Myrtle Beach vs Wildwood
Metro-area medians — Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area vs Wildwood-The Villages, FL Metro Area — not the cities proper.
Wildwood comes out ahead, winning 7 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.
Wildwood is both cheaper to live in (about 10% less) and higher-earning (about 15% more) than Myrtle Beach. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Wildwood.
Their widest everyday difference: Wildwood has the tighter job market — 3.9% unemployment versus 5.2%.
For your salary & household
Enter your pay and household size to see what it's really worth here — the numbers update live and the link stays shareable.
On $75,000 for just you, Wildwood leaves you about $9,410/yr better off after tax and local prices.
Take-home estimates a single filer taking the standard deduction (2025 federal brackets, FICA, and state income tax) and isn't tax advice. “Real value” rebases take-home to average U.S. prices using the BEA cost-of-living index; the per-person figure uses the OECD square-root equivalence scale.
Choose Wildwood for
- + Livability (CityLedger)
- + Cost of living (price level, US = 100)
- + Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
- + Median household income
- + Median rent
- + Unemployment
- + Bachelor's degree or higher
More comparisons
Metros closest to Myrtle Beach and Wildwood on cost, income, size, and education.
Myrtle Beach vs Wildwood — frequently asked
- Is Myrtle Beach cheaper than Wildwood?
- Wildwood is cheaper: its overall cost of living runs about 10% below Myrtle Beach's (BEA Regional Price Parities).
- Which has higher household income, Myrtle Beach or Wildwood?
- Wildwood has the higher median household income — $78,807 versus $68,534 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 15% more.
- Does a paycheck go further in Myrtle Beach or Wildwood?
- A paycheck stretches further in Wildwood. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $92,254 there versus $73,187 in Myrtle Beach.
- Which has cheaper rent, Myrtle Beach or Wildwood?
- Wildwood has cheaper rent — a median of $1,155/mo versus $1,433/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).