Horry tops percentage of vacant homes in SC census data as housing costs rise
More than a quarter of all housing units in Horry County are vacant, making it the top county in South Carolina for vacant homes, data from the U.S. Census shows.
More than 17,000 housing units have been added in the last 10 years, growing by nearly 10%, according to newly released data from the U.S. Census. Of more than 203,000 housing units in the county, 26.3% were vacant at the time Census data was collected. Horry is the only county in South Carolina that has more than a quarter of its units sitting empty, the data shows.
Horry County’s vacancy rate is more than double the statewide rate — 12.3% of units across South Carolina are vacant, data shows.
Residents of Horry County could tell you the area has grown vastly in recent years, but now the data has been released to back it up. The county is the 29th fastest growing county in the country, Census data shows. That growth has contributed to an affordable housing crunch in the area and caused advocates to sound the alarm concerning housing costs and general cost of living.
The growth, which has accelerated in the last year despite the pandemic, has caused rent and other housing costs to shoot up. Nearly 25% of Horry County residents reported spending at least 50% of their income on housing costs, as average wages in the county are out of balance with Horry’s typical housing costs.
Part of Horry’s standing as the top county in terms of housing unit vacancy could be explained by the Census Bureau’s definition of the vacancy. A housing unit is considered vacant if people staying there have usual residences elsewhere, meaning many of the vacation and long-term rental homes along the coast could be counted as vacant. But Horry’s percentage of vacant housing units still surpasses that of Beaufort County, home of Hilton Head Island which also attracts tourists and visitors. Beaufort County has 22.1% of its housing units vacant, Census data shows.
