That said, Canada and many countries overseas are giving them some serious competition, in part because of high costs in the U.S., and because of Hollywood’s uncertainty about where and how to invest. 

Some big productions are taking advantage of other countries’ taxpayer-funded health care, for example: The Wall Street Journal noted in August that one reason many productions are moving to the United Kingdom is that “workers there are generally paid less, and studios don’t have to cover their health insurance.” 

That observation appeared in an August story headlined “Disney’s Marvel Abandons Georgia, Taking Livelihoods With It.” Marvel’s exodus is part of the reason Atlanta isn’t on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker this year. The lovely city of Savannah, Georgia’s other major film hub, is still very much on the list, thanks in part to the steady business that the Savannah College of Art and Design helps drive. 

Adding to the uncertainty of the U.S. film business is President Trump’s threat to impose 100% tariffs on foreign films. 

So what’s going well in the North American film business? Plenty — if you’re Canadian. We’re thrilled to welcome the Canadian cities of Edmonton and Quebec City to this year’s list. And while U.S. production is generally down, many American communities are scoring by doubling down on their commitment to film, especially in Texas and New Mexico. And we’re very excited to welcome Louisville, Kentucky to our list.

As always, when compiling our list of Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, we look to celebrate cities and towns where we believe you’ll have the best chance of both succeeding in the famously difficult entertainment industry, and making your own art.

We try to imagine a very particular kind of filmmaker, who we’ll call Sam: She pays the bills crewing for big productions, and writes her own screenplays at night. On weekends, Sam pitches in to help friends make indie movies, knowing that they’ll pitch in when it’s time for her to make hers. She doesn’t think she should have to sacrifice having a family or owning a home in order to do work in film, and she shouldn’t have to. Maybe L.A. is perfect for her, but maybe she’d be better off somewhere less expensive, where she doesn’t spend so much time trying to stay afloat that she never has time to tell her own stories. 

To that end, we create this list by asking cities about factors like their industry spend, tax incentives, crews, sound stages, local film scenes, and recent productions. We also take cost of living and general livability into account: Can we see ourselves being happy there? Buying a house? And how’s the food?

If you don’t want to live in certain places because of their laws or values, we get it. But we also like the idea of moving to certain places to help change their laws and values. 

Finally, as we always say: We aren’t suggesting you move to any of these places without doing your own research. And we’re sure not every place on this list will be for everyone. But we are confident that somewhere on this list is a place where you can make a good living and do great work. 

So with that, here’s our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2026.

THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE AND WORK AS A MOVIEMAKER: BEST BIG CITIES

25. EL PASO, TEXAS 

Fresh from hosting Paul Thomas Anderson’s One Battle After Another, El Paso is riding high and looking for more large-scale films and TV shows. It offers a close-knit, passionate film community — which comes out in force each year for the fast-growing El Paso Film Festival — as well as its inimitable location along the U.S.-Mexican border, one of the most storied regions in the world. In addition to charm, affordability and easy permitting — as well as very photogenic historic buildings you can see on display in One Battle — El Paso offers an array of production facilities, including the Rio Bravo Outpost and MindWarp Films. But the biggest recent draw may be the new improvements to the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which now allows productions a grant rebate of up to 31% of their qualified in-state spending — up from 22.5%. (You can read more about it in upcoming entries on this list, and on page 70.) El Paso is also close to Las Cruces, New Mexico, another fast-rising film hub that returns this year to our list of the Best Smaller Cities and Towns. 

24. OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 

Oklahoma City has recently hosted such features as New Year’s Rev — about a young punk band opening for Green Day — and the holiday film The One, featuring Martin Sheen. It’s also the home of Oklahoma City Community College, one of the most affordable options on our list of the Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada, and home to the beloved deadCenter Film Festival, which recently featured the world premiere of the fascinating 67 Bombs To Enid, a documentary by Oklahoma filmmakers about survivors of American nuclear bomb tests in the Marshall Islands who have relocated to Enid, Oklahoma, about 100 miles from Oklahoma City. Like Tulsa, 100 miles to the northeast, OKC benefits from strong tax incentives that include Oklahoma’s 20-30% cash rebate. The Oklahoma City Film and Creative Industries Office makes permitting easy, and the city has 600 crew members ready to go. It has a below average cost of living and rich cultural offerings that include the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, whose Noble Theatre screens top-tier art house films. 

23. CLEVELAND, OHIO 

A regular on our list, Cleveland had a big moment to shine this past summer as one of the cities that hosted James Gunn’s hit Superman. Recent projects have included Hulu’s Eenie Meanie and Neon’s Shelby Oaks, directed by YouTube critic-turned-filmmaker Chris Stuckman, a local. In addition to a 30% rebate on projects that spend at least $300,000, Cleveland has a deep crew base, efficient permitting, scenic locations, and a cost of living below the U.S. average. It also boasts the Cleveland International Film Festival, which routinely earns a place on our list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. And you can enjoy lively nightlife and the pleasing shoreline along Lake Erie. 

22. EDMONTON, ALBERTA, CANADA 

Sometimes known as Canada’s gateway to the north, Edmonton is also a gateway to moviemaking. It’s a new and welcome addition to our list, thanks to its impressive commitment to boosting filmmakers on the rise. One of the best representatives of Edmonton’s scrappy indie film scene — and DIY filmmaking in general — is Kyle Edward Ball, whose $15,000 experimental film Skinamarink earned $2 million and scored him a deal with A24 for his next film, the upcoming Land of Nod. Other recent Edmonton productions include Smudge the Blades, a comedy about an Indigenous youth hockey team from director-producer Cody Lightning, and The Great Ones, a five-part documentary series about the Edmonton Oilers, former team of Wayne Gretzky. Alberta offers a base tax credit of 22% on qualifying production and labor costs, and the Alberta Made Production Grant, focused on smaller budget, locally owned productions, covers 25% of eligible Alberta production costs of up to $125,000. The program is designed to support emerging talent. Additionally, the province’s Project Script Development Grant offers up to $55,000 per project to help local writers and producers create marketable, quality scripts. Additionally, Edmonton Screen’s Elevation Program provides direct investment into film and TV projects produced in Edmonton. And local crews have worked on everything from small productions to HBO’s The Last of Us. 

21. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 

Kansas City combines excellent incentives with a can-do attitude that make it a strong option for a wide range of film and television creatives.Recent projects shot in KC include Paul Schrader’s The Basics of Philosophy,and Season 4 of Ted Lasso, starring Jason Sudeikis, who grew up locally. Others with strong regional ties include director-screenwriter Kevin Willmott — an Oscar winner for co-writing  director Spike Lee’s BlacKkKlansman — and actor David Dastmalchian. Besides working in film and TV,the region’s versatile crews keep busy with lots of commercial work for major national brands. Missouri’s transferable tax credit for eligible expenditures ranges from 20 to 42%, and Kansas City offers its own additional cash rebate of up to 12% on all qualified production expenditures, which is stackable with the state incentive -— and gives KC one of the most competitive incentive packages in the country. The lively local festival scene includes the beloved genre event Panic Fest, as well as the KC Underground Film Fest and the Juneteenth Film Festival. No filming permits are needed, and the cost of living is below the national average. You’ve probably heard about the city’s historic 18th & Vine district, known for jazz, but did you know KC also has a vast network of limestone caves?

20. QUEBEC CITY, QUEBEC, CANADA 

Quebec City is one of the most beautiful places in North America, if not the world — from the cobblestone streets of the Old Quebec District to the majesty of Château Frontenac to the views from the city walls, you’ll have a plethora of breathtaking sights to film. The city also has skilled, flexible crews and is known for top-tier animation. The terrific incentives include the Province of Quebec’s 25% Refundable Tax Credit, and 16% stackable federal tax credit, as well as a 16% credit on qualifying animation. Additionally, no permit fees are required for locations under municipal jurisdiction, and productions receive a 30% discount on municipal services. Though almost everyone speaks English, you’ll have an easier time charming the locals if you speak a little French. Appreciation for film is very strong — local theaters include Le Clap, Cinema Beaumont, and Cinema Cartier — and the city hosts the annual Festival du cinéma de la ville de Québec, which, for those of us who are behind on our language apps, means “Quebec City Film Festival.”

19. PORTLAND, OREGON 

Portland hosted one of the best films of 2025, James Sweeney’s Twinless, which showed off the region’s charm, vibrance and down-to-earth livability. The city has a 25% film rebate and just raised its annual cap to $21.25 million. Its lively, committed film culture includes the Hollywood Theater, one of the sites of the new Portland Panorama Film Festival. Both the stunning coast and mountains are close by, but the biggest draw might be the people, who value culture and creativity and foster a strong sense of community support for film and the arts in general. The film scene’s values are reflected in its many available equipment rental and post production houses, the latter of which include Picture This and Refuge VFX. Portland can support blockbusters, but treasures its indie aesthetics and commitment to handcrafted storytelling.

18. TULSA, OKLAHOMA 

Tulsa keeps building on its success: After the conclusion of local Sterlin Harjo’s FX series Reservation Dogs, he quickly unveiled an acclaimed new FX show, The Lowdown, which stars executive producer Ethan Hawke as a self-proclaimed Tulsa “truthstorian” and also features Tulsa natives Tim Blake Nelson and Jeanne Tripplehorn. The city is scoring in part due to the Filmed in Oklahoma Act, which allows a rebate of 20-30%, depending on uplifts. One of those uplifts is for using regional music, which makes sense given Tulsa’s musical legacy: It’s among the cities featured in the new CBS musician-discovery series The Road, from Taylor Sheridan and Blake Shelton. The indie scene is thriving as well: Recent success stories include “Tiger,” Loren Waters’ Sundance award-winning film, and Pretty Babies, Tyler-Marie Evans’ feature directorial debut. Near Tulsa, the ​​Cherokee Film Incentive provides $1 million annually for productions filmed within the Cherokee Nation, and the Cherokee Film Institute teaches filmmakers about best practices for filming on tribal lands. 

17. HONOLULU, HAWAII 

Honolulu has hosted many successful productions that cater to audiences’ dreams of living in Hawaii, including NCIS: Hawai’i and Magnum P.I. It was also home to the live-action Disney features Lilo & Stitch and Moana, as well as the comedy-action film Wrecking Crew with Jason Momoa and Dave Bautista, and the Apple TV Momoa series Chief of War, which tells the story of the Hawaiian Islands’ unification from an Indigenous perspective. The state has a very film-friendly atmosphere — you’ve been seeing Hawaiian locales fill in for tropical hideaways all your life, in productions from Jurassic Park to Lost — and the Hawaii Production Tax Incentive is 22% on total on-island spend. The 1929 rococo-style Hawaii Theater is a one-of-a-kind place to enjoy a film, and the Hawai’i International Film Festival is one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. Not everyone likes living hours from the mainland, and that’s fine — it means more work for those who do.

16. LOUISVILLE, KENTUCKY

A new addition to our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, the home of the Kentucky Derby is very much in the race for film and TV spending. Recent projects have included Gus Van Sant’s Dead Man’s Wire, in which Louisville doubled for 1970s Indianapolis, and Alex Vlack’s feature directorial debut The Revisionist, with Dustin Hoffman, Andre Holland and Alison Brie. Productions are drawn to Louisville’s wide range of locations, mild four-season climate, and cash-back incentive, which goes up to 35%. State-of-the-art local theater Speed Cinema, known for curating visionary films, hosts the Flyover Film Festival, which just celebrated its 15th year. One sign of the local film scene’s innovation and growth is the Kentucky College of Art and Design launching a new film degree this year. Additionally, the Louisville Film Office and local non-profit 502 Film conduct workforce development and production assistant training programs and workshops year-round, to keep building up local expertise.They also just held Kentucky’s first-ever film incubator for local and Appalachian filmmakers. If you’re wondering why the non-profit is called 502 Film, it’s because 502 is the main area code for Louisville. Filmmakers are dialing it a lot more lately.It’s also a mere 100 miles away from the next city on our list. 

