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Moving to
Murrells Inlet.
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
Median rent (per month)
Median home value
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
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
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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