Financial Literacy in Horry County, South Carolina

Horry County, South Carolina is home to about 413,391 people, the 4th-largest of 46 counties in South Carolina. The population has grown 16.9% since 2020, a pace fast enough to reshape who lives there, from 353,779 to 413,391. The median age is 48.2, skewing older, where the pressing questions shift toward retirement income, medical costs and passing things on.

26.6% of Horry County residents 25 and older have completed a bachelor's degree or more. That runs 7.1 points above the South Carolina average of 19.5%. Put the other way round: of the 276,831 adults 25 and over counted in the 2019–2023 ACS, roughly 203,194 — 73.4% — are building their financial lives without a four-year degree behind them.

The typical household here earns $64,623 a year. That is $12,063 above the South Carolina median. About 12.8% of residents live below the poverty line. The median home is valued at $260,500 — about 4× the median household income, a ratio that makes the arithmetic of a mortgage worth understanding before signing one.

Horry County by the numbers

What South Carolina teaches — and to whom

South Carolina has committed to 1 semester of personal finance as a graduation requirement, phasing in with the class of 2027 — so today's middle schoolers will be the first cohort held to it. That covers students still in the system. It does nothing for the adults already out of it — which, in Horry County, is most of the people reading this.

LearnLife organises this the way the decisions actually arrive: Emotional regulation — the self-management that decides whether the other skills ever get used; Money — budgeting, credit, debt and taxes — the mechanics nobody is formally taught; Legal literacy — leases, contracts, employment rights and what a signature actually commits you to.

Where to start in Horry County

Shift from accumulating to drawing down

With a median age of 48.2, a large share of Horry County is closer to drawing on savings than building them. The skills that matter shift accordingly: sequencing withdrawals, understanding Medicare's enrolment windows, and getting beneficiary designations and a will actually filled in.

Know the newcomer paperwork

Horry County has grown 16.9% since 2020. Fast in-migration means a lot of residents are navigating a new state's rules at once — registration and licensing deadlines, residency for tax purposes, and lease terms that differ from wherever they moved from.

Questions people ask about Horry County

Do high school students in Horry County, South Carolina have to take a personal finance class?

Yes — South Carolina has adopted a standalone requirement, phasing in with the graduating class of 2027. Students graduating before then are not covered.

How many adults in Horry County, South Carolina have a college degree?

26.6% of adults 25 and older hold a bachelor's degree or higher, based on the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey. The remaining 73.4% are managing their finances without one.

What is the median household income in Horry County, South Carolina?

$64,623, per the Census Bureau's 2019–2023 American Community Survey.

Where can adults in Horry County, South Carolina learn personal finance?

Graduation requirements only ever reach people still in school. For adults, LearnLife covers the same ground on demand — money, legal literacy and the self-management that decides whether either gets used.

Nearby in South Carolina

• Richland County County
• Spartanburg County County
• Charleston County County
• Lexington County County
• Greenville County County
• York County County
• Berkeley County County
• Anderson County County
• Beaufort County County
• Aiken County County
• Dorchester County County
• Pickens County County

All South Carolina locations →