15. CINCINNATI, OHIO 

Besides hosting Superman alongside Cleveland, Cincinnati has also recently welcomed Kelly Reichardt’s art-heist drama The Mastermind, starring Josh O’Connell and Alana Haim. Film Cincinnati offers a very streamlined permitting process, honed over 30 years of service, and the commission aims to think like a producer to make productions more efficient at every stage. There’s a strong emphasis on quality of life that includes plentiful green space and an expanding network of bike trails. There are plenty of local equipment rental houses and post production facilities, and notable locations include Union Terminal, a 1932 Art Deco landmark that appears in Superman. A plethora of Italianate architecture in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, makes Cincinnati an especially inviting backdrop for period films. Cincinnati offers the same 30% state rebate as Cleveland, and the cost of living is similarly below the national average, so buying a house doesn’t have to be a distant dream. 

14. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

San Antonio had more film production in 2025 than in 2024, and the future is bright: In addition to Texas’ aforementioned Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which offers a grant rebate of up to 31%, San Antonio offers its own rebate, which was just increased to 10%, with two potential uplifts of 2% each for local hire and veteran hire thresholds. Those add up to total rebates of up to 45% on eligible costs, which means San Antonio has some of the best incentives anywhere. When the news came out in November, Krystal Jones, executive director of San Antonio’s Department of Arts & Culture, said it “positions our city as one of the most competitive film hubs in the U.S.,” and added that it underlines “our commitment to being a premier destination for creative professionals, storytellers, and filmmakers everywhere.” It’s also a place rich with character and history, with a cost of living that’s below the national average. Recent productions range from indies to documentaries to reality shows, and San Antonio also draws lots of commercials thanks, to its blue skies and photogenic landscapes. The number of crew and vendor listings is up dramatically this decade, and it has some locations that can stand in for a wide range of other times and places, and others, like the River Walk and the Alamo, that are wholly unique. And it’s a mere 80 miles from Austin.

13. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

New Orleans is a perennial on our annual list, and we often say variations on the same thing: You could use it to double for many other cities, but why would you? New Orleans is one of the most fascinating places on earth, where a vast array of cultures and values coalesce into an irresistible gumbo. Audiences love seeing it onscreen, because it’s a place you can taste and feel. The architecture, music and food are all unmatched, and the tax incentives are quite competitive: In addition to the 25% base credit, increases include a 15% credit on Louisiana resident payroll, and a 10% credit on screenplays by Louisiana residents. The strong local festivals include the New Orleans Film Festival, which specializes in amplifying overlooked Southern stories, and the genre-focused Overlook Film Festival. Recent productions include James L. Brooks’ Ella McKay.

12. FORT WORTH, TEXAS 

Another Texas city jumping several places since last year, Fort Worth is benefitting from the previously mentioned boost in the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program. In addition to offering filmmakers a grant rebate of up to 31% — up from 22.5% — it’s very well funded, providing $1.5 billion through 2035, or $300 million every two years. Its goal is not just to lure Hollywood productions, but to keep Texas filmmakers working in Texas. At the top of the list is Taylor Sheridan, who graduated from Fort Worth’s R.L. Paschal High School, and shoots a slew of shows in the area, including Landman, Special Ops: Lioness, the Yellowstone spinoff The Madison, and another upcoming show from the Yellowstone universe. SGS Studios, which Sheridan founded, recently partnered on a new 450,000-square foot production campus at Fort Worth’s 27,000-acre AllianceTexas development. It isn’t all Taylor Sheridan: Fort Worth also draws a healthy mix of reality TV and commercial shoots, and offers local incentives that include the You Stay We Pay Hotel Rebate, a $5 return for each room night on a minimum stay of 75 nights. Fort Worth prides itself on an easy permitting process.

11. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 

Although most of HBO’s The Pitt is shot on a soundstage, not in Pittsburgh, the medical drama still captures a lot of what makes Pittsburgh great: dependability, professionalism, flashes of incredible beauty. The Steel City has been a reliable Hollywood location for decades, and is among the cities on this list that reported significantly more film revenue this past year than the year before, thanks to projects including Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown and Apple TV’s Parallax. Recent films include Hershey — starring Finn Wittrock as chocolate pioneer Milton Hershey and Alexandra Daddario as his wife, Catherine, and directed by Mean Girls veteran Mark Waters — and How to Rob a Bank, starring Nicholas Hoult and Zoe Kravitz, and directed by David Leitch. The Pittsburgh region has a wealth of locations, from old factories to sleek cityscapes to abundant green spaces, and Pennsylvania offers a 25% tax credit for films that spend at least 60% of their total production budget in the commonwealth. It climbs to as high as 30% for shoots that use a state-eligible production facility. Pittsburgh is also affordable, can stand in for almost anywhere, and is extremely film-friendly, with easy permitting, four full crews, plenty of equipment rental houses, more than 15 post houses, and great schools including Carnegie Mellon University, known for producing some of the best actors in the country.

10. HOUSTON, TEXAS 

A filmmaking life in Houston is more sustainable than ever, thanks in part to the aforementioned increase in the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program — which, again, now offers grant rebates of up to 31%. But Houston also stands out for its arms-wide-open welcoming of the film industry. As the biggest city in Texas, and fourth biggest city in America, Houston has nearly every type of location, from cityscapes to piney woods to rolling hills to nearby farmland. It’s close to Galveston Island and the Gulf of Mexico, and car commercials love the absence of billboard advertising. The city thrives on diversity — you’ll meet a beautiful blend of humanity in Houston — and its cost of living, which is just below the national average, is the lowest of the four biggest U.S. cities. The city has enough film crew for two to three sizable features, and recent shoots have included the thrillers Eleven Days, with Taylor Kitsch, and A Love, from director Courtney Glaude, Tyler Perry Studios’ executive creator of Scripted and Unscripted. Houston is also notable for a strong contingent of films with budgets under $1 million. The many film festivals include the Houston Cinema Arts Festival, which just celebrated its 17th year, and Houston Latino Film Festival, which just celebrated its ninth. 

9. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 

Viewers can get a strong sense of the many varied locations in the Philadelphia area from HBO’s Task, the crime drama starring Mark Ruffalo and led by Mare of Easttown creator Brad Ingelsby, a local. The region has become a go-to for blue-collar dramas, but Philadelphia’s greatest advantages are its versatility and affordability. It welcomes everything from experimental films to pilots to features, and its rich history makes it a natural destination for documentaries. It can double for a slew of other cities, but also has one-of-a-kind neighborhoods and characters you’ll be hard pressed to duplicate. The crews are experienced; the rental houses, production companies, casting agencies and studio spaces are plentiful; and permitting is easy. The tax credits, as in Pittsburgh, range from 25-30%. One indication of the local scene’s strength is the fact that over half of recent tax credits went to projects produced in the region. The city’s reverence for art is made clear by the evocative murals that seem to cover every available wall. But unlike nearby New York, Philadelphia remains affordable to rising artists. Your best bet might be to live in the City of Brotherly Love and take the Amtrak to NYC for meetings and occasional jobs. Local film festivals include Blackstar, a regular on our list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. 

8. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS  

Boston is on the rise thanks to shows like Boston Blue, in which local Donnie Wahlberg comes home after years of playing a New Yorker on Blue Bloods. Other local TV productions include Walking Dead: Dead City, which shoots in both Beantown and nearby Brockton, among other  close locations. Boston-area film productions include Amazon’s Love of Your Life, Apple’s Weekend Warrior, and Searchlight Picture’s Super Troopers 3: Winter Soldiers. Massachusetts’ incentives include a 25% payroll tax credit and 25% production expense credit, along with a sales tax exemption on qualified purchases and rentals, with no annual or per-project caps, and credits are fully transferable or refundable at 90%. The close-knit film community includes the Massachusetts Production Coalition, which strives to bring film professionals together to innovate and problem solve. Boston University counts both Benny and Josh Safdie among its alums, and Emerson College alums include The Daniels. PBS’s Frontline and American Experience are based out of local public station WGBH and reflect a strong, highly professional documentary scene. Also, MovieMaker’s editor and publisher live just beyond the city limits, and find the region one of the most pleasant, sane, and beautiful parts of our country. 

7. DALLAS, TEXAS 

The Dallas Film Commission notes that the city is made for the spotlight, with its dazzling skyline, striking architecture, ubiquitous public art, and vast green spaces. But it’s always been about commerce as much as art: In addition to hosting many of the same Taylor Sheridan productions as nearby Fort Worth, including Landman and The Madison, it also does brisk business with commercials for a bevy of major brands. The state’s grant rebate of up to 31% is a major boon, as is Dallas’ deep crew base: Seasoned crew members go back to the days of Walker, Texas Ranger and the soapy classic Dallas. It is known for highly skilled craftspeople, and its sharp ad agencies and production companies create cutting-edge narratives for all platforms. The Dallas Film Commission recently launched its first free production assistant training course, and works with film schools and unions to expand educational opportunities. The city boasts more than 150 IATSE members, and usually has two long-format crews staffed concurrently. The strong local film festivals include the Dallas International Film Festival and Oak Cliff Film Festival. 

6. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA 

Decades ago, Vancouver was the face of so-called “runaway productions” — films that dared go north instead of shooting in Los Angeles. Today Vancouver is an established cornerstone of the industry and the first choice of countless film and TV productions. They’re drawn to incredibly photogenic locations — from the cobblestoned streets of Gastown to the Stanley Park rain forest to neighborhoods that can emulate any time or place — as well as a deeply entrenched industry that excels in live action, virtual production, animation, VFX and post. Recent local productions have included HBO’s The Last of Us, FX’s Shogun, and AMC’s new Silicon Valley-set The Audacity. Recent features include Netflix’s upcoming Remarkably Bright Creatures, starring Sally Field and Lewis Pullman, as well the horror hit Final Destination: Bloodlines. British Columbia’s Motion Picture Tax Credit Programs made major updates in March 2025, which include the Production Services Tax Credit rising from 28% to 36% — or 38% for B.C. productions with costs greater than $200 million. The many film schools include the Vancouver Film School, one of our Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada, and festivals include the prestigious Vancouver International Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.We love Vancouver’s atmosphere, good public transportation, and lively nightlife, but don’t take our word for it: It was ranked the seventh most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2025. That was the highest ranking of any city in the Americas. The fact that Vancouver shares a time zone with Los Angeles just makes everything easier. 

5. AUSTIN, TEXAS 

Like local hero Richard Linklater, Austin seems capable of doing anything and making it look easy. Its recent productions include the DIY horror film Texas Cult House, the true-crime phenomenon The Yogurt Shop Murders, and Linklater’s Broadway adaptation Merrily We Roll Along, which he’s shooting over the next two decades. It may be the best city of all for festivals — including SXSW, the Austin Film Festival, and the TV-focused ATX. One of its best attributes is Austin Studios, a 20-acre complex that operates out of the former Robert Mueller Municipal Airport and boasts more than 200,000 square feet of production space. It’s operated by the city in partnership with the Austin Film Society. The region has more than 1,000 crew members and many great film programs, including the top-tier University of Texas at Austin, one of our Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. Austin also benefits from the previously noted Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, which offers a grant rebate of up to 31%. And you’ve probably heard, many times, that Austin has some of the best food, music and nightlife anywhere in the world.

4. CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA 

Calgary’s thriving film scene has helped drive growth up north for years, and recently enjoyed a major upswing in location-scouting requests. The city has plenty to offer: Its varied, affordable locations range from downtown cityscapes to stunning prairies, badlands and the Rockies. Recent productions have included Netflix’s My Life With the Walter Boys, MGM’s Billy the Kid, the long-running Canadian family drama Heartland, and the USA Network's new national-park thriller Anna Pigeon. It’s a beautiful place, especially when you need snow, and it also makes financial sense: The Alberta Film and Television Tax Credit provides a rolling 22%-30% refund for all expenses in film and television projects. The credits can also be stacked with a Canadian federal tax credit that can bring the effective refund to 35% or more. Additionally, Alberta also has no provincial sales tax. The city is known for capable, experienced crews, and is home to two beloved festivals, the Calgary International Film Festival and the Calgary Underground Film Festival. 

3. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 

Chicago has seen steady growth in recent years, thanks in part to reliable paychecks coming from TV shows including The Bear, Chicago Med, Chicago PD, Chicago Fire, and more. Its many very competitive incentive offerings include up to a 30% credit on qualified Illinois production spending and a 30% credit on Illinois salaries, up to $500,000 per worker, in certain positions. Chicago also offers a vast range of locations, from the iconic Chicago skyline to the shores of Lake Michigan to historic neighborhoods, and you’re not far from prairies and farmland. Equipment rental houses and post facilities abound — this is one of the world’s great cities. But for all its epic sweep, Chicago offers human-scale, and a cost of living that’s only slightly above the U.S. average, striking for such a metropolis. Its great educational institutions include Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, and Northwestern. Yes, it gets cold and windy, but that’s a good thing — it weeds out people who lack grit and character, and makes the summers all the sweeter.

2. ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 

Watch Vince Gilligan’s new Apple TV+ show Pluribus for a great sense of Albuquerque’s versatility: The city not only doubles for other locations, but also shines when it’s playing itself, whether star Rhea Seehorn is walking through its charming airport (two words that don’t usually go together) or freaking out in her killer-view neighborhood, which the city cleared the way to allow Pluribus to build. After basing two of the best TV shows ever in Albuquerque — Breaking Bad and Better Call Saul — you might think Gilligan would try somewhere else, especially since he’s not a local and is working with a big Apple budget. But when something works, it works — and Albuquerque works. Other recent projects to shoot locally include the Duffer brothers’ Stranger Things follow-up, Netflix’s The Boroughs, the pilot for Disney’s Holes, with Greg Kinnear and Aidy Bryant, and Lone Wolf, with Lily Gladstone and returning Breaking Bad star Bryan Cranston. Both Netflix and NBCUniversal have made massive commitments to keep making projects in Albuquerque for the next few years, and New Mexico’s tax incentives range from 25 to 40%. Albuquerque also provides Local Economic Development Act funds for qualified production facility builds, which is one reason Albuquerque is home to Netflix Studios Albuquerque. Film commissioner Cyndy McCrossen, whose family ties go back generations, is fantastic at helping productions of all sizes find the perfect place to shoot. Finally, New Mexico’s cost of living is below the national average, meaning you can actually afford to make a life in the Land of Enchantment. 

1. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA  

Los Angeles just barely beat Toronto in a seven-game World Series, but Toronto is also giving L.A. a serious challenge when it comes to production. Among the shows shooting in Canada’s largest city are Prime Video’s The Boys, NBC’s Brilliant Minds, Peacock’s Copenhagen Test, AMC’s Interview With the Vampire, Hulu’s The Testaments, Prime’s Reacher, Netflix’s Something Very Bad Is Going to Happen, and Paramount+’s Star Trek shows Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds. Recent films to shoot in Toronto include Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein, 100 Sunset, Blood Lines, Dinner With Friends, and Nika & Madison, all of which also played at the Toronto International Film Festival, one of the most influential fests in the world. Toronto’s crews, post-production facilities, and equipment rental houses are plentiful and top-tier, and robust tax incentives make Toronto a natural choice for both Canadian and international productions. The federal tax credits are stackable with Ontario’s provincial tax credits, and all are substantial. The Canadian Film or Video Production Tax Credit provides eligible Canadian productions with a fully refundable tax credit, available at a rate of 25% of qualified Canadian labor costs, while the Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit provides eligible production corporations, including international productions, with a 16% tax credit on qualified Canadian labor expenditures. The Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit is typically calculated as 35% of eligible Ontario labor costs for a qualifying production company, but international productions may opt for the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit, which is calculated as 21.5% of all qualifying production expenditures incurred in Ontario. Toronto is a city to delight your cast, your crew, and whoever does your accounting. It’s a thriving, vibrant city of roughly 3 million with more than 2 million square feet of studio space. It employs 35,000 industry professionals, and its many impressive film programs include the Toronto Film School — one of our 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. 

THE BEST PLACES TO LIVE AND WORK AS A MOVIEMAKER: SMALLER CITIES AND TOWNS

10. ASHLAND, OREGON 

Known for awe-inspiring trees and the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Ashland welcomes a wide range of productions from Bruce Campbell’s Ernie & Emma to indie shorts to documentaries to stop-motion animation projects. Oregon’s incentives include a 25% rebate on goods and services and a 20% rebate on labor, and they go up to 27.5% and 22%, respectively, for projects that shoot primarily outside of the Portland area, including in Ashland. There are no fees to film in state parks, and there’s no state sales tax. Additionally, the state recently approved $40 million in capital construction funds for a new Creative Industries Complex to be built in Ashland on the campus of Southern Oregon University, which is on our list of the Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. It will include a new sound stage, digital design labs, and a large screening room, all of which will be available to local filmmakers. 

9. ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA 

Known for beaches and year-round sunshine, St. Pete is an arts-loving town that embraces a vast range of film and TV projects: Recent features include Tyler Cornack’s new indie Mermaid, which premiered to acclaim at SXSW and juxtaposes St. Pete’s pastel beauty with dark comedy, and Hats Off to Love, a Hallmark Channel movie starring Holly Robinson Peete and Ginna Claire Mason. The vibe is laid back, film permit fees are non-existent, and the many arts institutions include the Dali Museum. If this sounds expensive, it’s not: St. Pete’s cost of living is barely above the national average. Though Florida has no statewide film incentives, the St. Pete-Clearwater Film Commission offers a regional cash rebate incentive program that includes a 10-20% cash rebate on qualified expenditures  with a local spend of at least $100,000. There are some caveats, including that the project must positively portray local locations. 

8. KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 

Nestled about an hour from the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville offers a lower cost of living than the national average and the kind of stunning natural beauty you can’t put a price on. You can film in plenty of gorgeous local locations for free, including the tranquil Augusta Quarry, World’s Fair Park downtown, and the charming Market Square and Gay Street, both of which have several buildings that lend themselves to period stories. Tennessee offers a cash rebate in the form of a 25% grant for projects with a qualified spend of at least $500,000, and Knoxville offers a film incentive of 5% of a film’s budget for productions inside Knox County. Recent films include director Paula Kay Hornick’s indie My Mayfly, and TV shows to shoot locally include 9-1-1: Nashville. Knoxville also draws a big basket of reality shows, including TV One’s Fatal Attraction, Oxygen’s Snapped, and ID Channel’s American Detective. Knoxville is also home to the Film Fest Knox, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. It partners with the Knoxville-based Regal Cinemas chain.

7. SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 

When you see the famous Georgia peach in the end credits, odds are good you’ve just seen some beautiful locations. Savannah is known for some of the loveliest architecture in the world, enchanting green spaces, and dreamy Spanish moss, all of which add flavor to productions ranging from Netflix’s Sweet Magnolias to the upcoming Michael Peña, Will Ferrell and Zac Ephron comedy Judgment Day. Though many comic-book projects have left Georgia, Savannah welcomed the second season of James Gunn’s Peacemaker, and it’s never bad to be on the good side of the co-CEO of DC Studios. Savannah also has a huge advantage as the home of the Savannah College of Art and Design, one of our Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. SCAD produces a steady stream of new industry professionals, opens its substantial backlot to productions that enlist SCAD students, and hosts the annual SCAD Savannah Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and 25 Coolest Film Festivals. Georgia’s impressive state tax incentive includes a 20% base transferable tax credit and a 10% uplift for including that peach logo. The cost of living in Savannah is somehow lower than the U.S. average, which is amazing when you consider its good weather, agreeable work-life balance, and boundless charm.

6. LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO 

New Mexico’s second-largest city offers some of the best incentives you’ll find anywhere: In addition to the state’s minimum base credit of 25%, filmmakers shooting outside Albuquerque and Santa Fe get a 10% uplift that can be combined with other uplifts for up to 40% credit. New Mexico and local partners are committed to expanding Las Cruces’ film footprint, including with a new $21 million studio and soundstage facility located at Arrowhead Park. Recent local projects include the Milla Jovovich action-thriller Protector, Dead Letters starring Margo Martindale and Cole Sprouse, and Night Driver, which stars Josh Lucas, Alyssa Milano and David Arquette and is executive produced by Sean S. Cunningham, best known for the Friday the 13th franchise. Notable locations include the colorful Rio Grande Theatre, which turns 100 this year, and Las Cruces can double for locations as varied as Los Angeles and the Middle East. It is also close to the inimitable White Sands National Park and the Organ Mountains-Desert Peaks National Monument, which includes picturesque mountains, rugged canyons and caves, and a slot canyon. As we mentioned in our El Paso entry, the Texas city shares close ties with Las Cruces. It’s not uncommon for people to travel frequently between the two and for their respective film scenes to overlap. 

5. SANTA CLARITA, CALIFORNIA 

About 30 miles from downtown Los Angeles, Santa Clarita is home to more than 60 sound stages and seven movie ranches, including the 240-acre Santa Clarita Movie Ranch, which offers an array of sets ranging from a Western town to Mexican and Middle Eastern villages to a classic diner and log cabin. But Santa Clarita can also stand in for Anytown, USA with its sedate residential streets and 40 city parks. It has welcomed productions including Paradise, N.C.I.S., Doctor Odyssey, S.W.A.T., Sugar, 9-1-1, and Beef. It’s also home tothe California Institute of the Arts, one of our Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. And since it’s in Los Angeles County, it’s convenient for when you need to drive south for in-person industry meetings. California offers a 35% tax credit for most productions, with uplifts, and funding is capped at a whopping $750 million annually.

4. KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Located 200 miles inland from Vancouver, with even more impressive tax incentives, Kamloops offers wondrous natural beauty, from waterfalls to forests to deserts to snowy mountaintops — and the Thompson-Nicola Film Commission is happy to be your guide. Priding itself on fast and friendly support, the commission can also walk you through those incentives, which can climb as high as 58.5%. Recent projects to shoot in the region include The Last of Us and Netflix’s Untamed. The film commission has more than 3,000 film-friendly locations in its database, and if you’re wondering where something was filmed, you can visit the commission’s helpful Movie Locations Map, which shows you the exact local locations of projects from Jurassic World Dominion to Maze Runner: The Death Cure to The X Files to The Sweet Hereafter to ads for your favorite energy drink. The Kamloops Film Society holds five film festivals annually — including the Main Kam Film Fest, Indigenous Film Fest, Cineloops French Film Fest, Black Film Fest and Queer Film Fest.

3. PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

The smallest state has landed some very big productions lately, including M. Night Shyamalan’s psychological thriller Remain, JJ Abrams’ sci-fi film Ghostwriter, and two projects from Leonardo DiCaprio’s production company, Appian Way: the Hayden Panettiere thriller Sleepwaker, and the documentary The Real Rod Serling about the Twilight Zone mastermind. The latter two films are co-productions with local film powerhouse Verdi Productions. And you know a place has arrived when it gets a Real Housewives franchise: The Real Housewives of Rhode Island debuts this year. Rhode Island offers a 30% transferable tax credit that includes above the line, and proudly proclaims that every $1 in tax credits brings $5.44 in economic activity to the state. The home of the Farrelly Brothers is very film friendly, with a professional and experienced crew base. And Providence is very close to lovely beaches and to Boston, one of the big cities on this list. 

2. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 

At a time when much of the industry is struggling, Fort Lauderdale has reported an increase in films and TV expenditures for the last several years. Its glamour, beaches and year-round sunshine draw a wide range of productions, from features to TV shows like Peacock’s M.I.A. and ABC’s RJ Decker. Reality shows abound, from House Hunters to 90 Day Fiance: Happily Ever After?, and there’s no shortage of commercial work for major brands. You’ll also see influencers or aspiring influencers every time you walk along the New River, sometimes dubbed the Venice of America. And if you don’t see any TikTok stars, you can at least distract yourself with the sight of some stupendous yachts. Broward County’s leadership is strongly committed to production, offering up to 30% in rebates, and the county also offers a $10,000 Emerging Filmmakers Grant to support resident filmmakers on the rise. The region is diverse in terms of both people and locations — from downtown skyscrapers to inviting beaches to the sprawling everglades to houses that look like they could be in the Northeast. The Greater Fort Lauderdale Film Commission, aka Film Lauderdale, offers attentive, round-the-clock help for filmmakers, and commissioner Sandy Lighterman also leads Film Florida, the nonprofit devoted to building a more robust and retentive film industry in the Sunshine State. Fort Lauderdale is a driving force in Florida’s achievements: Its film scene often overlaps with that of Miami, just 15 minutes away, as well as other South Florida coastal communities. 

1. SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 

Santa Fe is a quiet getaway for many Hollywood luminaries who like the privacy they’re granted in this arts-focused town of under 100,000. They get to avoid the Los Angeles and New York City crowds, but still benefit from an impressive industry presence. In recent months Santa Fe has welcomed productions including AMC’s Dark Winds, Netflix’s Ransom Canyon, Amazon’s Joseph of Egypt and Apple’s The Lost Bus, starring Matthew McConaughey and America Ferrera. Santa Fe’s unflappable film commissioner, Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, can look out at the town’s rooftops and tell you the story of seemingly every downtown building. She’s also happy to tell you where to get a helicopter or trained buffalo for your production. If Santa Fe doesn’t have what you need, she’ll happily point you toward a community that does, whether its Albuquerque, Las Cruces, or Las Vegas (the one in New Mexico). But the odds are good that Santa Fe has it. In addition to the Bonanza Creek and the Mortenson’s Eaves movie ranches, it offers two 19,125-square foot sound stages at Santa Fe Studios, and northern New Mexico’s largest studio space, Aspect Media Village, which has six soundstages totaling 75,000 square feet, as well as apartments, office space, yoga, electric car charging, and more. Santa Fe’s costs are above the national average, but so is the quality of life: Locals love the endless hiking trails, skiing, and countless options for foodies. The Oscar-qualifying Santa Fe International Film Festival unifies the New Mexico film scene each year by bringing together both international award contenders and locally rooted indies, including many from Indigenous filmmakers. You can spend your free time riding the Sky Railway train line featured in Oppenheimer, watching new and classic films at the Jean Cocteau Cinema, or browsing the aisles at Beastly Books, all of which are owned by locally based Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin. The Sky Railway is co-owned by Bill Banowsky, an entrepreneur and filmmaker who also owns the Sky Cinemas, including a new state-of-the-art location at Aspect Media Village. And you’re already aware of the New Mexico tax incentives from our Albuquerque and Las Cruces entries, but let’s mention the ones specific to Santa Fe: Productions are eligible for up to 35% in refundable tax credits within the town. This is Santa Fe’s fourth consecutive year at the top of our list of Smaller Cities and Towns on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker.

Main image: A free outdoor screening during the Toronto International Film Festival in the top big city on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2026. Photo courtesy of TIFF

That said, we believe the best places to live and work as a moviemaker are places where you will actually make movies: Your ideal city or town will have a large enough industry presence that you can get a day job there that is at least industry-adjacent, but that allows you enough time and headspace to make personal projects you love.

We also believe people make a place. The best places to live and work as a moviemaker are places where you have lots of friends around who will help you make movies, in return for you helping them make their movies. Maybe that’s New York or L.A., which are magnets for brave, creative people. But you may be better off in a tiny town where you make things every weekend than in a big city where you know no almost no one, and struggle so much financially that you never work on your films.

Also Read: How to Help Los Angeles Firefighters and Evacuees

And we strongly believe that if your work is good enough, especially in an age when you can promote yourself from anywhere, Hollywood will find you, and let you know when your physical presence is required. You can’t control the economy, disasters, shifting technology, or macro-level decisions by studios or their investors. You can only control what you make with people you love.

We hope this list will help you find the best place for you to do that. It takes into account everything from tax incentives to industry presence to cost of living to proximity to other film scenes, as well as to nearby schools and festivals. Maybe you won’t want to move to certain places because of their politics or laws. Or maybe you do want to move to certain places to help change their politics or laws. That’s up to you.   

Finally, we aren’t saying you should just up and move. If a place intrigues you, maybe shoot a short film there, and see if it feels like a potential home. No location on this list will be right for  everyone, but we bet at least one place will be right for you.

So with that, here’s our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2025.

BEST BIG CITIES

25. OTTAWA, ONTARIO,  CANADA 

A new addition to our list, Canada’s capital city has a picturesque beauty that may photograph best under a blanket of snow: It is often used in Hallmark Christmas movies, and romances and holiday films are especially in love with the sight of the fairytale-castle-like Fairmont Chateau Laurier. But Ottawa has locations for any kind of film — the Diefenbunker, a Cold War museum just outside the city, offers steel doors and tunnels perfect for sci-fi. The financials are also very favorable: The provincial tax credits include 35% of the eligible Ontario labor expenditures for qualifying productions, plus an additional 10% for locations, like Ottawa, outside of the Greater Toronto Area. Other incentives include a refundable tax credit of 21.5% on eligible production costs, which can be combined with the federal Film or Video Production Services Tax Credit of 16% of eligible Canadian labor costs. Ottawa is also affordable, with an active crew base, and the many post houses include Affinity Production Group, Phantom Productions, Aspen Films, Nyce Image Productions, and Cloud in the Sky Studios.

24. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA  

Sunny and pretty Charlotte has a fun downtown, natural beauty and convenient locations that have doubled for everywhere from New York City to far-off jungles and deserts. Its own one-of-a-kind locations include the Charlotte Motor Speedway and the U.S. National Whitewater Center. Recent productions have included the Starz series The Hunting Wives and the feature Roofman,starring Channing Tatum and Kirsten Dunst. There’s no fee to shoot on state-owned property in North Carolina, and the tax incentives include the NC Film and Entertainment Grant, which provides a 25% return on goods, services, and labor. The region also offers a large crew base, and notable cinemas include the Independent Picture House, a great place for indies and foreign films. With an average cost of living, Charlotte is known for convenience and comfort. 

23. KANSAS, CITY, MISSOURI 

Kansas City is reaping the benefits of a recent state film incentive, welcoming projects that range from a new HGTV home renovation series to Hallmark’s highly anticipated NFL tale Holiday Touchdown: A Chiefs Love Story. It has also hosted indie features like the recent Rise & Shine, The Possession of Gladstone Manor, Break the Cycle, 25 Miles to Normal, and Don’t Move, plus a slew of commercials. Missouri now offers a 20%-42% transferable tax credit on all qualified spend, from an annual fund of $16 million, split evenly between TV and film. Additionally, KC offers its own 10% cash rebate on all qualified spending in town. No permits are required to film, and the Kansas City Film Office works hard to make road closures and traffic control easy, should you require them. The many locations that call out to be filmed range from jazz bars to caves. And the city’s beloved festivals include Panic Fest, recently named one of our 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. KC’s cost of living is below average, and between experienced crews and lots of return business, it is making a name for itself as a Midwestern film hub on the rise.

22. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 

Production in Salt Lake City is going strong, thanks in part to a tight-knit, supportive DIY film community, lots of commercial work, and big-ticket projects including the religious drama The Chosen and Amazon Prime’s Fallout. Filmmakers of the world come each year to Salt Lake City and nearby Park City for Sundance, and if they’re lucky, they also spend time afterward exploring Utah’s stunning national parks, and locales from mountains to deserts. It’s one of our most gorgeous states, and adding to its appeal is Utah’s Motion Picture Incentive Program, which offers up to a 25% post-performance incentive, including a cash rebate or refundable tax credit. There’s also the Community Film Incentive Program, a 20% post-performance cash rebate specifically for projects that originate in Utah with budgets between $100,000 and $500,000. 

21. EL PASO, TEXAS

When we think about affordable, livable cities where you can find a niche among like-minded filmmakers, helping each other get things made, El Paso is one of the first cities that comes to mind. Besides gorgeous mountain views and terrific museums, it emanates cool, and culture. Sharing a border with Ciudad Juárez ensures that this West Texas city is filled with stories (as well as some of the best Mexican food in America). It also shares much culturally with Las Cruces, New Mexico, which appears soon on our list of our top Smaller Cities and Towns. Recent productions to shoot in El Paso include Paul Thomas Anderson’s upcoming film, The Battle of Baktan Cross, which is, for our money, as good as it gets. Other local shoots have included the features Mechanics of Borders and Look in My Eyes. The thriving, passionate film scene is anchored by the El Paso Film Festival, one of MovieMaker’s 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, as well as one of our 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. And local filmmakers include the festival’s artistic director, Carlos F. Corral, whose MindWarp Films has worked with companies from Apple to Netflix. And the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program offers a state production incentive of up to 22.5%. 

20. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 

The home of the Alamo has had a bonanza of recent productions, from commercials to documentaries to reality shows to the ever-reliable Taylor Sheridan’s 1923. The Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program,  mentioned above, recently received $200 million in funding, and on top of that 22.5% cash rebate, San Antonio offers an additional rebate of up to 7.5%. Known as the largest U.S. city with a majority Latino population, 306-year-old San Antonio benefits from hardworking, efficient crews that are quickly growing in numbers. Less expensive than the average U.S. city, it’s packed with character and culture, as well as a very wide range of locations: rolling Hill Country, Spanish Colonial missions from the 1700s, dude ranches, dance halls, rivers and lakes, flat farmland, dense urban streets, and just about anything else you might need, with no film permit fees for more than 250 city-owned properties — including iconic locales like the River Walk, Historic Market Square and La Villita Historic Arts Village. The city is also a mere 80 miles from Austin, Texas’ biggest film hub. 

19. FORT WORTH, TEXAS 

The aforementioned Taylor Sheridan is keeping a lot of industry people busy in the Fort Worth area with an empire of shows that includes the Paramount+ dramas Yellowstone, Lioness, and his new Landman, starring Billy Bob Thornton, Jon Hamm and Demi Moore. Fort Worth, like the previous two cities on this list, benefits from the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program’s 22.5% cash rebate for qualifying productions. And the city offers the You Stay We Pay Hotel Rebate, which gives $5 back for each hotel room night if you book 500 total nights. With very little red tape around the filmmaking process, there’s a strong crew base in Fort Worth, and no permits are necessary for filming exterior B-roll as long as you don’t block the right-of-way. In fact, the only time you need a permit in Fort Worth is when you’re closing down a street or sidewalk — otherwise, you can just deal directly with the property owner. Fort Worth also offers a 127 by 24 foot Volume stage at Trilogy Studios — everything’s bigger in Texas. The local festivals include the Lone Star Film Festival. 

18. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS  

It’s not hard for us to find great things to say about Boston — MovieMaker’s editor and publisher both live just outside the city, and can attest that its thriving film scene extends far across the state, from the campuses of nearby Cambridge to the shores of tranquil Cape Cod. We love it here, and so do filmmakers: Recent productions include the TV series The Walking Dead: Dead City and the feature At The Sea, starring Amy Adams. In addition to one-of-a-kind architecture in one of America’s oldest cities, Boston offers four vivid seasons — fall is when it most thrives — and incentives that include a 25% payroll credit and 25% production credit, as well as a sales tax exemption. The Boston area has a deep, experienced crew base and is known for a no-fuss approach, and local filmmakers are close-knit and happy to pitch in on each other’s films. We’re also pretty confident that local guys Matt Damon and Ben Affleck will continue to champion the Boston scene by setting a movie here every year or so through their company Artists Equity — as they did with the recent Apple TV+ film The Instigators, starring Damon and Casey Affleck. We also love many Massachusetts films festivals, including the genre-focused Boston Underground Film Festival and the inspiring Provincetown International Film Festival, and you’ll find bountiful repertory screenings alongside new releases at movie palaces like the Coolidge Corner Theater and the Somerville Theatre. And Boston is just 50 miles to another city you’ll read about in our Smaller Cities and Towns section — charming Providence, Rhode Island. 

17. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA 

The Steel City can easily stand in for other places and even other time periods with its historic buildings, three rivers, beautiful bridges, and the nearby Allegheny mountains. Perhaps most famously, it served as parts of Christopher Nolan’s Gotham, and more recently it has been the backdrop for Paramount+’s Mayor of Kingstown,starring Jeremy Renner. But Pittsburgh also has a character and storied history all its own. The city has a steady film and TV business thanks to hardworking, professional crews and incentives that include a 25% tax credit, with an additional 5% credit available for qualifying national productions filmed in certain local locations. The Pittsburgh Film Office has also backed a workforce development program called Create PA dedicated to diversifying behind-the-camera crew members and mentoring members of underrepresented communities. Permitting and location scouting are relatively simple, and fee-free locations include dramatic government buildings, scenic bridges, historic mansions, blast furnaces, and the Mount Washington overlook, which provides a sweeping view of the city’s impressive skyline. Pittsburgh and its surroundings also offer tranquil natural beauty. And aspiring filmmakers can learn their craft at many top-notch schools, including Carnegie Mellon University, which offers one of the best acting programs in the United States.

