Moving to
Carolina Forest.

All Carolina Forest data Compare Carolina Forest

26,263people live here $74,436median household incomeNear US average $1,668median rent per month▲ 18% above US $336,800median home valueNear US average

Carolina Forest is an unincorporated community in Horry County, SC. It has no city government: the county runs it, and the Census counts it as its own place.

What it's like to live in Carolina Forest

Carolina Forest is an unincorporated community in South Carolina with commutes that run shorter than most cities and schools with class sizes near the national average. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Carolina Forest deals with rent well above the national average, above-average rainfall, fewer dining and entertainment options than a bigger city, and a car-dependent commute, with few people using transit.

The good

Short commutes
Average class sizes

The not so good

Rent well above the national average
Above-average rainfall
Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Carolina Forest compares

Median household income

Carolina Forest$74,436

South Carolina avg$69,324

US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Carolina Forest$1,668

South Carolina avg$1,180

US$1,413

Median home value

Carolina Forest$336,800

South Carolina avg$259,000

US$332,700

What it takes to move to Carolina Forest

Based on Carolina Forest's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,336

up front: first month plus a typical one-month deposit

Income to keep rent under 30%: $66,720 a year
39% of Carolina Forest renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$67,360

a 20% down payment on the median home

With 10% down: $33,680
Homes cost 4.5× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 18% above US

$1,668/mo median rent

Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,668 a month median. Whether that premium makes sense usually comes down to the local job market and what it pays. Home prices run above average, with a median around $336,800. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $336,800 · 39% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.2% county unemployment

Unemployment in Horry County is 5.2%, somewhat above the national average of 4.3%. Lining up work before the move is the safer route. That's the county-wide rate; BLS doesn't measure a place this size on its own.

Horry County (county-wide)

Safety

254 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Carolina Forest doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Horry County Police Department jurisdiction as a whole, which runs below the national average for violent crime and covers many communities. Individual neighborhoods can differ a lot from that overall rate.

Property crime 1219/100k · Policed by Horry County Police Department (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting around▼ 15% below US

22 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 22 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 9 in 10 workers drive to work; 11% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone

81%

Work from home

11%

Carpool

5.9%

Other

2.3%

Walk

0.7%

Climate

Summers are hot and humid, with highs regularly hitting 89°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 37°F. It's a wet climate overall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Education & workforceNear US average

36% bachelor's degree or higher

Education levels run about average, with 36% college-educated. It's a mix of white-collar and blue-collar work, which can be an asset or a limitation depending on the field.

Schools

6 public schools inside the boundary

There are 6 public schools inside the boundary and 2 private schools. The student-to-teacher ratio is 18:1, slightly above the national average of 16:1.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Moores Creek National Battlefield (68 miles away). There are 3 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Carolina Forest's strongest point is commutes that run shorter than most cities; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and above-average rainfall. A year of median rent ($1,668/mo) equals 27% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. Whether it fits comes down to the specifics: the neighborhood, the job, and what matters most in the move.

See all the data for Carolina Forest →·All South Carolina cities →