Best PlacesMurrells Inlet, SC Best Neighborhoods
2026–2027 edition · Data updated July 2026
Every neighborhood in and around Murrells Inlet, scored on 40 measures of daily life and ranked to fit what matters to you. This page is for people who live here or already know they want to. To work out which city fits you best, start with the best places to live tool.
Murrells Inlet ranks 1,247th of 2,098 U.S. cities on the BestNeighborhood index. It scores highest on health care access by a wide margin, and disaster risk is the weak spot.
The best neighborhoods in Murrells Inlet
BestNeighborhood is the only ranking that scores 40 measures of daily life neighborhood by neighborhood and lets you re-weight every one of them yourself.
Murrells Inlet's strengths and weaknesses
Where Murrells Inlet ranks high
- Healthcare accessBetter than 99% of cities
- Low property taxBetter than 98% of cities
- Local economyBetter than 98% of cities
- QuietBetter than 97% of cities
- Voter turnoutBetter than 96% of cities
Where Murrells Inlet ranks low
- Disaster safetyBetter than only 1% of cities
- Heat safetyBetter than only 6% of cities
- Low vacancyBetter than only 6% of cities
- Big-city accessBetter than only 8% of cities
- TransitBetter than only 13% of cities
What it costs to buy a home in Murrells Inlet
A household needs to earn about $90,000 a year to comfortably buy the median Murrells Inlet home, at 20% down and today's 30-year rate. That runs well above the area's median income of $79,775, so buying stretches a typical household.
Where the monthly payment goes
Assumes a 20% down payment, a 6.6% 30-year fixed rate, and a 28% share of income going to the payment. The rate is the 2026-07-23 30-year fixed average, series MORTGAGE30US from the St. Louis Fed, which publishes Freddie Mac's weekly survey. Against the median home value, property tax uses Murrells Inlet's effective rate of 0.37%, and insurance is estimated at 0.4% of home value a year.
Renting versus buying
At today's prices, buying tends to cost more than renting for about the first 7 years, then pulls ahead as rent keeps rising and the mortgage builds equity. The chart tracks the running cost of each.
Who lives in Murrells Inlet
Murrells Inlet runs older than the country, and households here run smaller than average.
Residents by age
Racial and ethnic makeup has its own map. See the race and diversity map for Murrells Inlet.
Who works in Murrells Inlet, and how
Work in Murrells Inlet centers on health care & social and retail trade. Unemployment is close to the national rate, and jobs are growing.
Largest industries
How people get to work
- Drive or carpool 82%
- Work from home 16%
- Transit, walk, or bike 2%
Life in Murrells Inlet
Murrells Inlet has more restaurants and bars per resident than 82% of cities. The coast is about 10 minutes away. That concentrates in some parts of Murrells Inlet and thins out in others, which the map shows.
What the weather is like in Murrells Inlet, month by month
Murrells Inlet sees roughly 75 pleasant days a year. July highs average about 89 degrees. January highs sit near 59, with lows near 38. The comfortable stretch runs March through May, October, and November.
Show the monthly temperatures
| Month | Avg high | Avg | Avg low |
|---|---|---|---|
| January | 59° | 48° | 38° |
| April | 75° | 65° | 55° |
| July | 89° | 82° | 75° |
| October | 78° | 68° | 59° |
Flying in and out of Murrells Inlet
The nearest airport, Myrtle Beach International, is about 10 miles away and is a small airport. The nearest major hub is Charleston AFB/International, about 74 miles away.
The best schools in and around Murrells Inlet
Schools across Murrells Inlet average an A−, better than 87% of cities.
Top elementary schools
- St. James ElementaryA · 65% proficient
- Burgess ElementaryA− · 60% proficient
- Seaside ElementaryB+ · 55% proficient
Top middle schools
- Waccamaw IntermediateA · 61% proficient
- Whittemore Park MiddleB · 44% proficient
- Carvers Bay MiddleF · 10% proficient
Top high schools
- St. James HighA · 77% proficient
- Waccamaw HighA · 72% proficient
- Conway HighB+ · 53% proficient
Grades come from K-12 test scores, with scores projected for schools missing data. See every Murrells Inlet school and its grade on SchoolGrade.