16. CLEVELAND, OHIO 

The Man of Steel himself recently touched down in Cleveland, where James Gunn partially filmed his upcoming Superman movie from DC Studios. Ohio is going strong, too, offering $75 million in tax incentives per year, including a 30% rebate with no minimum number of shoot days to qualify. Cleveland’s crew base is large, hardworking and experienced, and Cleveland’s  unique natural and historical filming locations include Lake Erie, the Victorian-era landmark the Cleveland Arcade, Cedar Point amusement park, and Squire’s Castle, an 1890s gatehouse inspired by  English and German baronial castles. The city’s crowd-pleasing Cleveland International Film Festival turns up regularly on our list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, and Ohio’s second-largest city is also home to distribution company Gravitas Ventures, which recently acquired locally made production Escaping Ohio, directed by Jessica Michael Davis, who is from nearby Akron. We’re very proud to support the film through MovieMaker Production Services.

15. TULSA, OKLAHOMA 

Known for its Route 66 attractions, status as the birthplace of Leon Russell and JJ Cale’s “Tulsa sound,” and influence as a center of Native American arts and culture, Tulsa is also having a big moment as a film and TV hub: Besides serving as the homebase for Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, it recently hosted Amazon’s Sarah’s Oil and the Paramount+’s Sylvester Stallone series Tulsa King. Tulsa also provided many locations for Taika Waititi and Oklahoma local Sterlin Harjo’s FX series Reservation Dogs. Getting film permits is simple, and films approved for the Filmed in Oklahoma Act can receive a rebate of 20-30%. And near Tulsa, the ​​Cherokee Film Incentive provides $1 million annually for productions filmed within the Cherokee Nation. The Cherokee Film Institute, meanwhile, offers courses on best practices for filming on tribal lands. The local crews include both industry veterans and rising talents drawn to the flurry of recent filmmaking in the region. Local theaters include the Circle Cinema, host of the Circle Cinema Film Festival.

14. PORTLAND, OREGON 

Portland offers a blend of beauty and flexibility — both the ocean and mountains are close drives away, and parts of the city can easily double as New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco and a host of other cities. Residents’ emphasis on good food and good living also make it a pleasant place to decompress from industry stress, though it has its share of key players, including David Cress, producer of Nathan Fielder’s The Rehearsal, Portlandia actress and Sleater-Kinney band member Carrie Brownstein, and Good Will Hunting director Gus Van Sant. Recent local productions have included Amazon Studios’ Criminal and Netflix’s The Night Always Comes, and tax incentives include a potential 25% rebate with a $20 million cap per year. The city also has plentiful warehouse space that can be used as sound stages and a sizable, experienced crew base accustomed to film, TV and commercial work. Though it’s very modern, it also has a strong respect for analog culture, from the revered Powell’s Books to many record and comic-book stores to local movie houses like The Hollywood Theatre to the well-stocked video store Movie Madness. Prominent local film festivals include the constantly innovating Portland Festival of Cinema, Animation & Technology.

13. OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA 

Having recently served as the location for the summer 2024 blockbuster Twisters, Oklahoma City — like Tulsa 100 miles to the northeast — is riding high. From the beautiful Scissortail Park in the heart of downtown to historic Film Row — home to major Hollywood film studios in the 1940s — to the Oklahoma River and Skydance Bridge, there are a wealth of cityscapes and landscapes to go around. The area also includes attractive state tax incentives like Oklahoma’s 20-30% cash rebate and an additional local incentive of 5-10% that can be stacked on top. The local Oklahoma City Film and Creative Industries Office works with the city to turn around permits in a matter of days, making it easy to do business here. The city is also home to 600 crew members, making up 30% of the state’s crew base as a whole. Additionally, Oklahoma City Community College has a very affordable program that is on our latest list of the 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada in 2024. The city’s post facilities include the excellent Apex Post.

12. HOUSTON, TEXAS 

The fourth-largest city in America — and biggest in Texas — has welcomed a large influx of film and TV professionals from Los Angeles, New York and Chicago, strengthening its crew base and industry presence all around. Houstonians old and new benefit from its affordability — it has the lowest cost of living of the four biggest cities— and from its diversity in every sense. The region offers striking locations in every direction, from piney woods to green farmland where cattle graze to the nearby Gulf of Mexico. The aformentioned Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program offers a 22.5% rebate, and recent local productions include movies like 40 Dates and Charliebird and shows like Netflix’s Mo. The city known for innovation keeps growing, and the Houston Film Commission emphasizes that all are welcome — it vows that when you film in Houston, you’ll arrive a visitor and leave a local. 

11. CINCINNATI, OHIO 

Cincinnati got a boost in its cinematic reputation last year when Sundance named it as one of three finalists to be the prestigious festival’s new home. (The other options are moving to Boulder, Colorado or staying put in Park City, Utah.) But people in the know have recognized Cincinnati as a film hub in good standing for many years. Film Cincinnati notes that the number of crews has nearly tripled in the last five years, and that members of the local film and TV industry have pulled together through trying times for the industry at large to share opportunities. The city can crew  two major features simultaneously, and even has a deep nonunion crew for commercial and TV work. Recent productions have included the new David Gordon Green holiday comedy The Nutcrackers, starring Ben Stiller, as well as Barry Levinson’s upcoming gangster movie, Alto Knights, starring Robert DeNiro. It’s also just across the river from Kentucky, where film production is very much on the rise. Filmmakers can straddle Ohio and Kentucky to capture both Midwestern and Southern flavors. Ohio has the added benefit of a 30% refundable tax credit, for above or below the line, and the city’s cost of living is lower than the U.S. average. Local festivals include the Over the Rhine Film Festival, led by people from the local disabled community. And soon Sundance may join the local festival list.

10. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA 

Philadelphia is many a cinephile’s sentimental favorite thanks to the Rocky — and now Creed — franchise. It offers a state tax credit of up to 30% and there’s little or no cost to shoot on most public properties. It offers a wide range of locations, from Revolutionary War-era homes right in the middle of the city to enclaves like the Golden Block, Italian Market, and Chinatown, and some of the greatest museums in the country, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Its cost of living is close to the national average. But its not-so-secret weapon is its location: It’s close enough to New York City that you can take occasional jobs there, and also a fairly short Amtrak away to Baltimore and Washington, D.C. Recent projects shot locally include Ridley Scott’s Apple TV+ series Sinking Spring. Local film festivals include Blackstar, a regular on our annual list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. 

9. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA 

Long the go-to West Coast alternative for film and TV projects that were priced out of Los Angeles, Vancouver has come into its own as a film hub that is many filmmakers’ first choice. Recent film and TV projects include HBO’s The Last of Us, Netflix’s Black Mirror, and Showtime’s Yellowjackets. It’s gorgeous and very livable — Vancouver was ranked the seventh most liveable city in the world by the Economist Intelligence Unit in 2024 — and it offers an efficient and convenient public transit system, fun nightlife, and a downtown you’ll love exploring. You can also revel in locations ranging from the cobblestones of Gastown to the rain forest of Stanley Park to the Coliseum-inspired Vancouver Public Library. Local film incentives include a basic tax credit of 28% for international projects and 35% for Canadian projects. Filmmakers can also apply for other boosts including the DAVE (Digital, Animation, Visual Effects & Post Production) credit, which can be as high as 16%. Vancouver is also a great place to start out in the industry: The many film programs include the Vancouver Film School, which is on our latest list of the 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada, and the Centre for Digital Media. 

8. AUSTIN, TEXAS 

One of the most important places on earth for indie cinema, the home of SXSW and the Austin Film Festival isn’t resting on its laurels: Recent productions that have filmed locally include 1923, Walker, and local hero Richard Linklater’s epic 20-year-long shoot Merrily We Roll Along. Besides excellent food, especially if you like barbecue, it offers scenery that ranges from cityscapes to Lady Bird Lake to rolling hills to Austin’s iconically weird-in-the-good way atmosphere. The nightlife scene is second to none, but it’s also a lovely place to get up early and just go exploring. The same 22.5% rebate that applies in the rest of the Lone Star state is also of course available in the capital. And there’s a sales tax exemption for items rented or purchased for use in productions, a tax refund on hotel rooms used for more than 30 consecutive days, and refunds for taxes on generator fuel. The region has more than 1,000 crew members and boasts many schools with great film programs, including most notably the University of Texas at Austin, one of our 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. 

7. MIAMI, FLORIDA

Miami will always have a commanding industry presence thanks to gorgeous beaches and abundant sunshine, but the region isn’t coasting on its looks: Miami-Dade County has locked in business with the High Impact Film Fund Program, which offers a cash rebate of up to 20% for projects with a minimum spend of $5 million. The Miami-Dade County TV, Film and Entertainment Production Incentive Program, meanwhile, offers a 10% cash rebate to projects for budgets above $500,000. Both compensate for the lack of state film incentives. The local crew base is highly trained, and the permitting system is as breezy as a day at the beach. The region has recently served as the location for Bad Boys: Ride or Die, Netflix’s Pulse, and The Real Housewives of Miami, as well as music videos for Camila Cabello, Pitbull, and Bad Bunny. And it regularly hosts commercial shoots for a wide range of aspirational brands. Local film festivals include the American Black Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, and the beloved Miami Jewish Film Festival. 

6. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Filming your project in New Orleans inevitably adds depth and character to your story: It’s one of America’s most compelling, captivating and historic cities, with a uniquely complex mix of cultures and boundless character. If you like music, food or architecture — at all — you may want to stay forever. The many incentives include a 25% base credit and a 10% increase for Louisiana screenplay productions. (There’s also a 5% increase for shooting outside of the New Orleans Metro Statistical Area, but let’s focus on New Orleans for the moment.) Recent local projects include the Mayfair Witches and the upcoming sequels to Spinal Tap and Five Nights at Freddy’s. The rich film scene includes the New Orleans Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, as well as the highly respected genre-focused Overlook Film Festival. The crews are among the most experienced in the country, the film office makes permitting as easy as possible, and the post facilities include the aforementioned Apex Post.

5. CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA

We’re thrilled to welcome Calgary to the top five on our list of the best cities for moviemakers — though it’s used to ranking high on lists. Last year’s Economist Intelligence Unit’s Global Livability Index ranked it the No. 5 city overall, in the entire world, and the top city in the Americas. Calgary is rising fast as a production hub, hosting high-profile projects like The Last of Us and Fargo. It was recognized for the latter at the 2024 Location Managers Guild Awards, in the Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary TV Series category. Calgary is very welcoming toward filmmakers — even those looking to move there permanently. And its many attractions include a lovely and modern downtown that gives way to stunning natural beauty nearby, from prairies to badlands to the Rockies. The local 22% tax credit can go up to 30% when Alberta-based owners or producers are involved. As of 2024, the eligibility criteria for some of Calgary’s tax incentives were expanded to include some reality TV and game shows. The city is home to hearty crews who know how to perform in snowy conditions, and the great film festivals include the Calgary International Film Festival and the Calgary Underground Film Festival. 

4. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 

Remember when Albuquerque hosted Breaking Bad — a show that seemingly everyone in the industry was watching — and a lot of productions made the decision to move to New Mexico? The same thing seems to be happening now with Chicago and industry darling The Bear. But Chicago was thriving even before the arrival of FX’s awards magnet, thanks to productions including The Chi and Wolf Entertainment’s Chicago One franchise. Long one of America’s most vibrant and beloved cities, with a comedy and especially improv comedy history that is second to none, the city is going as strong as ever. It benefits from incentives that include a 30% credit on qualified production spending. And local schools with outstanding film programs include Columbia College Chicago and Northwestern University, both of which are on our list of the 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. The cost of living is just slightly above the U.S. average, and outside the city limits are picturesque farmland, charming small towns, and cozily pretty suburbs that John Hughes made famous. 

