Little River, South Carolina
10 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1943 and the latest in 1990. It stands in the Little River census division. It lies in ZIP code area 29566. The Survey maps it on the Little River quadrangle. 11,711 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 39 feet above sea level.
Population over time
2 figuresLittle River grew from 8,960 to 11,711 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 8,960 | |
| 2020 | 11,711 | +2,751 (+31%) |
Topographic sheets covering this place
9 surveys from 10 printed sheetsMatched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.
- 1943 USGS Little River quadrangle1:31680
- 1949 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:250000
- 1953 USGS Little River quadrangle1:24000
- 1967 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:250000
- 1971 USGS Little River quadrangle1:24000
- 1974 USGS Georgetown quadrangle1:250000, 2 printings
- 1986 USGS Myrtle Beach quadrangle1:100000
- 1990 USGS Little River quadrangle1:24000
- 1990 USGS Myrtle Beach quadrangle1:100000
Fires near this place
127 since 1992Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 127 fires within 5 miles of Little River between 1992 and 2020, burning about 490 acres in total. 3 started naturally. 23 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Reported cause | Fires |
|---|---|
| Debris and open burning | 49 |
| Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 32 |
| Arson/incendiarism | 23 |
| Misuse of fire by a minor | 13 |
| Natural | 3 |
| Fireworks | 2 |
| Smoking | 2 |
| Equipment and vehicle use | 2 |
| Other causes | 1 |
The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.
| Date | Cause | Size | Reported by | Name on the report |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 18 September 1998 | Debris and open burning | 30 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 9 August 2001 | Misuse of fire by a minor | under an acre | North Carolina Forest Service | WILSON AVENUE FIRE |
| 4 July 2011 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 2.1 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 July 2011 | Fireworks | 2.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 4 July 1993 | Missing data/not specified/undetermined | 1.0 acres | North Carolina Forest Service | not named |
| 26 July 2005 | Misuse of fire by a minor | 1.0 acres | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 20 July 2011 | Debris and open burning | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
| 19 July 2011 | Arson/incendiarism | under an acre | South Carolina Forestry Commission | not named |
Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:
Mines and quarries near this place
3 within 5 milesRegional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Little River: 2 past producers, 1 producer. 1 still produces. What was taken out: Limestone, General, Stone, Crushed/Broken. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.
| Where | Site | Commodity | Status | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cedar Creek Quarry | Stone, Crushed/Broken | Producer | ||
| Coquina Pit | Limestone, General | Past Producer | Sedimentary | |
| Coquina Pit | Limestone, General | Past Producer |
Storms near this place
8 since 1999Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Little River in 8 storm reports between 1999 and 2024: 2 thunderstorm wind, 2 flash flood, 1 waterspout, 1 flood. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.
| When | Event | Place named | Harm | What the report says |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| October 2015 | Flash Flood | Little River | $250,000 | An earthen dam on Heather Lake, near the state line, was overtopped. Significant flooding was reported in Little River and portions of North Myrtle Beach where up to a foot of rain fell during the afternoon and evening. More than 100 homes were reportedly flooded in Little River and 40 homes in North Myrtle Beach. Numerous people had to be rescued from their homes. In addition, several people were rescued from their vehicles which had become stranded in the rapidly rising water. |
| September 2019 | Tornado (EF1) | Little River | $200,000 | The tornado began to impact the Little River area around 4:37 AM |EDT. The first observed damage occurred to a dock and several |large trees near the end of Park Road at the Intracoastal |Waterway. One large section of wooden dock was thrown |approximately 150 yards. Several trees in the Little River area |south of US Highway 17 were uprooted, broken and snapped. ||The tornado crossed US Highway 17 around 4:39 AM EDT and |continued to damage the neighborhood on the north side of Little |River. Several hardwood trees and pines were snapped with shingle |damage to area homes consistent with EF-1 damage and 105 MPH wind |speeds. Around 4:42 AM EDT, the tornado crossed through several |housing developments near Horseshoe Road in the vicinity of River|Hills Golf course where tree damage continued. After crossing |Eagles Nest Golf Course and Golf Avenue, trees were snapped on |the west side of the golf course before tracking into swamp land |north of Heritage Trust Road. ||After passing through the swamp, damage resumed in The Retreat |neighborhood along Retreat Place. Shingle, siding damage to homes,|and partial roof loss were observed in The Retreat neighborhood |along with uprooted tree damage. The tornado crossed State Highway|57 North and snapped large pines and some hardwood trees, as well|as shingle damage to the nearby home consistent with EF-1 damage.|The tornado continued and crossed Highway 9 East and damaged |trees and shingles to Community Motors. Damage continued near |Surfride Blvd with an awning ripped off the local strip mall. The |tornado likely dissipated around 4:48 AM EDT. |
| June 2019 | Thunderstorm Wind | Little River | $5,000 | Multiple power lines were blown down near Little River, blocking an intersection on US 17. |
| June 2024 | Lightning | Little River | $4,000 | Media reported an apartment fire caused by lightning along Pinehurst Circle in Little River, SC. |
| May 2018 | Flash Flood | Little River | - | Flooding has made the road impassable at 4600 Eastport Blvd. |
| October 2015 | Flood | Little River | - | Flooding was reported on Hwy 17 near Baldwin Ave. There were several other reports|of street flooding in the town of Little River. |
| June 2006 | Thunderstorm Wind | Little River | - | There was a 61 mph measured gust at the fire station. Nickel size hail was also reported. |
| June 1999 | Waterspout | Little River | - | The Coast Guard reported a waterspout off Little River Inlet, moving east. The waterspout dissipated with no landfall. |
Nearest settlements
The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.
| Map | Place | Distance | Sheets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Coquina Harbor | 1.3 miles | 8 | |
| Cedar Creek Village | 1.7 miles | 8 | |
| The Old Home Place | 1.7 miles | 10 | |
| Old River Estates | 2.0 miles | 8 | |
| Creekside | 2.3 miles | 8 | |
| Palmetto Shores | 2.3 miles | 8 | |
| Kingswood | 2.3 miles | 8 | |
| The Grove | 2.4 miles | 8 |
Elsewhere
Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.
| Wikipedia article on Little River | An encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied. |
| Wikidata item Q2157385 | The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0). |
Provenance
This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1231489. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.
Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.
Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.








