The Myrtle Beach metro area is one of the fastest growing area in the country
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) — It's no secret people are moving to the Grand Strand; you can see it in the extra traffic and the new homes popping up everywhere.
The U.S. Census Bureau says the Myrtle Beach metro area is the second fastest growing area, by percentage, in the country.
"If you look back 25 years, none of this existed at that point, so we've seen a lot of growth there and back towards the beach here as well," said Myrtle Beach Spokesperson Mark Kruea as he pointed to a map of the city.
It's not the first time the government has made mention of the rapid growth across the area.
"This is the third year in a row that we've been number two in the country for the fastest growing metropolitan area and if you look around, that's easy to see," said Kruea.
Realtor Dusty Rhodes, owner of Dusty Rhodes Properties, says the growth is county-wide.
"Off of actually 707, if you head down towards like, Prince Creek and that area in there, you know, kind of heading down with the expansion of the highway system going down 707, it's just blowing up on the side of the road, on both sides," said Rhodes.
Statistics from the U.S. Census Bureau show from 2010 to 2018, the Myrtle Beach metro area grew nearly 28% and from 2017 to 2018 the area grew 3.8%.
According to Kruea, 1,400 people per month are moving to the metro area.
Rhodes stated, aside from the beautiful beaches, lower taxes and great weather, it's extended vacations and word-of-mouth bringing people here.
"I mean, I talk to people constantly. It's like, well, my sisters live there now for a couple years, you know, I've got a friend up north and she moved down there and, you know, now we're thinking about doing it so it's really, it's almost like a referral market," said Rhodes.
Myrtle Beach city leaders say the county has done a great job of pushing the Ride I, II and III projects for more roads, and now the goal is to make sure all these new people and developments are protected.
The county is expected to double in size over the next 20 years.
