Retiring in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Retiring in Surfside Beach: overview

Surfside Beach is in Horry, South Carolina, within the Grand Strand & Myrtle Beach region.

Surfside Beach calls itself "The Family Beach." The Town's visitor page describes two miles of oceanfront with beach houses, hotels, condominiums, restaurants and a fishing pier, with beaches cleaned daily and supervised by lifeguards and police, and 36 access points. The Town's government page says the incorporated area covers about two square miles and that the Town runs on a council form of government with seven members including the mayor, who presides over meetings but has no additional statutory authority beyond other councilmembers. Council appoints the Administrator, and Town Hall is at 210 Highway 17 South.

The Town's own history page traces the area to the Ark Plantation of John M. Tillman, which covered about 3,200 acres, then to Roach's Beach, Floral Beach and, in 1952, the name Surfside Beach. It says Hurricane Hazel destroyed 18 of the beach's 65 houses in 1954, that there were only six permanent families at the time, and that significant growth did not come until after 1956, when Myrtle Beach Air Force Base was reactivated. By 1964, the history says, Surfside's reputation as a family beach had spread and the town was becoming a popular place to both visit and retire. That long record of retirees is useful context, but it describes a small beach town, not a master-planned retirement district.

The Conway Medical Center 2025 community health assessment, which draws on Census Bureau American Community Survey 2019-2023 estimates, lists Surfside Beach at a population of 4,217 and a median age of 55.4, among the older profiles on the Horry County coast; it lists Garden City at 61.2 and North Myrtle Beach at 60.8, while Myrtle Beach is 47. For a retiree the practical questions are the cost of a coastal address, flood and evacuation exposure, and how far the nearest hospital and airport are, which the sections below take in turn.

Cost of living in Surfside Beach

Flood insurance is a core line in a Surfside Beach budget. The Town's Planning, Building and Zoning Department states that Surfside Beach is a Community Rating System Class 7 community and that policyholders receive a 15 percent discount on local flood insurance premiums. It explains that the discount scale runs from 5 percent to 40 percent depending on classification and that the Town engages in activities that could lead to a lower classification in the future. The same department can supply flood map determinations, elevation certificates and substantial-improvement determinations, which is the right first call before pricing coverage on a specific address.

Recurring Town services are listed rather than priced on the pages. The Town provides 12 beach-area parking lots, with several oceanfront, and lists online payment of parking tickets. Beach rules are strict and worth knowing before buying: motor vehicles are not allowed on the beach, dogs are barred from the public beach between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. from May 1 through Labor Day, and bonfires and grills of any kind are not allowed at any time. Ask the Horry County Auditor for the current bill detail on any parcel you are considering.

For travel costs, Myrtle Beach International Airport lists parking at 10 dollars a day in its economy lots, 12 dollars in the long-term lot and 32 dollars in the short-term lot, which matters for residents who fly often or host visiting family.

Property taxes in Surfside Beach

Property tax in Surfside Beach combines county, school and town levies. The South Carolina Association of Counties' 2025 compilation lists Horry County's countywide millage at 0.0521 (county operations 0.0439, capital planning 0.0037, recreation 0.0019, higher education 0.0006, Horry-Georgetown Technical College 0.0016 and senior citizens fund 0.0004), the Town of Surfside Beach at 0.0430, and Horry County Schools at 0.1091 operating plus 0.0100 for debt service. A mill is one-thousandth of assessed value, so 0.0430 equals 43.0 mills, or 43 dollars per 1,000 dollars of assessed value. One Horry County mill was worth about 3,890,000 dollars in the 2025 report. Special districts can add to a bill, so ask the county for the exact tax district of any parcel.

The assessment rules matter as much as the rate. Horry County's reassessment flyer says the last countywide 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, and that existing property has a 15 percent cap on the increase in taxable value over a five-year period unless it was purchased in the current year. The county must also roll back millage after reassessment. Appeals go to the County Assessor in writing within 90 days of the reassessment notice. A purchase can therefore reset the taxable value of a home that was held for years by the seller.

For owners over 65, the South Carolina Department of Revenue says the homestead exemption completely exempts the first 50,000 dollars of fair market value of a legal residence for homeowners over 65, totally and permanently disabled or legally blind, and that for tax year 2026 only the General Assembly temporarily increased the amount to 75,000 dollars. The Horry County Auditor administers homestead applications. Many Surfside condominiums are second homes or rentals and may not qualify for the legal-residence treatment, so confirm the classification with the Auditor before estimating a bill. The South Carolina retirement tax guide covers state income tax.

Insurance and risk in Surfside Beach

The Town's floodplain page is the starting point for risk. It says the Planning, Building and Zoning Department holds the Flood Insurance Rate Maps, elevation certificates and flood insurance studies, explains requirements for construction in a Special Flood Hazard Area including the Town's Coastal A zone, and offers historical flood information on areas with repetitive flooding, plus information on natural or protected floodplain areas. It also lists drainage-system maintenance, a right to appeal decisions on the Flood Damage Prevention Ordinance, and a Town flood guide among its resources.

