved downtown, its own electric utility, and about 15 miles between town and Raleigh-Durham International Airport.
CaryCary is a large suburban town in western Wake County, between Raleigh and Research Triangle Park, where a 55+ master-planned community, major hospital access and Triangle airports sit close together. It also reaches into Chatham County, which changes the property tax math for some neighborhoods.
Chapel HillAn Orange County university town, home to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and the UNC Health system, where most addresses pay Orange County tax plus a town rate and a Chapel Hill-Carrboro school district levy.
ClaytonA Johnston County town southeast of Raleigh with a revived historic downtown, a Neuse River greenway system, a hospital in town and a combined town-and-county property tax rate of $1.01 per $100.
DurhamA Durham County city in the North Carolina Triangle, home to Duke University Hospital and Duke Regional Hospital and served by Raleigh-Durham International Airport, with a 55+ Del Webb community, Carolina Arbors, at a Durham address.
Fuquay-VarinaThe southernmost municipality in Wake County, with two downtown districts, a 55+ community by Del Webb, and a new WakeMed medical office building that opened in 2024.
GarnerA Wake County town about 10 minutes from downtown Raleigh, with a 0.5350 town tax rate per $100, a WakeMed emergency department in town and a WakeMed hospital campus under development.
HillsboroughA historic town on the Eno River, home to Orange County's government offices, with a downtown founded in 1754, a 1.8-mile Riverwalk, a UNC Health hospital campus and a combined 2026 county and town property tax rate of 0.011935 per dollar of value.
Holly SpringsA Wake County town with a 34.35-cent municipal tax rate, a downtown and cultural center, a nearly 2,000-seat athletic stadium and extensive greenways.
PittsboroThe Chatham County town south of Chapel Hill, with a 2026-27 town property tax rate of $0.44 per $100 and, nearby, Fearrington Village, a village with a Pittsboro address that is not age-restricted.
RaleighA large Wake County city best read as a set of retirement choices (in-town, Downtown, North Raleigh) with a 0.3720 city tax rate per $100, Level 1 trauma care at WakeMed and free bus rides for adults 65 and older.
Wake ForestWake Forest is a growing town north of Raleigh with a walkable historic downtown, its own town budget and electric utility, and an age-qualified Del Webb community. Part of the town lies in Franklin County, so the county tax bill differs from one street to the next.

Wilmington & Cape Fear

Carolina BeachA New Hanover County oceanfront town with its own boardwalk district, marina and beach strand, where the retirement questions are evacuation, flood zones, separate flood and wind coverage, and access across the bridge.
HampsteadA Pender County community with a refurbished county annex, a 53-acre county park and a fast-growing population, where most services come from the county rather than a town hall.
Kure BeachThe southernmost oceanfront town on the New Hanover County island, whose town pages spell out a single-bridge evacuation route, mandatory vehicle re-entry decals, an ISO Class 2 fire rating and oceanfront flood exposure.
LelandThe largest town in Brunswick County, across the Cape Fear River from Wilmington, and the home of several master-planned communities popular with retirees.
Oak IslandA Brunswick County barrier-island town reached by two bridges, with a 2026 town tax rate of 20 cents per $100, a town-run senior center and recreation center, and a published storm plan built around bridge closures and zone-by-zone re-entry.
SouthportA small incorporated city on the Cape Fear River and the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in southern Brunswick County, with a historic downtown, its own city government and a 31-cent city property tax rate layered on the county's.
St. JamesThe Town of St. James, an incorporated town in southern Brunswick County built around the gated St. James Plantation, with 81 holes of golf, a marina, a beach club on Oak Island and its own town government and property owners' association.
Surf CityA Topsail-area oceanfront town in Pender County that pairs a federal beach-nourishment project with a town tax rate its own FAQ says runs above neighboring beach towns.
WilmingtonThe port city and county seat of New Hanover County on the Cape Fear River, whose retirement housing includes resale-only active-adult neighborhoods such as the Del Webb neighborhood at Riverlights.
Wrightsville BeachA New Hanover County barrier-island town reached over three aging bridges that NCDOT is replacing, where the whole town sits in a designated flood hazard area and the municipal tax rate is the lowest of the county's three beach towns.

South Carolina

Aiken & the CSRA

AikenA small South Carolina city that grew up on an 1830s railroad line, became a winter retreat for northern families and is now known for horse country, a 2,100-acre urban forest, a 273-bed hospital and a school-tax structure that exempts owner-occupied homes from school operating millage.
North AugustaA riverfront South Carolina city directly across the Savannah River from Augusta, Georgia, with a 7-plus-mile National Recreation Trail, a downtown anchored by SRP Park and Riverside Village, and Aiken County's property tax structure.

