Denver, CO vs Myrtle Beach, SC
Moving from Denver to Myrtle Beach? Here's what changes — from your equivalent salary to housing ($573,221 → $340,239 median home) and taxes.
Denver vs Myrtle Beach at a glance
Bars scaled to the range across all 200 metros; labels show actual values.
To keep the same standard of living as $100,000 in Denver, CO, you'd need about $88,660 in Myrtle Beach, SC (−$11,340).
Livability — Denver, CO: 52 · Myrtle Beach, SC: 67 (0–100).
What your home budget buys
A $500,000 home budget gets you about 1,657 sqft in Denver vs 2,939 sqft in Myrtle Beach ($302 vs $170 per sqft).
Annual cost breakdown (at $100,000)
| Category | Denver, CO | Myrtle Beach, SC | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Housing | $22,920 | $20,712 | −$2,208 |
| Groceries | $5,079 | $4,797 | −$281 |
| Transportation | $4,050 | $3,465 | −$585 |
| Utilities | $1,788 | $1,848 | +$60 |
| Insurance | $2,800 | $2,000 | −$800 |
| Taxes | $9,828 | $10,008 | +$181 |
| Total | $46,464 | $42,830 | −$3,634 |
Side by side
| Metric | Denver, CO | Myrtle Beach, SC |
|---|---|---|
| Cost-of-living index | 105.8 | 93.8 |
| Unemployment rate | 4.26% | 5.41% |
| Population growth (5-yr) | 5.7% | 14.7% |
| Air quality (median AQI) | 64 | 40 |
| Big Mac price (est.) | $6.02 | $5.34 |
| Median home price | $573,221 | $340,239 |
| Home price ÷ income | 5.9× | 5.4× |
| 1-yr home appreciation | -2.9% | -0.6% |
| Price per square foot | $302 | $170 |
| Median rent | $1,910 | $1,726 |
| Total tax burden (% income) | 9.7% | 8.9% |
| Combined sales tax | 7.77% | 7.44% |
| Capital gains tax | 4.40% | 6.40% |
| Property tax rate | 0.52% | 0.41% |
| Healthcare (annual) | $6,800 | $6,500 |
| Childcare (annual, infant) | $16,000 | $8,500 |
| Vehicle property tax | 1.79% | 2.33% |
| Avg commute (min) | 28 | 23 |
| Home insurance / yr | $2,800 | $2,000 |
| Auto insurance / yr | $2,000 | $1,900 |
| Flood insurance / yr | $550 | $900 |
| Earthquake insurance / yr | $100 | $350 |
| Electricity ¢/kWh | 16.5 | 17.1 |
| Gas $/gal | 3.30 | 3.05 |
| Violent crime /100k | 490 | 530 |
| Avg summer high °F | 88 | 91 |
| Avg winter low °F | 18 | 36 |
| Permit difficulty (1–5) | 3 | 2 |