Hurricane evacuation zones are described in two places that differ in wording. The Town's evacuation page, which recounts the Know Your Zone campaign built on the 2012 South Carolina Hurricane Evacuation Study, says that within Surfside Beach all areas east of Highway 17 fall into Zone A and all areas west of Highway 17 fall into Zone B. Horry County's Know Your Zone page describes Zone A as areas east of U.S. Business 17 from Myrtle Beach State Park to the Georgetown County line with coastal fluctuations in Surfside Beach and Garden City, and lists areas east of U.S. Business 17 from 16th Avenue North to Vista Drive in Surfside Beach in Zone B. Because the descriptions differ, confirm a specific address on the county's interactive Know Your Zone map before an offer.

The county's evacuation page gives the route for this stretch: evacuees from Myrtle Beach International Airport south through Surfside Beach take SC 544 to US 501 to Conway, then US 378 to Columbia or US 501 on to Marion. It adds that lane reversal may be used on US 501 from SC 544 to SC 378 and that once in a reversal pattern you cannot get back out. The county also advises people near waterways and in mobile homes to consider evacuating even outside a designated zone. See the coastal hurricane and flood insurance guide for how coverage works.

Healthcare access in Surfside Beach

Surfside Beach has no hospital within its two square miles. Conway Medical Center, at 300 Singleton Ridge Road in Conway, reports 222 inpatient beds, almost 2,000 staff and a history reaching back to a 1928 charter filing, and it is affiliated with Novant Health. McLeod Health lists McLeod Health Seacoast and McLeod Health Carolina Forest among its locations, with cardiology, cancer, orthopedic and emergency services on its service list.

The county's 2025 health assessment reports that adults 65 and older are the fastest-growing age group in Horry County and that coastal communities such as Garden City, Little River and North Myrtle Beach skew older. Medical access in a small beach town therefore depends on the drive to the hospital and specialists you would actually use, including during evacuations and storm closures. Test that drive at different times of day, and confirm that your physicians accept your Medicare plan. The healthcare access guide explains how to compare networks.

Climate in Surfside Beach

Horry County's hurricane annex defines the Atlantic hurricane season as running from June 1 to November 30 and expects that most storms give several days of warning, but it cites Hurricane Gaston in 2004, which intensified from a tropical depression to a hurricane in 48 hours about 140 miles off the coast, as a reminder that a system can develop quickly. The county plans to complete evacuation of affected zones before tropical-storm-force winds arrive, so an order may come days before landfall.

The Town's own history shows what the exposure means in practice: Hurricane Hazel in 1954 destroyed 18 of the 65 houses then on the beach. The Town advises residents to enroll in the CodeRED emergency notification system and publishes shelter and evacuation-zone information on its Services page. Plan for a multi-day absence if you live east of Highway 17.

Lifestyle and recreation in Surfside Beach

Daily life centers on the beach and a short list of Town-run amenities. The Town lists 36 access points, restrooms and shower towers at many of them, wheelchair access at several entrances including 3rd Avenue North, Surfside Pier, 3rd Avenue South, 13th Avenue South and Melody Lane, beach walking mats and special beach wheelchairs available through the Police Department. Surfside Pier is a popular fishing and gathering place, and the Town describes itself as an autism-friendly family travel destination.

The Town's event calendar is built around community gatherings: a farmers market, a kite festival, a fall family festival, a turkey trot, a Christmas parade and tour of homes, music in Memorial Park, golf cart parades and a health and wellness fair. Its government page also lists a Senior Citizens Advisory Committee among Town committees, a Stormwater Committee and a Surfside Beach Historical Society. The Horry County library system is linked from the Town's Services page.

Housing in Surfside Beach

The Town describes beach houses, hotels, condominiums and restaurants along its two miles of oceanfront, and the Town's history notes that after 1964 the town added police protection, street lights, strategic zoning ordinances, and public parking and walkways to the beach. Buyers will find a mix of single-family beach homes, older cottages and condominium communities, and the Planning, Building and Zoning Department handles permitting and flood requirements for work on any of them.

Because the whole beach is exposed to storm surge, building and renovation rules matter. The Town's floodplain office provides substantial-improvement and substantial-damage determinations and a 48 percent rule document among its resources. Ask the department for the elevation certificate before you make an offer, ask your insurer to quote flood coverage using that certificate, and compare recent sold prices for the exact block rather than relying on town-wide averages.

Comparisons with Surfside Beach

• Surfside Beach vs Myrtle Beach: Two-Square-Mile Family Beach or the Grand Strand's Largest City

Places near Surfside Beach

• 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.
• 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.
• 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.

Guides relevant to Surfside Beach

• Healthcare Access Across the Carolinas: Hospitals, Trauma Centers and Medicare
• Hurricane, Flood and Wind Insurance on the Carolina Coast: What Retirees Should Know