Property tax in Horry County, South Carolina

By Brent Chudoba, editor Updated September 23, 2026

The median property tax bill in Horry County, South Carolina is $944 a year, which is about 0.33% of the county's median home value of $287,700. That effective rate is lower than the typical South Carolina county (0.51%) and lower than the national median (0.81%). These are American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2024); your own bill depends on your home's assessed value and any exemptions.

Estimate the property tax on a home in Horry County

Enter a home's market value for a ballpark at Horry County's average effective rate of 0.33% (Census). The real bill depends on the home's assessed value, the millage where it sits and any exemptions.

Home market value

Estimated property tax: $949 / year

Property tax in Horry County at a glance

Horry County, South Carolina property tax (Census ACS, reviewed September 23, 2026)
Measure	Value
Median annual property tax	$944
Median home value	$287,700
Effective tax rate	0.33%
Typical South Carolina county rate	0.51%
National median county rate	0.81%

Effective rate = median real estate taxes paid divided by median home value. Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates.

How does Horry County compare in South Carolina?

Among South Carolina's 46 counties, Horry County has the 46th highest effective property-tax rate. That places it among the least taxed counties in the state. Nationally, it ranks 3034th of 3135 US counties by effective rate. See every South Carolina county ranked.

How much do homeowners in Horry County actually pay?

The median is only the middle bill. Across Horry County's 122,680 owner-occupied homes, 6.7% pay $3,000 or more a year in property tax, 15% pay at least $2,000, and 39.3% pay under $800. Another 4% report paying no property tax at all, which usually means an exemption covers the whole bill.

Annual property tax paid by Horry County homeowners (Census ACS 2020-2024)
Annual bill	Homes	Share
Under $800	48,187	39.3%
$800 to $1,499	39,731	32.4%
$1,500 to $1,999	11,386	9.3%
$2,000 to $2,999	10,243	8.3%
$3,000 or more	8,275	6.7%
No property tax paid	4,858	4%

Owners with a mortgage pay a median of $1,027 and owners without one pay $823. Owners who have paid off a home have usually held it longer, and in states that cap how fast an existing owner's assessment can rise, long-held homes carry lower assessed values. Census table B25103.

How does the Horry County property tax bill compare with local incomes?

The median property tax bill of $944 is about 1.3% of the median income of Horry County homeowner households, $73,509 a year. That compares two middles, so a retiree in a long-held home can pay a far larger share. 77.3% of Horry County's occupied homes are lived in by their owners; renters pay property tax too, just folded into rent.

Have property taxes gone up in Horry County?

Yes. The median bill went from $677 in 2015-2019 to $944 in 2020-2024, a 39.4% rise. Over the same span the median home value moved 58.5%, from $181,500 to $287,700. Bills rose more slowly than values, which is what assessment caps and falling millage rates do: the county is taxing a smaller share of each home's worth.

Two Census ACS 5-year periods with no survey years in common, in each period's own dollars. A change counts only if it exceeds the combined 90% margin of error.

Property tax in counties next to Horry County

Horry County borders 6 counties, 3 of them across the state line.

Horry County and its neighbors, highest effective rate first (Census ACS 2020-2024)
County	Effective rate	Median bill	Median home value
Robeson County, NC	0.87%	$820	$94,500
Columbus County, NC	0.77%	$1,120	$146,000
Brunswick County, NC	0.54%	$1,890	$349,800
Dillon County, SC	0.53%	$452	$85,400
Marion County, SC	0.47%	$436	$93,200
Georgetown County, SC	0.41%	$1,190	$289,500
Horry County, SC (this county)	0.33%	$944	$287,700

How is a home assessed in Horry County?

South Carolina assesses homes at 4% of market value in every county, Horry County included. How South Carolina assesses and reappraises homes.

Is there a homestead exemption in Horry County?

Not as a dollar amount. South Carolina owner-occupants get a 4% assessment ratio instead of 6% plus an exemption from school operating millage; apply for the 4% ratio with the county assessor. That is the South Carolina rule, and it applies in Horry County. South Carolina's exemptions and relief programs in full.

When are property taxes due in Horry County?

One annual payment. Bills go out around September 30 and the practical due date is January 15. Penalties then stack: 3% after January 16, another 7% after February 2, and another 5% after March 17. A county may by ordinance offer a five-payment installment plan, elected between December 1 and January 15, but that is a local option rather than a right.

That is the South Carolina rule. Horry County issues and collects the bill, so the dates printed on your statement are the ones that bind you.

How to appeal your Horry County property assessment

You contest the assessed value with the County assessor, then the county Board of Assessment Appeals, then the Administrative Law Court. The filing deadline is typically 90 days after the assessment notice is mailed. That is the South Carolina rule; Horry County sets the exact dates and forms. The South Carolina appeal process step by step.

South Carolina rules from primary state sources, reviewed September 7, 2026; sources on the South Carolina page.

Work out your own numbers

Sources

Median real estate taxes paid and median home value for Horry County, South Carolina: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 5-year estimates (2020-2024), tables B25103, B25077, B25102, B25119 and B25003; the five-year comparison uses the 2015-2019 estimates. Neighboring counties: Census county adjacency file.