Budget Explorer · City of Myrtle Beach

Where the money comes from, and where it goes

Comparable revenue, spending, and debt for City of Myrtle Beach, on the same Census classification used for every city, county, and state in the Library — so the figures line up with peers rather than with the government's own budget book. Latest year: FY ending Jun 30, 2024.

Audited actuals · Census classification · 38K residents

Total revenue

$369M

$9,599 per resident

Total spending

$340M

$8,852 per resident

Spending per resident

$8,852

91st percentile of 71

Debt outstanding

$279M

$7,263 per resident · 79th percentile of 70

Own-source share

92%

95th percentile of 71

Capital share

15%

43rd percentile of 71

Where the money comes from

$369M total

Own-source revenue (taxes, charges, interest) versus aid from other governments. Utility and trust revenue are shown alongside general revenue but run on their own books.

  • Property tax$54M15%
  • General sales tax$92M25%
  • License & other taxes$45M12%
  • Federal aid$4.4M1%
  • State & local aid$24M7%
  • Charges & fees$75M20%
  • Interest, fines, other$56M15%
  • Utility revenue$18M5%

Own-source share of general revenue 92% · federal aid 1% · property tax is 29% of taxes

Where it goes

$340M total

Current operations plus capital outlay, grouped by Census function. Interest on debt and transfers to other governments are broken out so they are not hidden inside services.

  • Environment & housing$125M37%
  • Public safety$75M22%
  • General government$62M18%
  • Culture & recreation$41M12%
  • Utilities (water, power, gas)$15M5%
  • Transportation$11M3%
  • Interest on debt$11M3%
  • Transfers to other governments$156K0%
Show top functions with operating vs. capital ▸
FunctionCategoryOperatingCapitalTotal
Housing & community developmentEnvironment & housing$51M$46M$97M
Police protectionPublic safety$44M$3.0M$47M
Parks & recreationCulture & recreation$38M$302K$39M
General (unallocable)General government$38M$38M
Fire protectionPublic safety$25M$753K$25M
Water utilityUtilities (water, power, gas)$15M$15M
SewerageEnvironment & housing$15M$139K$15M
HighwaysTransportation$9.2M$417K$9.6M
Central staff servicesGeneral government$8.5M$109K$8.6M
Solid waste managementEnvironment & housing$8.0M$331K$8.4M
Financial administrationGeneral government$7.2M$45K$7.2M
General public buildingsGeneral government$5.4M$353K$5.8M
Natural resourcesEnvironment & housing$3.9M$140K$4.0M
Protective inspection & regulationPublic safety$2.2M$107K$2.3M

Trend · 3 fiscal years

Nominal dollars. The Census Bureau cautions that single-government series are edited only for aggregates — read direction, not decimals.

Revenue

+3% over 2 yrs

FY2022FY2023FY2024

$358M$369M

Spending

+15% over 2 yrs

FY2022FY2023FY2024

$295M$340M

Debt outstanding

+34% over 2 yrs

FY2022FY2023FY2024

$208M$279M

How it compares · 71 cities and counties in the Library

Percentile within the cohort on each place's latest Census year. Higher is not better — the last column says what a high reading means so you can decide whether it matters here.

MeasureCity of Myrtle BeachCohort medianPercentileHigher means
Spending per resident$8,852$3,741
91st
more spent per resident
Revenue per resident$9,599$3,548
95th
more raised per resident
Taxes per resident$4,971$1,328
94th
heavier own-tax load
Debt per resident$7,263$3,865
79th
more borrowed per resident
Own-source share of revenue92%81%
95th
less dependent on aid
Federal aid share of revenue1%7%
12th
more exposed to federal cuts
Capital share of spending15%18%
43rd
more building, less operating
Interest share of spending3%4%
42nd
more spend servicing debt
Debt ÷ annual revenue0.76×1.05×
31st
more leveraged
  • Census classification categories, not this government's own budget structure. Figures are audited actuals for the fiscal year shown, not the adopted budget.
  • The Census Bureau edits unit-level data only to produce state and national aggregates and advises against reading it as a precise time series for any single government; treat year-over-year moves under ~5% as noise.
  • Employee-retirement-system revenue is excluded (published separately by Census). Utility and insurance-trust revenue are shown separately from general revenue.
  • Source: U.S. Census Bureau, Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances (Individual Unit public-use files), unit 452051174923 (Myrtle Beach City). Retrieved 2026-09-07. Classification manual.

Spot an error, or know a better source for this place's adopted budget? Suggest an edit on the assessment.

Looking for how this fits City of Myrtle Beach's capacity to deliver? The fiscal dimension, binding constraint, and pathways live in the City of Myrtle Beach capacity assessment.

The Civic Infrastructure Diagnostic Framework’s structural elements — the four cluster labels, the six capacity dimensions, and the binding-constraint framing — are licensed under CC BY 4.0. Anyone may use or adapt them with attribution. Tool implementation and full article text © 2026 JTV Advisory LLC.