Cost of Living in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Surfside Beach is a town in Horry County, South Carolina, with a population of 4,312. The total cost of housing, food, child care, transportation, health care, taxes, and other necessities for a single adult in Surfside Beach is $39,135 a year — greater than the annual cost of living for South Carolina of $36,133 and roughly in line with the national figure of $38,433.

Using cost of living data from the nonprofift think tank Economic Policy Institute, 24/7 Wall St. estimated the cost of living in Surfside Beach and over 29,000 other cities and towns in the US.

Housing Costs in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Housing is one of the largest components of cost of living. In Surfside Beach, the median home value is $270,000, greater than the national median home value of $204,900.

Renting is a sometimes lower cost alternative to homeownership. In Surfside Beach, some 33.50% of occupied homes are rented, less than the 36.2% national renter rate. The typical renter in Surfside Beach spends $981 a month on housing, less than the $1,023 national median monthly rent.

In addition to home value, one of the largest determinants of housing affordability is area income. While nationwide the price of a typical U.S. home is 3.4 times the $60,293 U.S. median household income, housing affordability ratios range from approximately 1.0 in the least expensive cities to more than 10.0 in the country's most expensive markets. In Surfside Beach, the median household income is $53,852, 5.0 times the median home value.

Transportation Costs in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Transportation can also be a significant component of cost of living. In Surfside Beach, 80.50% of commuters drive to work, compared to 85.5% of commuters nationwide. An estimated 70.40% of workers commute to jobs outside of Surfside Beach, a larger share than the 43.7% share of commuters nationwide who live and work in different cities. The average commute in Surfside Beach is 20 minutes long, compared to the 26.6-minute average commute nationwide. Taking into account the cost of gas, as well as public transit and car maintenance, the EPI estimates that a single person in Surfside Beach spends $9,724 a year on transportation, about the same as the national average of $9,760.

Health Care Costs in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Out-of-pocket health care costs and insurance premiums — assuming at least a basic level of health insurance coverage — are far higher than they are on average nationwide in Surfside Beach but in line with what they are across South Carolina as a whole.

For a single adult living in the area, average health care costs come out to $4,846 per year, compared to an average of $5,033 across South Carolina and $4,266 nationwide.

Child care Costs in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

For families with children, child care adds thousands of dollars to overall annual spending. In Surfside Beach, the average annual cost of child care for two children — one 4 year old and one 8 year old — is $9,835, about $700 more than the comparable average of $9,116 across all of South Carolina. Meanwhile, across the U.S. as a whole, childcare expenses for two children averages $15,853 per year.

Food Costs in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Food is another every day expense that has a significant impact on overall cost of living. Data from the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that the cost of food varies from city to city and town to town.

In Surfside Beach, a single adult spends an average of $3,111 on food annually, and a family of four spends $8,986 on average. For context, average annual food expenditure across South Carolina and the U.S., respectively, are $3,080 and $3,240 for a single adult, and $8,895 and $9,354 for a family of four. These estimates are calculated for a nutritionally adequate diet of food purchased at a grocery store for at-home preparation.

Taxes in Surfside Beach, South Carolina

Few expenses vary as much from city to city and town to town as taxes. Accounting for state and federal income taxes, as well as Social Security contributions and Medicare payroll taxes, the average adult working in Surfside Beach, South Carolina pays $6,927 annually — a relatively high sum compared to the the statewide average of $6,218.

It is important to note that these calculations do not include other common taxes such as property, sales, and excise taxes. Accounting for these taxes, while excluding taxes levied at the federal level, Surfside Beach residents live in a state with a low average tax burden. Per capita state tax collections in South Carolina total $2,075 per year, compared to the $3,151 average across all states.

Methodology

To estimate the cost of housing, food, transportation, health care, child care, taxes, and other necessities, 24/7 Wall St. assigned county-level Economic Policy Institute data to cities, towns, villages and Census-designated places based on boundary definitions from the U.S. Census Bureau. For places that span multiple counties, data was aggregated based on the percentage of boundary overlap.

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