Horry County city one of the most dangerous tourist spots for drivers, study says
Myrtle Beach is the sixth most dangerous tourist city in the U.S. to drive in, a new Florida study has found.
The study, conducted by Blakeley Law Firm, used the Fatality Analysis Reporting System by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration to determine which top tourist destinations have the highest fatal crash rate per capita. The study looked at 50 top tourism cities across the U.S.
Myrtle Beach had a rate of 18.6 fatal crashes per 100,000 residents from 2020 to 2024, with the city averaging 7.6 fatal crashes annually, the study showed.
While the annual number is less than most other cities included in the study, Myrtle Beach has a significantly lower population — a little more than 40,000 in 2026 — compared to other tourist destinations looked at, such as New Orleans, Nashville and Orlando.
That factor gives the city a higher rate per capita, putting it just behind St. Louis; Fort Lauderdale; Detroit; Sarasota, Florida; and Albuquerque, New Mexico, in the study. Myrtle Beach is the only city with less than 50,000 residents to have been ranked in the top 10, according to the study.
Despite it being ranked sixth, Myrtle Beach has seen a steady decline in fatal crashes since 2021 when it reached a peak of 12. From 2020 to 2024, the city saw a 20% decline and only recorded four fatal crashes in 2024.
