Is Lake Havasu City cheaper than Myrtle Beach?

They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Lake Havasu City and Myrtle Beach metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.

Which has higher household income, Lake Havasu City or Myrtle Beach?

Myrtle Beach has the higher median household income — $68,534 versus $60,952 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 12% more.

Does a paycheck go further in Lake Havasu City or Myrtle Beach?

A paycheck stretches further in Myrtle Beach. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $73,187 there versus $64,775 in Lake Havasu City.

Which has cheaper rent, Lake Havasu City or Myrtle Beach?

Lake Havasu City has cheaper rent — a median of $1,120/mo versus $1,433/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).

Lake Havasu City vs Myrtle Beach

Metro-area medians — Lake Havasu City-Kingman, AZ Metro Area vs Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC Metro Area — not the cities proper.

Myrtle Beach comes out ahead, winning 5 of the 9 clearly-decided measures.

Lake Havasu City and Myrtle Beach cost about the same to live in, but Myrtle Beach households earn about 12% more. Adjusted for local prices, a typical paycheck stretches further in Myrtle Beach.

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.

Annual salary (gross)

Household size

Lake Havasu City, AZ

$59,814

take-home / yr · 20% to tax

$63,565

real value after local prices

Myrtle Beach, SC

$58,400

take-home / yr · 22% to tax

$62,365

real value after local prices

On $75,000 for just you, Lake Havasu City leaves you about $1,200/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.

Measure

Lake Havasu City

Myrtle Beach

Livability (CityLedger)

21/100

37/100

Cost of living (price level, US = 100)

94.1

93.6

Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)

$64,775

$73,187

Median household income

$60,952

$68,534

Median rent

$1,120/mo

$1,433/mo

Median home value

$310,700

$325,300

Unemployment

7.8%

5.2%

Bachelor's degree or higher

14.6%

27.6%

Average commute

19.7 min

24.9 min

Air quality (median AQI)

Avg temperature

63°F

64°F

Choose Lake Havasu City for

+ Median rent
+ Median home value
+ Average commute
+ Air quality (median AQI)

Full Lake Havasu City profile →

Choose Myrtle Beach for

+ Livability (CityLedger)
+ Cost-adjusted income (pay's real value)
+ Median household income
+ Unemployment
+ Bachelor's degree or higher

Full Myrtle Beach profile →

Lake Havasu City vs Myrtle Beach — frequently asked

Is Lake Havasu City cheaper than Myrtle Beach?: They are about even — the overall cost of living in the Lake Havasu City and Myrtle Beach metros is within 3% of each other (BEA Regional Price Parities), so neither is meaningfully cheaper.
Which has higher household income, Lake Havasu City or Myrtle Beach?: Myrtle Beach has the higher median household income — $68,534 versus $60,952 (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS), about 12% more.
Does a paycheck go further in Lake Havasu City or Myrtle Beach?: A paycheck stretches further in Myrtle Beach. Adjusted for local prices, the median income is worth $73,187 there versus $64,775 in Lake Havasu City.
Which has cheaper rent, Lake Havasu City or Myrtle Beach?: Lake Havasu City has cheaper rent — a median of $1,120/mo versus $1,433/mo (U.S. Census Bureau, ACS).