Fame is determined by a number of obvious factors: good looks, good luck, whether or not you're a nepo baby. But if new research is to be believed, where you're born can also be an indicator of whether or not you'll make it big: There are actually certain states where you're most likely to be famous.
According to research conducted by TicketSource, the online ticketing platform, famous people are more likely to hail from 10 U.S. states than the 40 others. TicketSource analyzed the birthplaces of over 113,000 famous people across various disciplines—actors, athletes, musicians, and comedians—to determine its rankings. (For sports stars, TicketSource specifically analyzed basketball, baseball, football, and ice hockey athletes. Sorry, soccer!)
All of TicketSource's analysis was conducted in summer 2023. You'd likely guess some of the ultimate results—of course top-billed actors largely come from California, the nexus of the film industry—but other conclusions of the study are sure to surprise. Read on to see which 10 states can say the highest number of famous people are born there.
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10 | Massachusetts
ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 3,756
Though Massachusetts lags in producing actors, musicians, and comedians, it's essentially a factory for professional athletes, with more than 2,500 sports stars hailing from the Bay State, according to the research.
9 | New Jersey
iStockTotal number of stars: 3,854
The Big Apple isn't the only area in the region that claims a ton of famous people; just across the Hudson, you'll find the birthplace of nearly 4,000 stars, the majority of whom are either actors (910) and athletes (2,349).
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8 | Michigan
ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 4,001
Michigan is collectively the least funny state on this list; of all the states in the top rankings, just 25 comedians come from Michigan, with the famous people born there largely going on to become sports stars (2,790).
7 | Florida
iStockTotal number of stars: 4,701
In terms of the famous people born there, Florida is compositionally similar to Michigan, with a lot of sports stars (3,500) and not a lot of comedians, but it edges out Michigan on the latter by a hair: 26 comedians are from the Sunshine State, per the TicketSource study.
6 | Ohio
arthurgphotography/ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 5,359
More than 4,000 athletes were born in Ohio. No wonder the state is home to so many athletic rivalries!
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5 | Illinois
f11photo / ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 5,720
Illinois is home to one of the most vibrant show biz scenes in the nation, thanks in no small part to the theaters and comedy troupes of Chicago. More than 200 famous comedians and nearly 1,500 actors were born in Illinois, TicketSource says.
4 | Pennsylvania
Sean Pavone / ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 6,474
Pennsylvania is the birthplace of a ton of actors (1,110) and athletes (4,697) but not so many musicians (608) or comedians (59).
3 | Texas
fifg / ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 8,299
Texas far and away has the biggest claim to fame in regards to professional athletes, with 5,791 claiming it as their birthplace. The Lonestar State doesn't have much of a funny bone, though: Just 37 famous comedians were born in Texas, according to this new research. On the plus side, it's the birthplace of over 1,000 actors and 1,000 athletes.
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2 | New York
RightFramePhotoVideo / ShutterstockTotal number of stars: 11,731
New York is handily the funniest state in the nation, with 537 famous comedians having been born there. New York is also the birthplace of 4,684 actors and 4,129 professional athletes, not to mention nearly 2,400 musicians.
1 | California
Shutterstock / Sean PavoneTotal number of stars: 12,793
Actors, singers, comedians—California has a solid claim as the most common birthplace for entertainment industry stars. But it's not exactly a hotbed for sports stars, with its total tally of 3,470 pro athletes coming in behind New York, Texas, Pennsylvania, and Ohio, per the TicketSource study.