Beaufort, Bluffton & Hilton Head

BeaufortA historic city in northern Beaufort County, founded in 1711, with a 304-acre National Historic Landmark District, a downtown marina, the Spanish Moss Trail and Beaufort Memorial Hospital.
BlufftonA mainland Beaufort County town west of Hilton Head Island, with a Sun City Hilton Head mailing address and Beaufort Memorial medical offices in and near town.
Dataw IslandA privately gated, water-surrounded golf, tennis and boating community on an island of about 870 acres, fifteen minutes from downtown Beaufort, with a Beaufort mailing address and mandatory club and owners association membership.
HardeevilleA city on the US-278 and I-95 corridor, west of Bluffton, and the location of Latitude Margaritaville Hilton Head and Coastal Carolina Hospital.
Hilton Head IslandA barrier island in Beaufort County with its own hospital and airport, whose main retirement tradeoff is ocean access against hurricane evacuation dependence on US 278.
Port RoyalA small town between the Beaufort River and Battery Creek in Beaufort County, next to the City of Beaufort, with free waterfront parks, a community beach and boardwalk, and a marina redevelopment plan.

Charleston & Lowcountry

CharlestonHistoric coastal city whose limits span Charleston and Berkeley Counties and include the Point Hope area of the Cainhoy Peninsula, where Del Webb is selling a 55+ community.
Daniel IslandPlanned island community inside the City of Charleston, governed by three property owners' associations administered from one office, with a 25-mile-plus trail system, city parks and retirement living on the island.
Folly BeachA six-mile barrier island south of Charleston, entirely within the flood hazard area, with a Community Rating System Class 3 flood-insurance discount of 35 percent, strict elevation and substantial-improvement rules, and a licensing system that caps new investor short-term rentals.
Goose CreekThe most populous city in Berkeley County and a large Charleston-area suburb next to Joint Base Charleston, with a 2025 city millage that sits below Charleston's and North Charleston's and an inland evacuation zone.
Isle of PalmsA six-mile barrier island city east of Charleston with a 2026 city-managed beach renourishment project of up to 2.5 million cubic yards, local flood-elevation rules that exceed the federal minimum, regulated short-term rentals and the Wild Dunes resort at its northeast end.
Johns IslandA large, rural-feeling sea island southwest of the Charleston peninsula whose parcels fall partly inside the City of Charleston and partly in unincorporated Charleston County, with the road link to Kiawah and Seabrook islands running across it.
Kiawah IslandPrivate gated barrier-island town south of Charleston with 10 miles of beach, its own town government, and a documented flood and sea level rise planning record.
Mount PleasantIncorporated town across the Cooper River from the Charleston peninsula, with its own recreation department, senior center and emergency manager, reached from downtown Charleston and the North Charleston area by I-526 and US 17.
Seabrook IslandA small incorporated barrier-island town in Charleston County, mostly behind a private property-owners' security gate, with its own water and sewer utility, a single road on and off the island and no town property-tax levy in its 2026 budget.
Sullivan's IslandA low-lying barrier-island town at the mouth of Charleston Harbor with 3.5 miles of beachfront, a national monument, little commercial development and a floodplain that covers the whole island.
SummervilleSuburban town northwest of Charleston whose area holds two of the region's 55+ communities, Del Webb at Cane Bay and Cresswind Charleston.

Columbia & the Midlands

CamdenSouth Carolina's oldest inland city, a Kershaw County seat with a Revolutionary War park, a horse-country calendar, a city utility credit for older low-income residents and its own 119-bed hospital.
ColumbiaSouth Carolina's capital and a university city on the Congaree River, with two large hospital systems, 2026 homestead relief for owners 65 and older and river and national-park recreation close by.
HartsvilleA Pee Dee college city and Darlington County's largest, with Coker University, Kalmia Gardens, a 116-bed hospital, an arts calendar anchored by the Center Theater and a property tax layer that includes a high municipal millage.
IrmoA small incorporated town on the Irmo side of Lake Murray, in the Midlands, whose land use and services sit in both Lexington and Richland counties and whose draw for retirees is lake access, town-run parks and a suburban, small-town feel.
LexingtonA fast-growing South Carolina town in Lexington County, in the Midlands, where retirees get Lake Murray access, a large local hospital system and an inland cost structure, with county-level property-tax relief for owner-occupants and homeowners 65 and older.
NewberryA small college city on Interstate 26 between Columbia and Greenville, centered on the 1881 Newberry Opera House, with a 90-bed independent community hospital, Lake Murray and Lake Greenwood nearby and a county tax structure with its own school millage.

Fort Mill, Indian Land & Charlotte South

Fort MillA fast-growing incorporated town in northeastern York County, South Carolina, minutes from south Charlotte, with its own town millage, Fort Mill School District 4 taxes and a historic downtown.
Indian LandAn unincorporated area of Lancaster County, South Carolina, at the state line south of Charlotte, and the home of the 55+ community Sun City Carolina Lakes; property taxes come from the county and school district rather than from a town.
Lake WylieAn unincorporated lakefront community in York County, South Carolina, on a peninsula of Lake Wylie near Charlotte, where the property-tax bill is a county bill with school and special-district lines rather than a city levy.
Rock HillThe largest city in York County and one of the lower-millage cities on its 2025 levy sheet, with a designated cultural district, a hospital of its own, a university and a short drive to Charlotte Douglas airport.
Tega CayA planned lakefront city on a Lake Wylie peninsula in York County, South Carolina, with a city property-tax levy, Fort Mill schools and a parks-and-golf lifestyle near Charlotte.
YorkThe county seat of York County, South Carolina: a small historic town with a downtown district, lower home values than the Charlotte-edge suburbs to its north and the highest city millage on the county's 2025 levy sheet.

