2020 census shows population growth in the Myrtle Beach area. Here’s the breakdown.
Myrtle Beach has seen rapid population growth over the last decade.
The population count in the city is a total of 35,682 people, a 32% increase from 2010’s count of 27,109 people, according to the federal government’s 2020 Census data released on Thursday.
The census shows an increase in the area’s Black, Asian and multi-racial populations. The Black population has grown to 4,712 people in 2020 from 3,764 people. That’s about about a 25% increase.
The Asian community has also seen a bump in population numbers since 2010. There was an additional 433 people counted in 2020 from 399 people in 2010, a 108% increase.
People identifying as multi-racial in the city increased by 2,140 people, a 292.7% from 2010 when the population count was 731.
The 2020 census shows there was a 30% increase in the non-Hispanic white population, adding 5,517 people to 2010’s count of 18,380 people.
There is a total number of 4,259 people in the city that identify as Hispanic, which is up from 3,708 people, a 14.9% increase.
Like Myrtle Beach, North Myrtle Beach had a large population gain, which can be credited mostly to an increase in the non-Hispanic white population.
The city has an additional 5,038 people from the 2010 Census when they counted 13,752 people, a nearly 37% increase.
The number of non-Hispanic white people increased by 4,743 people, a 39% increase from 2010.
In contrast, the Black community and people identifying their race as “other” decreased from 2010. There were 456 Black people counted a decade ago and 419 in 2020.
People identifying their race as “other” declined by 27% in the last decade.
To the south, Atlantic Beach’s population fell by almost half due to an even stronger decline in its Black population than North Myrtle Beach.
In 2010, 182 Black people lived in the town. By 2020, that number had fallen to just 88. The town also saw a 78% decline in its Hispanic population, going from 55 people in 2010 to 12 in 2020. The town’s non-Hispanic white population only fell by 17%, or nine people.
In North Myrtle Beach, the non-Hispanic white population grew by 39% while Black and Hispanic populations each declined by 8%. In Myrtle Beach, the non-Hispanic white population increased by 30% while the Black and Hispanic populations increased by 25.2% and 14.9%, respectively.
The 2020 survey showed that Horry County gained 81,738 residents between 2010 and 2020. That equates to more than 8,100 people moving to the county every year for the past decade.
In the 2010 Census, the federal government counted 269,291 people living in Horry County. As of last spring, that total rose to 351,029, which is 35% increase.
Horry County’s growth has been rapid, it’s ranked as the 29th fastest growing county in the U.S., and in South Carolina. The Census Bureau reported the number of adults in Horry County grew by 34.9%. Other fast-growing counties are concentrated in the South and West, in states like Florida, Georgia and Texas.
This story was originally published August 12, 2021 at 6:55 PM.