Home care · Horry County, SC
Home care in Horry County
Horry County is the fourth-oldest county in South Carolina: 25.2% of the 357,000 people who live here are 65 or older, about 89,800 residents. That shapes everything about care here — the demand for it, the wait for it, and how far families drive to find it.
Below is what we'd tell a friend in Horry County: what care costs here, who provides it, what the facility alternative actually looks like, and which programs pay.
Horry County, in numbers
Full South Carolina guide →Residents 65+
89,825
25.2% of the county — the fourth-highest share of South Carolina's 46 counties.
Live with a disability
17.5%
About 61,939 people — the population most likely to need help at home.
Median household income
$61,375
20 hrs/week of care would run about 52% of it.
Certified agencies
16
Medicare-certified home health agencies serving local ZIPs; 15 rated, averaging 4.1★.
Sources: CDC/ATSDR Social Vulnerability Index 2022 (ACS 2018–2022), County Health Rankings 2024, and CMS Care Compare provider files.
What home care costs in Horry County
South Carolina's going rate for agency home care is around $31/hr. Twenty hours a week — four hours a day, five days a week, the most common schedule families start with — comes to roughly $2,700 a month, or $32,200 a year.
Median household income in Horry County is $61,375 — that schedule runs about 52% of it. Manageable for some households here, and still worth checking whether a program can carry part of it.
Who provides care in Horry County
16 Medicare-certified home health agencies serve ZIP codes in Horry County. 15 of them carry a CMS quality star rating, averaging 4.1 out of 5. 14 report offering home health aide services.
One distinction worth getting straight before you call anyone: those are Medicare-certified home health agencies — skilled, doctor-ordered, intermittent care, usually a nurse or therapist visiting for a few weeks after a hospital stay. That is not the same as the hourly, non-medical help most families are actually looking for: bathing, dressing, meals, driving, company. Medicare pays for the first. It does not pay for the second.
The alternative, locally
Horry County has 8 certified nursing homes holding 824 certified beds, averaging 3.8 out of 5 on CMS's overall rating. About 689 people live in them on an average day.
An average of 3.8 stars is above the South Carolina average of 3.01. If a facility does turn out to be the right answer for your family, the options here are better than most counties in the state.
Still, that is only about 9 beds for every 1,000 residents over 65 — tight capacity. When beds are scarce, the "we'll figure it out if something happens" plan tends to fail at exactly the wrong moment. Knowing what home care would cost and who provides it, before a fall, is the cheapest planning a family can do.
The South Carolina programs that pay for care at home
- Community Choices Waiver
South Carolina runs one Medicaid pathway that pays for care at home instead of a nursing home. Each has its own income, asset, and care-need rules, and approval takes weeks to months — so the application is worth starting before the need becomes urgent.
How each South Carolina program works →Caregiver training in SC
75 hrs
Minimum for certified aides (the federal minimum). Agencies are licensed by the SC Dept. of Public Health.
Choosing an agency in Horry County
- Ask for the license. South Carolina licenses home care agencies through the SC Dept. of Public Health. A legitimate agency shows its license without hesitating. One that changes the subject has told you something.
- Ask what the rate covers. Around $31/hr is typical in South Carolina. A real agency's rate covers a trained, background-checked, insured caregiver plus supervision and backup staffing when your regular person is sick. A rate well under the local range usually means one of those is missing.
- Start the clock early. Horry County is served by 16 certified agencies, so the honest answer to "when can you start?" is often two to three weeks. If you're planning around a discharge date, call before the discharge, not after.
- Ask about Medicaid now, not later. If money is going to be the constraint, ask about Community Choices Waiver at the first call. Approval takes weeks to months, and private pay is what bridges the gap — so the sooner the application starts, the smaller that bridge is.
Want to talk it through?
We provide care in the Milwaukee, WI area — but we’re glad to help any family think through the options in Horry County.
Horry County home care questions, answered
How much does home care cost in Horry County, SC?
Agency home care in South Carolina runs around $31/hr for private pay. At 20 hours a week that is about $2,700 a month. For context, median household income in Horry County is $61,375. Rates move with the level of care and the schedule — short daily visits cost more per hour than long shifts.
Does Medicare pay for home care in Horry County?
Medicare pays for skilled home health — a nurse or therapist, doctor-ordered, for a limited stretch, usually after a hospital stay. 16 Medicare-certified agencies serve Horry County. Medicare does not pay for the hourly, non-medical help most families want — bathing, dressing, meals, driving, company. For that, the money comes from private pay, long-term care insurance, VA benefits, or South Carolina Medicaid.
Does Medicaid pay for home care in Horry County?
Yes — for people who qualify. South Carolina runs a Medicaid program that pays for care at home instead of a nursing home: Community Choices Waiver. Income, asset, and care-need rules apply, and approval usually takes weeks to months, so apply before you need it.
How are caregivers trained and vetted in South Carolina?
Certified home health aides in South Carolina complete at least 75 hours of training, the federal minimum. The state licenses home care agencies through the SC Dept. of Public Health, so ask to see an agency's license before you hire.
Is home care better than a nursing home in Horry County?
It depends on the level of care needed, not on which one sounds nicer. Horry County's 8 certified facilities average 3.8 out of 5 stars on CMS ratings, against a South Carolina average of 3.01. Round-the-clock skilled nursing is something a facility does that home care cannot. But for help with bathing, meals, medication reminders, and company, care at home usually costs less and keeps someone in their own bed — and most people, asked plainly, say that is what they want.
Does Juniper at Home provide caregivers in Horry County?
Not directly — our own caregivers serve the Milwaukee area of Wisconsin. This page is a free guide for Horry County families: what care really costs here, who provides it, and which programs can help pay.
Bordering counties in South Carolina
Across the state line
Worth knowing if you live near the line: rules, rates, and Medicaid programs change at the border, and an agency an easy drive away may operate under a different set of them entirely.