Grand Strand & Myrtle Beach

Carolina ForestA large unincorporated, census-designated community in Horry County with a median age of 37.6, county-level taxes and fees, a county recreation center that doubles as an emergency shelter and a named McLeod Health location.
ConwayThe Horry County seat on the Waccamaw River, home to Conway Medical Center, a 0.0981 city millage and a location inland of the Grand Strand beaches that sits on the county's evacuation highways rather than in a coastal evacuation zone.
GeorgetownThe Georgetown County seat and South Carolina's third oldest city, a Winyah Bay port with a hospital, a city millage of 0.1258 and its own evacuation route through US 17 and US 521, south of the Horry County beaches.
Little RiverThe northernmost Grand Strand community on the Intracoastal Waterway, an older-skewing census-designated place (median age 61.8) served by county recreation centers, a county auditor branch office and Conway Medical Center's Little River practice.
Murrells InletAn unincorporated South Carolina seaside community on the Georgetown-Horry county line, known as the Seafood Capital of South Carolina and a MarshWalk waterfront, where the county that bills a parcel decides its fire district, school millage, fees and reassessment cycle.
Myrtle BeachSouth Carolina's largest Grand Strand city, in Horry County, with the region's commercial airport, a mid-sized resident population, a city millage of 0.0834 and an oceanfront that falls in the county's Zone A and B evacuation areas.
North Myrtle BeachA Horry County coastal city at the northern end of the Grand Strand with an older population, a 0.0450 city tax rate, a SC 9 evacuation route and a Del Webb 55-plus community.
Pawleys IslandA small Georgetown County barrier-island town incorporated in 1985, entirely within the flood hazard area, with a Community Rating System Class 5 flood-insurance discount and V-zone construction rules applied townwide.
Surfside BeachA two-square-mile Horry County oceanfront town between Myrtle Beach and Garden City with 36 public beach access points, a fishing pier, a Community Rating System Class 7 flood-insurance discount and a long local identity as a family beach where people both visit and retire.

Greenville & Upstate

AndersonThe county seat of Anderson County on the I-85 corridor between Atlanta and Charlotte, with a 461-bed hospital, a city-owned water and bus system, Lake Hartwell in the county, and Anderson County's own tax rates.
EasleyThe largest municipality in Pickens County, in the Upstate foothills west of Greenville, with a Prisma Health hospital, a county that runs a flood program with a rate discount, and a county auditor separate from Greenville's.
GreenvilleSouth Carolina's Upstate hub, with a walkable downtown on the Reedy River, the region's largest referral hospital and its main airport within driving distance.
GreerA Greenville County city on the I-85 corridor that hosts Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport and has its own community hospital, with a city property tax rate that is the highest of the Greenville County places in this region on the 2025 millage sheet.
MauldinA Greenville County city on the Golden Strip with no traditional downtown but a municipal cultural center, sports center and four city parks, taxed under Greenville County's millage sheet.
PickensThe Pickens County seat in the Blue Ridge foothills, a small downtown linked to Easley by the Doodle Trail, with a bike park, state parks nearby and a hospital in Easley.
SimpsonvilleA Greenville County city on the I-385 corridor with its own community hospital, a city-run senior center and a lower municipal rate on the county's 2025 millage sheet than Greer.
SpartanburgThe Spartanburg County seat and an Upstate city with a trail and greenway network, a first-in-state Bicycle Friendly Community designation, Spartanburg Medical Center's 747-bed teaching hospital system, and a county property-tax structure that rewards owner-occupants with a 4 percent assessment ratio.
Travelers RestA small town at the northern end of the Swamp Rabbit Trail with a walkable Main Street and its own municipal tax district, north of Greenville.
WalhallaThe Oconee County seat at the foot of the Blue Ridge, a German-founded town with a restored depot, a new greenway and a mountain bike park, and one of the higher municipal millage rates on the county's 2025-2026 sheet.

Lake Keowee, Hartwell & Savannah River Lakes

ClemsonA university town on Lake Hartwell whose retirement case rests on campus programming, a lifelong-learning institute for adults and the only continuing care retirement community in town, rather than on Greenville-metro living.
McCormickA small western South Carolina county seat on Lake Thurmond, best known to retirees as the home of Savannah Lakes Village, a 4,000-acre member-owned lakefront community that sits in a county tax district with a special public-safety levy.
SalemA small Oconee County town with its own line on the county millage sheet and the mailing address of Keowee Key, a 1,600-acre gated community on Lake Keowee, in the Blue Ridge foothills.
SenecaOconee County's largest city, a former railroad town on the edge of the Blue Ridge with a National Register historic downtown, its own municipal electric and water utilities, the county's main hospital and access to Lakes Hartwell, Keowee and Jocassee.

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