Choosing where to live as an actor is no longer as simple as deciding between Los Angeles and New York. Self tapes have made geography less important at the first stage of casting, and production infrastructure and tax incentives have also created serious opportunities in cities across the U.S.
Keep in mind that production volume doesn’t automatically translate into principal acting work. Even if it means a lower cost of living, it doesn’t necessarily help if there are few roles you can realistically access. Choosing where to live as an actor means balancing the right opportunities available in a city with the practical realities of living there.
The best city for your career will depend on your goals, the creative community you can build, and where the type of work you want to pursue is actually being cast.
What Makes a City Actually Good for Actors?
The best acting market isn’t necessarily the city with the most productions. It’s the one where work is being cast frequently enough to justify the cost of living.
What makes a city actually good for actors is being seen for the right roles while navigating the high level of competition. This can include local production volume, access to networking, and the realities of being able to afford to stay there long enough to build your career.
Self tapes have also changed whether living in a major city is even necessary at all. If you can be seen for a role shooting on the East Coast and live quite comfortably on the West Coast, how does that change the credentials for what makes a city worth living in?
Los Angeles and New York: Still Worth It — But for Whom?
Los Angeles and New York remain the two largest acting markets in the U.S., but they serve different career goals. Los Angeles is particularly strong for film and television, whereas New York has a stronger concentration of theater. Although both LA and New York are cities that lend themselves to creativity and offer significant opportunities, they both come with a high price tag.
As large cities, the access to high-end productions draw in actors from all over the world. The journey to castings could also be heavily affected by the traffic in LA or eased by New York’s extensive public transportation system. What makes them worth it is completely dependent on the type of work you want to pursue, whether you have a driving license, and if you can handle competition.
The Real Contenders: Atlanta, Chicago, and the Mid-Tier Markets Worth Knowing
In today’s market, your options have increased significantly, with several U.S. cities developing established production ecosystems of their own. While the scale may not be the same as in LA and New York, they can provide access to film, TV and theater, often with a different cost and competitive landscape.
“Local Hire” means you live in the city where the production is being filmed, or you have access to a base there. Be clear and accurate about where you are based to avoid misrepresenting yourself and creating a problem later on. However, the beauty of the self tape means you can still be in consideration for the role, especially if you stretch the truth of how “local” you are at the earliest stages.
Atlanta
Atlanta offers a beautiful balance of city life and nature, with leafy neighborhoods, historic architecture and a warm, relaxed atmosphere, without taking on the cost of LA or New York. Georgia offers a 20% transferable film tax credit that helps support substantial infrastructure across the state, and that production activity creates opportunities across film and TV.
Chicago
Chicago offers a different combination of opportunities, with a particularly strong theater ecosystem alongside film and TV. The city’s scale can also make it an appealing alternative, best known as the location for both Batman Begins and The Dark Knight films. For theater actors, Chicago functions as a substantial market in its own right, rather than simply being a stepping stone to another city.
New Orleans
New Orleans offers a distinctive lifestyle with a strong cultural identity. It’s an important Southern production center supported by Louisiana’s incentive program, and offers a 25% based credit on qualified in-state production expenditure. Notable projects filmed there include Queen & Slim, Carry-On and the Academy Award-winning film Green Book.
Other Mid-Tier Markets
There are also smaller markets worth considering, including Albuquerque, Austin, South Carolina and Massachusetts. These locations offer lower living costs, and provide a more manageable environment if you are still training and building credits.
How To Choose the Right City Based on Where You Are in Your Career
Choosing the right city is about making it work for where you are at right now. Moving to cities like New York or LA requires handling the relentless pace and high cost of living. If you’re just starting out, prioritize affordable living, quality acting training and opportunity.
Look for markets with regular episodic and independent productions, where you can realistically build professional credits. Once you are ready to compete for larger roles, relocating could give you access, but self-tape submission could give you the same opportunity where you are.
The right city for you should be sustainable, so that you can build a creative community and build a career that reflects the kind of work you want to pursue.
What Actors Actually Need To Set up in Any New Market
Before moving, do your research and make a plan. Setting yourself up in a new market takes time, but your career moves with you, so think about the type of work you want to pursue and how you can even build your career outside of auditioning.
Once you arrive, look for ways to become part of the local creative community. Take workshops, attend readings, see theater and go to industry events. If you need another job to support yourself financially, find something that keeps you close to the industry. In New York, you could take a job working front of house in theaters. In LA, you could look for work in a casting office.
Give yourself time to get your bearings and understand how the industry operates there. Every market has its own networks, casting practices and opportunities, and the sooner you understand how to become part of that ecosystem, the more effectively you can build your career.
Conclusion
Think about what drives you as an actor, and what you need to sustain yourself in a fast-paced and competitive environment. Moving to a major city is not automatically the next step in your career if you don’t yet have the resources or opportunities to make it worthwhile. There can also be mental and physical consequences to taking on such an ordeal before you’re ready.
The good news is that the industry is more connected than ever. Digital casting has created more opportunities for actors to be seen without the need for relocation.
But remember, wherever it is that you have your heart set on, that city is waiting for you, too. So before you pack up and leave your hometown, take stock of what you already have, where you are. You are exactly where you are meant to be … for now.
