Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated community in Georgetown 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 Murrells Inlet

Murrells Inlet is an unincorporated community in South Carolina with a highly educated workforce and a population that has grown fast since 2020. Those factors carry real weight for anyone weighing where to move next.

The tradeoffs are worth naming plainly. Murrells Inlet deals with rent well above the national average, county unemployment above the national average, a rent burden that leaves many renters stretched thin, and above-average rainfall.

The good

  • Highly educated workforce
  • Fast-growing population

The not so good

  • Rent well above the national average
  • Above-average unemployment in the county
  • High rent burden for renters
  • Above-average rainfall
  • Smaller place — fewer dining and entertainment options
  • Car-dependent — few commuters use transit

How Murrells Inlet compares

Median household income

Murrells Inlet$77,438
South Carolina avg$69,324
US$80,734

Median rent (per month)

Murrells Inlet$1,751
South Carolina avg$1,180
US$1,413

Median home value

Murrells Inlet$366,000
South Carolina avg$259,000
US$332,700

What it takes to move to Murrells Inlet

Based on Murrells Inlet's median rent, home value and household income

To rent

$3,502

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

  • Income to keep rent under 30%: $70,040 a year
  • 78% of Murrells Inlet renters spend 30% or more of their income on rent

To buy

$73,200

a 20% down payment on the median home

  • With 10% down: $36,600
  • Homes cost 4.7× the typical local household income (US: 4.1×)

Moving costs, closing costs and taxes not included.

The details

Cost of living▲ 24% above US

$1,751/mo median rent

Rent runs on the higher side, at $1,751 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 $366,000. Buyers should expect to stretch their budget here.

Median home value $366,000 · 78% of renters cost-burdened

Job market

5.5% county unemployment

Unemployment in Georgetown County is 5.5%, 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.

Georgetown County (county-wide)

Safety

258 violent crimes per 100k, whole jurisdiction

Murrells Inlet doesn't have its own police department, so there's no crime rate for it alone. The figures shown are for the Georgetown County Sheriff's Office 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 985/100k · Policed by Georgetown County Sheriff's Office (county-wide rate) · 2025 data

Getting aroundNear US average

24 min average commute

Commutes are reasonable, averaging 23.6 minutes. Nothing heroic, and there's still time left over for a life after work. 8 in 10 workers drive to work; 15% work from home.

How workers get to work

Drive alone
77%
Work from home
15%
Carpool
6.9%
Walk
0.8%
Other
0.2%

Climate

Summers are warm, with highs around 87°F, and winters are chilly but manageable, with lows around 38°F. It's a wet climate overall.

Average month

High °FLow °FPrecip (in)
20°40°60°80°100°7.5"Jan: 3.69" precipitationFeb: 3.42" precipitationMar: 4.05" precipitationApr: 3.51" precipitationMay: 3.78" precipitationJun: 4.94" precipitationJul: 6.01" precipitationAug: 6.14" precipitationSep: 7.05" precipitationOct: 5.09" precipitationNov: 3.03" precipitationDec: 4.61" precipitation37°JJan: high 57°F, low 37°FFFeb: high 59°F, low 39°FMMar: high 66°F, low 44°FAApr: high 74°F, low 52°FMMay: high 80°F, low 61°FJJun: high 86°F, low 68°F88°JJul: high 88°F, low 72°FAAug: high 87°F, low 71°FSSep: high 83°F, low 66°FOOct: high 76°F, low 56°FNNov: high 66°F, low 45°FDDec: high 59°F, low 39°F

30-year averages, 1991–2020

Healthcare

1 hospital

There's one Medicare-certified hospital inside city limits, rated 4.0 out of 5 by Medicare. Hospitals in neighboring towns aren't counted here.

Medicare-certified hospitals

Education & workforce▲ 17% above US

42% bachelor's degree or higher

The population is well-educated, with 42% holding college degrees. That points to a strong professional base and generally a healthy local economy.

Schools

0 public schools inside the boundary

No public school is located inside the boundary; students attend schools in the surrounding district.

Parks & recreation

The nearest national park or historic site is Charles Pinckney National Historic Site (66 miles away). There are 4 national parks and sites within a day's drive.

Bottom line

Murrells Inlet's strongest points are a highly educated workforce and a population that has grown fast since 2020; the main tradeoffs are rent well above the national average and county unemployment above the national average. A year of median rent ($1,751/mo) equals 27% of the median household income here, more than the 21% typical nationwide. It tends to suit remote workers (15% of workers here already work from home) and college-educated professionals. It may be a harder fit for anyone moving without a job lined up.

See all the data for Murrells Inlet →·All South Carolina cities →

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