Myrtle Beach is a tourism economy. Everybody knows that. What everybody doesn’t know is that the metro has been quietly adding year-round residents at one of the fastest rates in the country. Horry County’s population has grown over 30% since 2010. That growth isn’t tourists — it’s retirees, remote workers, and families who realized they could live at the beach for half the cost of living in the Northeast. And those permanent residents need services that go way beyond mini golf and seafood buffets.
I buy commercial property along the Grand Strand, and the gap between Myrtle Beach’s tourist reputation and its actual employment base is where I find opportunity.
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Population Growth Fundamentals: Horry County added 100,000 residents in 15 years — that’s structural residential growth, not tourist volatility. -
Year-Round Demand Creation: Permanent residents need commercial services 12 months a year, creating a higher floor for property values than seasonal tourism alone. -
Healthcare Employment Growth: Hospital systems expanding to serve growing population — that’s leading-edge demand indicator that commercial property follows. -
Retail Property Risk Shift: A retail strip that was 100% tourist-dependent might now be 50% supported by year-round residents. That changes the risk profile and property value.
Myrtle Beach metro’s largest employers
| Employer | Estimated Employees (Metro) | Sector |
|---|---|---|
| Horry County Schools | 6,000+ | Education |
| Conway Medical Center | 2,500+ | Healthcare |
| Tidelands Health | 2,500+ | Healthcare |
| Coastal Carolina University | 2,000+ | Education |
| Horry-Georgetown Technical College | 1,000+ | Education |
| Tourism & Hospitality Sector | 30,000+ (seasonal peak) | Tourism |
Tourism: massive but seasonal
The Grand Strand attracts roughly 20 million visitors a year. That’s a staggering number for a metro of about 500,000 permanent residents. Tourism and hospitality employ 30,000+ at peak season, making it the dominant sector by a wide margin. Hotels, restaurants, attractions, and retail along the coast all depend on those summer months.
What Supports Pricing
- Horry County population grew 30% since 2010 — 100,000 new permanent residents
- Conway Medical Center and Tidelands Health expanding to serve growing population
- Coastal Carolina University growing from small college to 10,000+ student institution with 2,000+ employees
- Horry County Schools building new schools every year to keep up with residential growth
What Gives Buyers Leverage
- Tourism seasonality still creates retail volatility — a property too dependent on summer traffic faces downside risk
- Healthcare expansion is real but follows specific corridors around hospitals — properties outside these zones face headwinds
- School system growth creates demand but also signals residential price appreciation has already happened in most areas
- Real estate appreciation from 100,000 new residents has already been priced in — don’t expect continued explosive growth rates
But here’s the thing about tourism employment for commercial real estate. It’s seasonal, lower-wage, and it doesn’t generate the kind of demand that builds long-term property values. A seasonal worker earning $15/hour at a water park isn’t signing a flex space lease or driving industrial warehouse demand. Tourism supports retail space along the Highway 17 and Kings Highway corridors, and it supports self-storage from the churn of seasonal workers moving in and out. But it’s not the full picture.
Healthcare and education: the stable anchors
This is where the real story is. Conway Medical Center and Tidelands Health together employ over 5,000 people in year-round, recession-resistant jobs. And they’re growing fast because of the population influx. When 100,000 new residents move to a metro in 15 years, every one of them needs a doctor. Both hospital systems have been expanding — new outpatient facilities, urgent care centers, specialist clinics. Each expansion creates demand for medical office space and supporting commercial property.
Horry County Schools is the largest single employer in the metro at 6,000+ people. That number keeps growing because the school system is building new schools every year to keep up with residential growth. A growing school system is a leading indicator of a maturing metro — it means families are putting down roots, not just visiting for a week.
Coastal Carolina University has grown from a small college to a 10,000+ student university with Division I athletics. It employs over 2,000 people and brings a year-round population of students, faculty, and staff who support the Conway and Myrtle Beach economies outside of tourist season.
The year-round resident economy
Honestly, the most important employer in Myrtle Beach isn’t a single company. It’s the aggregate of small and mid-size businesses serving permanent residents. Medical offices, insurance agencies, law firms, auto repair shops, contractors, landscapers. As the permanent population has grown, the demand for everyday commercial services has grown with it. That demand is year-round and it’s not tied to whether tourists show up in June.
This is what creates opportunity for commercial property sellers. A retail strip center that used to be 100% tourist-dependent might now be 50% supported by year-round residents. That changes the risk profile for buyers. Consistent year-round income is worth more than seasonal spikes.
What this means for commercial property sellers
Myrtle Beach is evolving from a seasonal tourism market to a year-round residential one. The employer base still leans heavily on hospitality, but healthcare and education are growing fast enough to matter. As I discussed in my piece on Myrtle Beach infrastructure projects, the road improvements and utility expansions happening in Horry County are designed to serve permanent residents, not just vacationers.
For sellers, the value proposition depends heavily on tenant mix. A commercial building with year-round tenants — medical, professional services, education-adjacent — is a fundamentally different product than one filled with seasonal retailers. Buyers are paying attention to that distinction, and properties with stable, year-round income streams command better pricing.
Seller takeaway
If you own retail, medical office, or self-storage in Myrtle Beach, the shift to year-round residential demand is real and it’s improving property value stability. Properties with diversified, year-round tenants command premium pricing compared to tourism-dependent assets. Call Roth Capital at 704-600-3839 to discuss how your property’s tenant mix affects its competitive positioning.
If you’re considering selling commercial property in Myrtle Beach, I’d like to hear about it. Call me at 704-600-3839 or visit rothcapital.com.
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