Murrells Inlet measure by measure
Cards are ordered by how much each measure matters to you, so the ones you weighted highest come first. Expand to see every measure. Percentages compare Murrells Inlet against the other 2,097 cities.
Who Murrells Inlet suits
Common questions about living in Murrells Inlet
Is Murrells Inlet a good place to live?
Using BestNeighborhood's default rankings, Murrells Inlet ranks 1,247th of 2,098 cities. It scores highest on health care access, low property taxes, and a strong job market, and lowest on disaster risk and summer heat. How good it is for you depends on which of those you weight most, which the map lets you set.
Is Murrells Inlet expensive to live in?
The median home is worth $363,873. The overall cost of living runs about 9% below the national average. Set against a $79,775 median income, cost of living beats 51% of cities.
Is Murrells Inlet safe?
Yes, Murrells Inlet is safer than 82% of cities. Safety varies a lot by neighborhood. Crime costs an estimated $291 per resident a year.
What is the weather like in Murrells Inlet?
July highs average about 89 degrees, and January highs near 59 with lows near 38. That works out to about 75 pleasant days a year, more than 36% of cities.
Is Murrells Inlet good for families?
Schools beat 87% of cities, crime safety beats 82%, and childcare runs $926 a month.
Compare Murrells Inlet with other cities
Sources and methodology
Every measure on this page is scored for each neighborhood, then rolled up to Murrells Inlet. Scores are absolute rather than ranked, which means a 60 in Murrells Inlet represents the same real quantity as a 60 anywhere else, and the ranking is a weighted average of those absolutes. The map colors come from a national scale calibrated against a population weighted random sample of 5,000 neighborhoods. That absolute scoring is what no other places-to-live ranking does: it puts a single neighborhood, a town, a metro, and a state on one scale, so the same 40 measures answer both which metro to move to and which street inside it to buy on. Read the full methodology.
Murrells Inlet detail on BestNeighborhood maps:
- Walk Grade for Murrells Inlet: walkability, transit, and biking, measured on the real street network rather than by straight line distance.
- Noise in Murrells Inlet: road, rail, and aviation sound modeling calibrated against federal ground truth measurements.
- Conservative vs liberal map of Murrells Inlet: precinct level election results apportioned to neighborhoods.
- Mobile and cell coverage in Murrells Inlet: carrier by carrier coverage behind the cell score.
Murrells Inlet detail on related sites:
- CrimeGrade: neighborhood crime rates behind the crime safety score.
- ISPreports.org: provider by provider internet availability and advertised speeds.
- CoverageWatch: the car insurance premiums behind the cheap car insurance score.
Federal and public data:
- U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey: income, home value, rent, vacancy, commute time and mode, educational attainment, home age, age structure, household type, industry, and race.
- NOAA Global Surface Summary of the Day: the daily station record behind the monthly temperatures and the pleasant-day count.
- FAA Passenger Boarding Data: airport size and annual passenger counts.
- Freddie Mac Primary Mortgage Market Survey: the 30-year fixed rate used in the cost-to-buy estimate.
- FBI Crime Data Explorer: reported offenses behind the tangible crime cost estimate.
- U.S. EPA Air Quality System: five year average air quality index.
- FEMA National Risk Index: expected annual loss from natural hazards.
- CDC PLACES: disease burden, preventable risk, and barriers to care.
- National Center for Education Statistics: school enrollment and assessment inputs behind the school grade.
- FCC National Broadband Map: internet and wireless availability.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: employment and job growth behind the local economy score.
- Religious activity uses a proprietary religious signal measurement.
Your priorities
Move a slider to say how much a measure matters. Zero turns it off.