Horry County, South Carolina · Conway
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Horry County averages 2 nights a year at 20°F or colder, mostly January, and 4% of its homes predate 1960.
Heavy rain days of an inch or more come about 12.8 times a year here, most often in September. A sump pump that hasn't run since last season is a common weak point.
Sewage backups in Horry County spike on heavy-rain days, about 12.8 a year, when sewer mains fill up and water finds the lowest drain.
Roof leaks here come from summer downpours and, with about 30 freeze-thaw days a year, from winter ice dams. Most show up as ceiling stains in the room below.
2% of occupied homes in Horry County heat mainly with wood or propane, below the South Carolina county median of 5.1%.
Muggy summer nights, lows of 65°F or more, come about 120 times a year in Horry County. Mold after a leak spreads fastest from June through August.
Local risk profile
About 383,016 people live in Horry County, 1,133 square miles in eastern South Carolina, in roughly 217,419 homes. Besides Conway, the county seat, the biggest communities are Myrtle Beach, Carolina Forest and Socastee. Much of its housing is recent, with a median build year of 1999.
45/100 Water Damage Risk Index: Elevated Horry County ranks 30 of 46 South Carolina counties. See the statewide ranking and method.The three factors where Horry County ranks highest compared with other South Carolina counties.
Pipe-freeze risk in Horry County sits near the middle of the state. It averaged 30 freezing nights a year over 2015–2024, 2 of them at 20°F or colder, cold enough for pipes in outside walls and crawl spaces to freeze. Among 46 South Carolina counties that's 20th.
Most freezing nights fall from January, peaking in January. Disconnect garden hoses and shut off outdoor spigots before the first hard frost, and keep the heat at 55°F or higher if you'll be away.
Freezing nights typically start around Nov 24 and end around Mar 13.
Heavy rain is a bigger factor here than in most of South Carolina. About 12.8 days a year bring an inch or more (10th of 46), most often in September, out of 54.3 inches of total precipitation. On September 3, 2016, 6.56 inches fell in a single day. The worst three-day stretch dropped 10.48 inches, ending October 5, 2015, the kind of soaking that overwhelms sump pumps and storm sewers.
About 30 days a year swing from below freezing at night to above freezing by day. Those freeze-thaw cycles feed ice dams on roofs, open cracks in foundations and driveways, and stress pipes that are already marginal.
Housing
16% of homes in Horry County predate 1980, below the South Carolina county median of 39.8%, which ranks 46th of South Carolina's 46 counties.
Growth since 2000 added 49% of today's homes. In houses that new, the weak points are washing machine hoses, ice maker lines, water heaters and sump pumps rather than the pipes in the walls.
35% date from 1980 to 1999, the window when polybutylene, a gray flexible plastic supply pipe, was used in some homes. It's prone to leaks at the fittings, so it's worth checking for in a house from those years.
13% of homes are manufactured or mobile homes, below the South Carolina county median of 22%. Their water lines run under the floor behind the skirting, so a torn skirt or failed heat tape freezes them faster than lines in a site-built house.
The Census counted 27% of homes as vacant, above the South Carolina county median of 15.5%. Empty houses are where a small leak turns into a large claim, because nobody is there to hear it.
Beyond water
About 120 nights a year in Horry County stay at 65°F or warmer, a sign of muggy summer air (9th of 46 counties). August is the wettest month. Mold grows when indoor humidity stays above about 60%, the EPA's ceiling. A basement dehumidifier set to 50% and drying anything wet within 24 to 48 hours prevents most problems.
Mold remediation: what to expectMain heating fuel in Horry County's occupied homes: 11% utility gas, 86% electric, 1% propane and under 1% wood. Heating equipment, cooking and electrical failures cause most home fires nationally. Even a small kitchen fire can leave soot through the whole house, because smoke follows air currents into closets, ducts and attic space.
Fire and smoke cleanup: first stepsCoverage
Calls connect to restoration companies that work across Horry County. The largest communities by population:
Population from ACS 2020-2024 5-year estimates. Townships and unincorporated areas are covered too.
Nearby
Dillon gets more pipe-freeze nights than Horry. Marion County has the oldest housing nearby, with 48% of homes built before 1980.
By the numbers
| Factor | Horry | South Carolina median | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| Homes built before 1960 | 4.1% | 15% | 43 of 46 |
| Homes built before 1980 | 16% | 40% | 46 of 46 |
| Homes built 2000 or later | 49% | 25% | 6 of 46 |
| Manufactured or mobile homes | 13% | 22% | 37 of 46 |
| Vacant homes | 27% | 16% | 2 of 46 |
| Wood or propane heat | 1.5% | 5.1% | 45 of 46 |
| Nights at 20°F or colder | 2/yr | 2/yr | 20 of 46 |
| Days with 1 inch+ of rain | 13/yr | 12/yr | 10 of 46 |
| Freeze-thaw days | 30/yr | 35/yr | 32 of 46 |
| Muggy nights (65°F+) | 120/yr | 114/yr | 9 of 46 |
Rank 1 is the highest value. Bars run from the lowest to the highest South Carolina county; the tick marks the median; orange means higher water damage risk than the median, green means lower.
Questions
Peak risk months in Horry County: freezing from January, heavy rain in July, August and September.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 2024 5-year estimates (2020-2024); weather from NOAA nClimGrid-Daily county averages (EpiNOAA), 2015–2024, averaged across the county; county boundaries from Census TIGER. Reviewed 2026-10-21. Methodology