Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, which at one time was known for its party scene that attracted students and young adults, is now the fastest-growing metro area for senior citizens in the United States.
According to recently released Census Bureau population estimates, the number of residents aged 65 and older in the Myrtle Beach metro area grew by 6.3% last year. In the past five years, the city’s senior population has grown by more than 22% and seniors now make up more than one-quarter of Myrtle Beach’s 413,000 residents.
The graying of Myrtle Beach gained momentum during the pandemic, as people in large metros who had been vacationing there for years realized they could retire early or work from anywhere, said Mark Kruea, a longtime public information officer for Myrtle Beach, who is now running for mayor.
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“Many people converted that thought into action,” Kruea told the Associated Press. “The climate’s great, taxes are low, there’s a wealth of opportunities for recreation, dining and shopping.”
The overall expansion of the senior population may explain why some markets are shifting to an older demographic. During the past two decades, the senior population has grown from 12.4% of the U.S. population to 18%, while the share of children has dropped from 25% to 21.5%, the AP article said.
In 2020, only Maine, Vermont and Florida had a greater population of older adults than children. But since then, that list has expanded to include Delaware, Hawaii, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island and West Virginia, according to the report.
Census data also revealed other shifts within the U.S. population. The share of Hispanic people reached 20% in 2024 for the first time, driven by an annual gain of 1.9 million Hispanics mostly through migration. New York, Houston and Miami saw the most growth in their Hispanic populations.
The growth of black residents resulted from both migration and natural increases. The biggest gains among this demographic were in the Houston, New York and Dallas-Fort Worth metro areas.
New York, Dallas-Fort Worth and Seattle had the largest gains in Asian populations, which came primarily from migration.
Meanwhile, the non-Hispanic white population in the United States declined slightly last year. Markets where growth was highest were Nashville, New York and Charlotte. The decline in the white population was driven by deaths outpacing births, the AP report said.
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Kristen Smithberg
Kristen Smithberg is a Colorado-based freelance writer who covers commercial real estate, insurance, benefits and retirement topics for BenefitsPRO and other industry publications.