3. ATLANTA, GEORGIA 

Long a homebase of superhero epics from both Marvel and DC, as well as the home of Tyler Perry Studios, Atlanta has plenty of built-in business, buttressed by a 20% Georgia tax credit, which can be boosted another 10% for productions that use the state’s famous peach logo. Recent productions that have shot in the area include Cobra Kai, P-Valley, Marvel’s Thunderbolts and Akiva Schaffer’s upcoming update of The Naked Gun, starring Liam Neeson. The local crews are among the most professional and diverse in the business, with a shared commitment to excellence. Permitting is easy and conducted via Apply 4’s Filmapp, and you’ll have a wide range of gorgeous locations to film — and time to film them – thanks to Atlanta’s sumptuous green spaces and near-year-round sunshine. The outlook is sunny, too — there’s an optimism and energy to Atlanta that’s impossible to miss. The local film festivals include the Atlanta Film Festival, one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, and local schools include the magnificently curated Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design, which combines inspiring architecture with artwork by students and alums.

2. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA  

Canada’s largest city can feel in many ways like a film and TV industry utopia: In addition to hosting many of television’s most popular shows, from The Boys to the Star Trek franchise, it raises the curtain on many of the best films of the year with the annual Toronto International Film Festival, which invites film icons from around the world to explore its clean, bustling streets. But Toronto isn’t satisfied to merely produce great movies and television: The city works constantly to make the industry more innovative, green and inclusive. It offers power drops that allow productions to access clean energy from the city’s electrical grid — a move expected to cut roughly 400 tons of greenhouse gas emissions per year. It also provides training programs with a focus on welcoming underrepresented communities into the business. The city is the headquarters of the Black Screen Office, the Indigenous Screen Office, Disability Screen Office, The Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television and the Canadian Film Centre, as well as Amazon Studios Canada and Netflix Canada. Sound stages and post-production facilities abound, and the VFX, animation and virtual production sectors are thriving. The diverse city of 3 million employs 35,000 industry professionals who are among the best in the world, and Toronto can convincingly stand in for many other locations. (It is especially good at substituting for New York City, which it has done countless times.) Toronto’s many tax benefits include a 35% credit for all labor costs by eligible production companies and an enhanced credit rate of 40% on the first $240,000 for qualifying labor expenditures for first-time producers. Excellent equipment rental facilities include Sunbelt Rentals Film & TV (formerly known as William F. White International), and the impressive film programs include the Toronto Film School — one of our 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. Toronto has also produced some of our favorite filmmakers, including the fiercely original David Cronenberg.

1. ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO 

Albuquerque makes its triumphant return as the top big city on our list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker, a position it also held for four consecutive years from 2019 through 2022. But it was never far from the top of the list, thanks to its bustling production schedule, deep crew base, excellent tax credits, affordability, light traffic, abundant natural beauty, and — most of all — commitment to growing its film industry. It’s no wonder so many of the greatest filmmakers on earth are working in the Land of Enchantment: Recent local productions include Ari Aster’s Eddington, Ethan Coen and Tricia Cooke’s Honey Don’t, and a new Jordan Peele film. There’s also plenty of mystery and anticipation around Wycaro 339, the working title of a new project from Vince Gilligan, whose Breaking Bad helped spark the resurgence of New Mexico’s film and TV industry by showing all that the state has to offer. Truly diverse and culturally rich — especially if you love Native American art — Albuquerque leads a thriving New Mexico film industry that also includes Santa Fe and Las Cruces, both of which are coming up on our list of the Best Smaller Cities and Towns. Netflix and NBCUniversal are among major players that have made use of Albuquerque’s Local Economic Development Act money for ambitious studio builds that should keep the local industry presence strong for years to come. The maximum local tax credit is 35%, and there’s a 10% uplift for filming outside the major hubs of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, which — in a state with little traffic — means you could live in one of those hubs and work in a community outside of them. (You can easily commute between Santa Fe and Albuquerque.) But you can also find almost anything you need in the city: Albuquerque owns roughly 30,000 acres of open space for filming — including rocky foothills, pine forests and deserts — and film commissioner Cyndy McCrossen is masterful at helping filmmakers find their perfect location. The skilled crews can handle up to 12 productions at once, and are growing thanks in part to state-backed production assistant boot camps and IATSE Training Center workshops about everything from accounting to firearms to handling heavy equipment. As for quality of life, prepare for excellent Mexican food and a shot at home ownership: The median price of a home in New Mexico is about $370,000. And Los Angeles is a mere two-hour flight from the pleasant and convenient Albuquerque International Sunport, one of the only airports we’d describe as “pleasant and convenient.” Welcome back, ABQ, to the top spot on our Big Cities section of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. 

BEST SMALLER CITIES AND TOWNS

10. (TIE) MISSOULA, MONTANA 

Yellowstone is the one-word answer for why Missoula is thriving as an industry draw: It’s one of several Montana towns that have benefited from the Paramount+ hit’s move from Utah. Besides shooting office scenes aplenty in Helena, and the Dutton ranch in Darby, the show has also shot crucial scenes on the streets of Missoula and its now-famous Ruby’s Cafe. The Yellowstone offshoot 1923 also shoots locally, and regional crews have handled productions for everyone from Nat Geo to A24. The state makes itself even prettier with a 20% base incentive on expenditures, plus a 25% incentive for in-state crew and 15% incentive for out-of-state crew. As an added bonus, there’s no sales tax statewide. Missoula is home to the beloved Big Sky Documentary Film Festival, which holds the rare distinction of being one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World. In her testimonial for the latter list, filmmaker Hadley Austin noted, “you can go on a proper hike in Missoula by simply picking a direction and walking until the sidewalk leads to trails.” Missoula also has a special place in our hearts as the birthplace of the late, great David Lynch.

10. (TIE) KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA 

Returning to our list for the third year, Kamloops gets its name from an English translation of the Shuswap word for “where the rivers meet.” It’s increasingly also where filmmakers meet. Located 200 miles inland from Vancouver, Kamloops is in the gorgeous Thompson-Nicola region of British Columbia, home to an assortment of natural wonders, from waterfalls to grasslands to forests to deserts to snowy mountaintops, as well as ranches and ski resorts. The region has capitalized on its wide diversity of locations by also offering some of the most attractive tax incentives in the world — they can climb as high as 53.5%. Recent projects to take advantage of the many advantages include Nick Butler’s upcoming Lunar Sway and Jurassic World: Dominion. The local crew base is small but mighty, including many with decades of experience. The Kamloops Film Society holds five film festivals annually — the Main Kam Film Fest, Indigenous Film Fest, Cineloops French Film Fest, Black Film Fest and Queer Film Fest — and the Kamloops film offices are friendly and eager to support both local and visiting productions.

9. KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE 

Affordable and beautiful, Knoxville has served as the backdrop for shows like TV One’s Fatal Attraction and Tubi’s upcoming Famously Haunted: Hollywood. The state of Tennessee has a cash rebate of 25% and a qualified production credit that can offset up to 50% of franchise and excise tax liability. Additionally, the Visit Knoxville Film Office offers an incentive of up to 5% of a production’s total budget on certain projects. Filming is free at many very photogenic locations, including World’s Fair Park, Market Square, the Old City, Gay Street and Augusta Quarry. Knoxville is also home to the Regal Theaters chain, as well as Film Fest Knox. 

8. LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO 

Las Cruces is growing fast as a film scene, thanks in part to its affordability and some of the best film incentives in the country: Its 40% refundable tax credit includes a 5% uplift incentive for New Mexico productions shot outside of Albuquerque and Santa Fe. Its commitment to growth is also clear from the state’s recently announced $15 million studio and soundstage facility, the New Mexico Media Arts Collective, to be located at New Mexico State University’s Arrowhead Park. It will not only service incoming film productions, but also offer training in emerging technology. Recent productions shot in the region include Joe’s College Road Trip, starring and directed by Tyler Perry, and “Summer Machine,” from Santa Fe resident George R. R. Martin. In addition to unique locations that include stately mansions, inimitable adobe homes, and nearby White Sands National Park, Las Cruces can also stand in successfully for palm-tree-studded Los Angeles and many other cities. The region prides itself on quick turnarounds for film permitting, and Film Las Cruces offers guidance through the entire process — Las Cruces film liaison Andrew Jara is an accomplished indie filmmaker himself, and understands filmmakers’ needs. And as we mentioned in our El Paso entry, Las Cruces and El Paso are closely connected, so there’s a two-for-the-price-of-one benefit to living in either city.

7. ASHLAND, OREGON 

Stories ring out through the oak trees of Ashland, famous for the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. This lushly gorgeous, very charming town of about 21,000 has recently welcomed independent films including Ernie and Emma, Pelican and Backseat Driver, shorts like “In a Pickle,” and a soon-to-be-announced HBO feature documentary. The state tax incentives include a 25% cash rebate on goods and services and a 20% cash rebate on labor, and the rebates go up slightly for productions filmed outside of the Portland metropolitan area, including in Ashland. There’s no fee to film in Oregon state parks or any sales tax in the state. The local crew base is passionate, and local film schools include Southern Oregon University’s Digital Cinema program, one of our 30 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. Local festivals include the Ashland Independent Film Festival. 

6. ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA 

Sunny St. Petersburg is famed for its flawless beaches and inclusive art scene, which extends to an embrace of film and TV projects: free film permits, lively locations and almost year-round good weather are a magnet for productions from films to reality shows to commercials. The St. Pete-Clearwater Film Commission has also launched a strong solution to Florida’s lack of statewide film incentives. The local Screen Industry Incentive Program offers a 15% cash rebate on qualified expenditures in Pinellas County, which includes both St. Pete and nearby Clearwater. A project can also qualify for up to an additional 15% in uplift incentives. Local crews are professional and eager to work, and the commission offers a keyword-searchable online production guide to help filmmakers find crew and support services. Inspiration is all around, including at the Salvador Dalí Museum and four-acre Sunken Gardens botanical gardens. 

5. SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 

History drapes Savannah like Spanish moss from the trees, and filmmakers luxuriate in options thanks to locations that include beautiful squares, stately homes and the romantic sweep of nearby Tybee Island. It is not just part of American history, but film history, having hosted productions including Forrest Gump and Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, as well as the more recent May December. Every year its charms are on display at the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which attracts A-list talent who share advice with SCAD’s talented student filmmakers. Many of those students find that they can stay in town after graduation thanks to the thriving film scene, boosted by SCAD’s impressive Hollywood-style backlot. Georgia tax incentives include a 20% base transferable credit and an extra 10% for productions that use the Georgia peach logo. Local Savannah incentives include a 10% cash rebate, and there’s also a $25,000 bonus incentive for hiring 50% of the crew locally.

4. PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Known for its scrappy and vibrant arts scene, Providence is full of life — and the steady stream of students to the Rhode Island School of Design, Brown University, and Providence College nearby keep the scene fresh. So does a 30% transferable tax credit that includes above the line talent, and a low threshold of just $100,000 that allows small-budget productions to take advantage of the program.The Farrelly brothers have showcased their home state with many films shot around Providence, including Me, Myself & Irene and Dumb & Dumber, and recent productions include James L. Brooks’ Ella McCay. For bustling and artsy city streets, check out Thayer and Wickenden, and for an authentic Italian neighborhood — and some of the most delicious Italian restaurants around — head to Federal Hill. Rhode Island may be the smallest state in the nation, but it has a hardworking crew base and the community is extremely film friendly. And they don’t call it the Ocean State for nothing — not far from Providence are some of the most beautiful beaches in the world. You’re also just a short drive from Boston, which appears, of course, on our list of the best Big Cities for moviemakers. You can easily travel to shoots there.

3. WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA 

Wilmington just celebrated 40 years since producer Dino DeLaurentiis brought his 1984 horror thriller Firestarter to town and ignited Wilmington’s reputation as a Southern film powerhouse. Since then, in films from Blue Velvet to I Know What You Did Last Summer to The Black Phone to Halloween Kills, Wilmington has played up its wholesome Anytown U.S.A. charm — to be juxtaposed against spooky stories. But it’s not just about horror movies. Coming-of-age stories and romances like The Summer I Turned Pretty may be an even better fit for its many beloved beaches and historic Riverwalk. The city has built up a phenomenal crew base, some members of which go back two or three generations. It’s not at all uncommon for Hollywood productions to hire an almost all-local crew. Expertise abounds: Roughly 30 members of the Directors Guild of America call Wilmington home, including unit production managers and first and second assistant directors. The state keeps TV and film productions coming with a 25% rebate on qualifying expenses and purchases. Improbably, given its charm and beauty, Wilmington has a cost of living a bit below average. It’s also home of the collaborative and welcoming Cucalorus Film Festival, a regular on our list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee. 

2. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA 

Fort Lauderdale is a mere 30 miles from downtown Miami but has its own busy, star-studded film and TV scene: The long list of local productions includes the films How to Frame a Family, Hot Girl Winter, and Wish You Were Here (Julia Stiles’ directorial debut), as well as the telenovelas Vuelve a Mi and Sed de Veganza, and a slew of reality shows. Commercial work also abounds: Everyone wants to take advantage of the beaches and almost year-round sunshine. The region just announced a new state-of-the-art complex that is expected to include up to 200,000 square feet of sound stage space and add 1,000 jobs. The entertainment company Infinite Reality will be the primary tenant. Greater Fort Lauderdale film commissioner and Film Florida president Sandy Lighterman will be your guide to all things film and television in the region, offering detail-oriented support in every area of production. And Fort Lauderdale offsets Florida’s lack of statewide incentives by offering many of its own, including the High Impact Film & TV rebate of 20%, capped at $2 million, for productions spending at least $5 million in Broward County. It also offers a $10,000 grant for Broward County-based emerging filmmakers.

1. SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO 

Yes: Albuquerque is our top big city, and nearby Santa Fe leads our list of the top Smaller Cities and Towns. Santa Fe is a bit more expensive than Albuquerque — and the average U.S. city — but that’s pretty much its only drawback. It’s far more affordable than Los Angeles or New York City, and you’ll be hard-pressed to find another location with a better ratio of population — it has just 90,000 residents— to film and TV industry spend. The home of Oppenheimer has also recently hosted projects including The Lost Bus, Opus, Ransom Canyon, Eddington, Trap House, and Killing Faith. And the AMC series Dark Winds shoots in the Tesuque Pueblo’s Camel Rock Studios, a former casino converted into an Indigenous-owned film powerhouse. Other top-notch facilities in the region include Santa Fe Studios, with two 20,000 square-foot soundstages, and the indoor/outdoor offerings include the sprawling Bonanza Creek Ranch. Then there’s the tax credit of up to 35%. We recently attended the Santa Fe International Film Festival and were very impressed by the energy and optimism of local New Mexico filmmakers, as well as the low-key influence of the town’s many high-profile residents: Game of Thrones creator George R.R. Martin, for example. co-owns, with Magnolia Pictures founder Bill Banowsky, the Sky Railway train line, used in Oppenheimer, and owns the repertory-focused Jean Cocteau Cinema. The quality of life is also quite high: you’re surrounded by art and natural beauty, from mountains to deserts, and Santa Fe is a foodie paradise. As we mentioned in our Albuquerque entry, you can easily fly to Los Angeles for meetings. It tops our Smaller City section on the list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker for the third consecutive year.

Main image: Kamloops, British Columbia, Canada, one of our Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker in 2025. Courtesy of Thompson-Nicola Film Commission

Generally speaking, the best and most obvious places for filmmakers to live and work are Los Angeles and New York City. This is so obvious that years ago, we moved them to our Best Places Hall of Fame. We don’t feel like we even need to tell you how terrific they are in terms of their huge film and TV industry presence, endless networking opportunities, and full-hearted embrace of cinematic culture. 

We love them both. But can we make a suggestion?

Maybe don’t move to New York City or L.A. — at least not at the start of your career. And if you find yourself stagnating in either city, consider moving elsewhere — and not necessarily to the other city. We suggest another path. 

To that end, make sure your new home has a thriving film scene, in terms of festivals and tax incentives and truly indie, DIY filmmaking. Make friends. Make things. Do favors. Collect favors. Help shoot a friend’s short film one weekend so that they’ll help shoot yours next month. 

Expand your network as widely as you can. If you move to El Paso, Texas — which is joining our list of Big Cities for the first time — take advantage of all the resources not only in El Paso, but an hour away in Las Cruces, New Mexico — which is returning to our list of Smaller Cities and Towns.

If you live in Philadelphia — a constant presence on our list of Big Cities — recruit actors and other collaborators from New York City, or take the 70-minute Amtrak there as often as you can to work on big productions. (The quiet car is a great place for a nap.) 

It’s easy in New York and L.A. to get trapped in a cycle of doing industry-adjacent jobs that won’t lead to your dream projects, or that leave you too exhausted to make your own films as you endure a long commute and testy roommates. In a place like Albuquerque or Cleveland or Pittsburgh or Dallas, a good job will help you earn enough, in a few years, to buy a house for what you would pay for a one-bedroom in New York or Los Angeles. Imagine the benefits of shooting movies in your own backyard, with a team of reliable friends.

When you’ve made your breakthrough — when agents and managers and studio executives and fellow filmmakers start demanding regular face-to-face meetings — maybe that’s when it’s time to move to New York or Los Angeles. And once you’ve conquered the film world completely, you can keep a place in one or both of those Hall of Fame cities and spend the rest of your time wherever you like. 

All of which is a long way of welcoming you to our annual list of the Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker. 

Last year, like the pandemic years, was a time to reset, as much of the industry shut down so striking writers and actors could get the respect and money they deserve for their work. We suspect 2024 will be a better year for the industry as a whole, and every community on our list, since almost no one working in the film or TV industry had a great 2023.

We compile this list through questionnaires to film commissions, talks with moviemakers, and research into financial incentives, cost of living, and overall happiness — as well as with in-person visits, whenever possible. We hope you’ll discover some new places that sound great for living life and making movies. None of the places below offer a perfect mix of flawless weather, short commutes, low costs and endless job opportunities, because no such places exist. But we’ve tried to give you an overview of each locale, so you can find ones that come closest to your ideal home. 

Finally, a region’s financial incentives often vary, usually depending on how much money you spend and how you spend it. So while we’ve tried to give a general overview for the cities below, we urge you to consult an accountant before going somewhere for the tax breaks. 

Happy hunting.

MovieMaker's Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker 2024: Big Cities

25. EL PASO, TEXAS (TIE)

El Paso is a perfect example of a welcoming city where you can afford to make your own films with like-minded collaborators. Located along the U.S.-Mexican border, across from Ciudad Juarez, this thriving West Texas metropolis is joining our list for the first time thanks to a fast-growing community with an emphasis on experimentation.

“What I see here is common to what happened in Austin back in the late ’80s, early ’90s,” Troublemaker Studios co-founder Elizabeth Avellán, producer of the Sin City and Spy Kids franchises, said at the El Paso Film Festival in September. “You’re investing in yourselves and you’re investing in each other. This community has that ability, and it’s already doing it, and the people are wonderful.”

The financials help — the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program offers a rebate of up to 22.5%. According to the state, it is a “cash grant based on a percentage of a project’s eligible Texas expenditures, including eligible wages paid to Texas residents,” and the amount varies by “budget levels and types of productions.” Additionally, El Paso’s cost of living is well below the national average, and so are filmmaking costs.

You can choose from a wide range of production facilities like Cheeky Monkey Post and Rio Bravo Post. The quality of life adds up, too: El Paso is safer than the national average, the architecture is striking, the natural beauty all around is inspiring, and the cross-cultural pollination is intoxicating. You will not find better Mexican food in the United States.

Local DIY filmmakers include Old Man director Lucky McKee, who recently helmed an episode of Rian Johnson’s Poker Face, and Charles Horak, who runs a spectacular converted warehouse/soundstage called the Rio Bravo Outpost that also provides working space to talents like Carlos F. Corral, artistic director of the El Paso Film Festival and founder of MindWarp Films, a collective of filmmakers that has worked with companies from Apple to Netflix.

And as we noted in our introduction, the city shares a close kinship with nearby Las Cruces, New Mexico. If you can’t find any interesting stories to tell in the largest cross-border metro area in the U.S. and Mexico, maybe you shouldn’t be making movies. 

Notable Film Festival: El Paso Film Festival

The festival goes hard for Texas filmmakers, including locals like RalphGonzalez, whose low-budget, impressive sci-fi short “Novas” was a standout, and Zach Passero, who spent nearly a decade making his wild ’80s throwback animated horror comedy The Weird Kidz, which won him the director’s award.

Many events are held at the immaculate and spacious Hotel Paso Del Norte, a 112-year-old building on the National Register of Historic Places. The festival is also where we first saw Katherine Propper’s hip-hop road movie Lost Soulz, featuring El Paso rapper-actor Krystall Poppin. You can read Propper’s piece about the making of the film on page 42. 

25. DALLAS, TEXAS (TIE)

Full of shiny skyscrapers and even shinier stars at night, Dallas is another tremendous place for filmmakers who want to get to work right away. With its affordable cost of living and bustling independent film community, the city greets new filmmakers with open arms. Eager to welcome productions into the city, the Office of Special Events makes it very easy to get film permits.

And there’s no shortage of intriguing places to shoot — local nature includes White Rock Lake, Fair Park, and the Trinity River Corridor. If you’re in need of a more urban setting, try Klyde Warren Park or the Dallas Arts District. On top of the previously mentioned Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program rebate of up to 22.5%, Dallas offers an additional incentive: if your crew will be staying in Dallas for more than 15 nights, you could qualify for up to 10% off your stay at participating hotels.

Notable productions that often shoot in the region include The Chosen drama series and reality shows like House Hunters and Love After Lockup. Nearby film programs at the University of North Texas and Southern Methodist University infuse the city with bright-eyed young filmmakers — and best of all, the people of Dallas have embraced the film industry and imbued the filmmaking community with a sense of camaraderie and excitement.

Notable Film Festival: Dallas International Film Festival

The Dallas International Film Festival does an admirable job of showcasing must-see films like this year’s Best Documentary Feature Grand Jury Prize winner Bad Press, directedby Rebecca Landsberry-Baker and Joe Peeler, and Best Narrative Feature winner Story Ave, directed by Aristotle Torres.

Over the past 17 years of the festival, it’s contributed more than $1 million in prizes, and continues to host education events, screenings, and panels year-round.

24. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

Adding to the state rebate of up to 22.5%, the Supplemental San Antonio Film Incentive Program offers a 7.5% rebate, for a total incentive of up to 30%. That adds to the allure of a film-loving city with about 15 movie theaters, at least a dozen festivals, and at least half a dozen film societies. Film groups and unions also have a strong presence.

Notable equipment rental houses include Indie Grip & Lighting, Cinemills TX and Bauhaus Media Group, and local production facilities include Alamo City Studios, Quarter Moon Productions and Geomedia, as well as the city of San Antonio’s SA-CAN Studios, co-located in the San Antonio Film Commission’s office building. Coming soon is Hill Country Studios, a sprawling $267 million movie studio in San Marcos, 45 minutes from downtown San Antonio.

But enough hard numbers, let’s talk livability: San Antonio has a lower cost of living than the U.S. average, rolling Hill Country landscapes, dude ranches and farmland just outside of a thriving downtown, and 300 years of architecture, from Spanish colonial missions to dance halls to sleek new buildings to industrial warehouses. There are no film permit fees for more than 250 city-owned properties, including the colorful River Walk, Historic Market Square and La Villita Historic Arts Village. And the city’s Apply4 online film permit application simplifies things.

The San Antonio Film Commission staff is hands-on and efficient for whatever moviemakers need, and  the long list of local productions includes the documentaries The Quilt and The Beat of a Nation: Kerouac’s Road, as well as the PBS series American Historia with John Leguizamo, and a slew of reality shows. 

Notable Film Festivals: CineFestival and San Antonio Film Festival

CineFestival, the long-running Latino film festival, celebrated its 44th edition this past summer at the historic Guadalupe Theater. Presented by the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center, it emphasized Texas cinema, with bountiful free screenings.

The San Antonio Film Festival, meanwhile, celebrates its 30th edition this year. Its latest edition, based at the majestic Tobin Center for the Performing Arts, gave out awards aplenty with a strong emphasis on encouragement, positivity, and helping people break into the industry.

23. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI 

Kansas City’s breathtaking lakes, caves, natural tunnels and funky city culture are obvious draws for filmmakers, and after years of effort by state representatives and the Kansas City Film Office, Missouri  recently introduced a state tax incentive for film and TV productions.

The “Show Mo Act” offers $16 million in annual transferable tax credits, split between film and episodic projects. Productions are eligible for a 20-42% tax credit based on how much they spend in the state. And Kansas City offers up to a 10% cash rebate. The film office recently moved under the Office of the Mayor in an effort to streamline and enhance services to visiting film productions and local filmmakers.

Recent productions include a Janet Jackson Lifetime documentary and the Burghart Brothers’ independent feature Headcount. The regional arts council ArtsKC also supports filmmakers with two $10,000 production grants for short narrative films and a $1,000 screenwriting award. And there are no permits required to film here. One extremely cool neighborhood that should be on your radar is West Bottoms, characterized by its historic brick buildings, vintage stores, jazz bars, bistros, and cafes.

And in the fall, the neighborhood is known for attracting visitors in search of haunted houses. KC also offers a terrific free public transit system. 

Notable Film Festival: Kansas City FilmFest International

Celebrating its 28th anniversary in 2024, the Kansas City FilmFest International has awarded over $260,000 in cash and prizes throughout its history. It’s a great place to catch daring independent features, like Mike Cheslik’s Hundreds of Beavers, which won Best Narrative Feature in 2023. 

22. HONOLULU, HAWAII

Honolulu’s distance from the mainland will be enticing to some filmmakers and feel isolating to others. When you move to a state five hours from the rest of the United States, you’re putting all your eggs in one basket. But what a basket. Hawaii has a thriving film and TV industry — it brought in nearly $400 million in 2022 — and is known for experienced crews accustomed to handling network shows, blockbuster films, and smaller productions at the same time.

Recent productions include Apple TV+’s Chief of War, CBS’s NCIS: Hawaii, Disney’s live action Lilo + Stitch, and Hallmark’s Aloha Heart. Kualoa Ranch, a mere half hour from Honolulu, is the home of sets used for Lost, Hawaii Five-O, and multiple Jurassic Park films. Oahu has locations as varied as jungles, beaches, hiking trails, and downtown Honolulu, which resembles the more upscale parts of L.A. with its skyscrapers and luxury stores.

The Hawaii Production Tax Credit is 22% on Oahu and covers all labor — resident, non-resident, above the line and below the line, as well as goods and services. Of course, Hawaii’s separation from the mainland and intoxicating beauty result in a much higher cost of living than in most of the United States. So it may not be an ideal place to make your own indie movies, unless you can also find steady paying gigs. But if you can — welcome to paradise. You’ll be surrounded by some of the most awe-inspiring locations on the planet. We’re thrilled to welcome Honolulu to this list.

Notable Film Festival: Hawai’i International Film Festival

HIFF recently celebrated its 43rd year of highlighting cinematic accomplishment in the Asia-Pacific region. It is focused on discovering new talent from Hawaii’s growing indie scene and internationally, and on encouraging cultural exchange through film. The festival notes that its program is about “more than just watching movies” — it recognizes the value of cinema as a starting point for greater curiosity and understanding. 

21. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE 

Memphis is not only home to a rich cultural history, but to a thriving community of independent filmmakers and a robust crew base. The entire third season of the NBC primetime series Young Rock, about Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson, was shot in Memphis, which also hosts many other series from networks like Food Network, HGTV and MTV.

A gloriously diverse city known for the exquisite music of Beale Street — and musical landmarks that includes Graceland, Sun Records, and Stax Records —  it also boasts two very compelling tax incentives: a 25% cash rebate for in-state spending, and a 40% payroll tax credit and state sales tax exemption for out-of-state residents, or 50% for parent companies headquartered in-state.

You can even get to work on building your own Graceland, given the affordable housing and low cost of living.

Notable Film Festival: IndieMemphis

IndieMemphis admirably and tirelessly supports local filmmakers with programs like the Black Creators Forum, a three-day symposium filled with speakers and workshops. Artistic director Miriam Bale tells MovieMaker the festival has a “no duds” policy:

“I want to have a festival where there are no duds, there’s just absolutely no duds. And that doesn’t mean that you’re going to love everything — some of these films are going to push you a little bit out of your comfort zone… they’re all really solid films that will stay with you.”

Recent highlights included last year’s opening night film, Raven Jackson’s All Dirt Roads Taste of Salt, and Augusta Palmer’s documentary The Blues Society, about the Memphis Country Blues Festival. 

20. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Boston is one of America’s most cinematic towns — from its five centuries of architecture to the 80-mile Charles River to the simple delights of fall leaves and immaculate snow. But one of the best things about Boston is its close proximity to so many other gorgeous locations, from dense woods to mountains to the beaches of Cape Cod.

It’s known for professional, very experienced crews, a thriving documentary scene anchored by PBS’s Frontline and American Experience, and great financial incentives — including a 25% production credit, 25% payroll credit and a sales tax-exemption. Recent major local productions include Luca Guadagnini’s Challengers, starring Zendaya, and The Instigators, a heist thriller from Artists Equity, the production company founded by local boys Ben Affleck and Matt Damon.

Boston is also on majestic, snowy display in Alexander Payne’s latest, The Holdovers. One of its greatest assets is the Massachusetts Production Coalition, which advocates passionately for the local film industry and helps filmmakers at every level get their projects made in the Bay State. The state’s film scene is also supported by the Provincetown International Film Festival, held about two hours from Boston. It’s one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee.  

Notable Film Festivals: Roxbury International Film Festival and Boston Underground Film Festival

The Roxbury International Film Festival just celebrated its 25th anniversary, and is dedicated to celebrating filmmakers of color from around the world. It closed with a special screening of Eve’s Bayou featuring its writer-director, Kasi Lemmons, highlighted films from around the world, and featured a packed schedule of events including daily script reads. 

The Boston Underground Film Festival, held at the cozy single-screen Brattle Theatre in Harvard Square, highlights the best of genre filmmaking. One highlight of last year’s edition was a screening of director Jeffrey A. Brown’s Cape Cod-set The Unheard that included a Q&A with him and screenwriter brothers Michael and Shawn Rasmussen.

19. TULSA, OKLAHOMA

The eyes of the film world were cast on Oklahoma with the release of Martin Scorsese’s Killers of the Flower Moon, shot largely in Osage County about an hour from Tulsa. Some of the casting of the film took place in Tulsa, the biggest city near the massive production. Oklahoma’s second-biggest city is getting very used to the spotlight, thanks not only to Scorsese but to films like 2021’s excellent Minari and TV productions like the Sylvester Stallone drama Tulsa King and the recently wrapped Reservation Dogs, from Sterlin Harjo and Taika Waititi.

Tulsa boasts experienced crews, an easy permitting process, and locations that range from a vacant prison to a vacant hospital wing to the longest contiguous section of Route 66 to the auditory wonder known as the Center of the Universe. Just 15 minutes from Tulsa International Airport is the Cherokee Film Studios complex, home to a massive LED volume wall.

Land of Gold director Nardeep Khurmi recently wrote a piece for MovieMaker about how the wall enabled him to stage a cross-country drive, mostly within the studio. The Tulsa area is thriving in part thanks to the Filmed in Oklahoma Act, which offers a rebate of 20-30%, depending on which uplift opportunities a project qualifies for. Additionally, the cost of living in Tulsa is below the U.S. average.

Notable Film Festival: Circle Cinema Film Festival

The festival celebrates the best of Oklahoma filmmaking and cinema from around the globe, featuring free kids films, an emphasis on local projects with Indigenous cast and crew, documentaries and discussions. It’s based at the nonprofit Circle Cinema, which was built in 1928 on the original Route 66 alignment and is now on the National Register of Historic Places. It also includes an art gallery and lobby that’s perfect for neon-lit parties.

18. CLEVELAND, OHIO

Cleveland and the area around it have produced the Russo brothers, Jim Jarmusch, and LeBron James, the rising star of filmmaking behind the SpringHill Company. It has a very experienced, deep crew base that can handle multiple major productions at a time, and entices them with Ohio’s 30% refundable tax credit based on $300,000 minimum spend. You’ll also find plenty of equipment rental houses, including Cleveland Camera Rental and Midwest Grip & Lighting.

Cleveland’s cultural offerings include Cleveland State University, the Cleveland Institute of Art, Kent State University, and the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, on the shores of Lake Erie. The city’s cost of living is well below average — housing costs are remarkably affordable. The city is also a mere two hours away from Pittsburgh, which appears soon on this list.

The wide range of projects shot in Cleveland include the feature film Lost and Found in Cleveland, Netflix’s Unsolved Mysteries, and Netflix’s Baby Gorilla Cam, a livestream from the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo that we just learned about while writing this and need to go watch immediately — be right back.

Notable Film Festivals: Cleveland International Film Festival and Chagrin Documentary Film Festival

The Cleveland International Film Festival is one of the handful of film festivals in the world that is one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and one of our 25 Coolest Film Festivals. It’s known for bold, energetic, crowd-pleasing programming, for inclusivity — including programs focused on BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ filmmakers — and for education. It also offers massive prize packages. 

The Chagrin Documentary Film Festival, meanwhile, basks in the small-town charm of Chagrin Falls, known for the scenic falls in the town’s center. It recognizes great documentaries in honor of David Ponce, a young filmmaker who died of leukemia in 2006, but whose spirit and legacy live on in his community’s annual embrace of storytelling and its capacity for increasing our understanding ofthe world. 

17. CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

A new addition to our list, the fast-growing Charlotte film community supports a wide range of productions, but has lately been a hotspot for comedies, including Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain, Mother Couch with F. Murray Abraham, and Operation Taco Gary’s, starring Brenda Song, Dustin Milligan and Simon Rex. The benefits of shooting in North Carolina include a 25% return on goods, services, and labor through the NC Film and Entertainment Grant, and there’s no charge to shoot on state-owned property.

You’ll find very diverse landscapes, from the bustling downtown to foothills and flatlands to a wide array of rivers and lakes including Lake Norman and Lake Wylie, with over 1,595 miles of shoreline. And the U.S. National Whitewater Center is home to the world’s largest man-made recirculating whitewater river, the only one of its kind in the Western Hemisphere.

The Queen City also counts nearly 900 local crew members, a streamlined permitting process, a healthy mix of independent theaters and large chains, and plenty of rising filmmakers emerging from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and Central Piedmont Community College.

The cost of living is almost exactly the national average, and you can easily take quick meetings out of town: The Charlotte Douglas International Airport offers six nonstop direct flights to Los Angeles every day, and 40 non-stop daily flights to the New York City area.

Notable Film Festival: Charlotte Film Festival

CFF offers an inspired, amusing selection of films. For example, at its latest edition, alongside the William Shatner documentary You Can Call Me Bill, it also presented the little-seen exploitation film Impulse, starring Shatner as a psychosexual gigolo.

But it is most essential as a resource for local filmmakers, hosting roundtables on Carolina Crafted Films and teaching filmmaking skills to rising moviemakers. Participants included the Black Girls Film Camp and the Charlotte Unconventional Film School, which offers classes, weekend intensives, workshops and retreats. 

16. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Chris Rock drew the eyes of the world to Charm City last year with his live Netflix special Selective Outrage, weeks before the strikes shut down production in this usually busy film and TV hub. The hometown of John Waters, Barry Levinson and David Simon frequently plays itself, but also hosts plenty of productions set in nearby Washington, D.C., so the crews are very experienced, and many are second-generation.

Baltimore has history on its side, too: Because the old port city was founded nearly 300 years ago, it can offer a range of historic locations from the enchantingFells Point seaport to impressive Mt. Vernon brownstones to well-preserved Victorians to blue-collar rowhouses to stately mansions. And as fans of Simon’s work can attest, it can offer authentically roughcorners as well.

Baltimore’s cost of living is below the U.S. average, and the incentives are solid: qualified film productions can receive a refundable tax credit of up to 28%, while a series can get up to 30%. The very accommodating Baltimore Film Office is quick to help with permits and locations, and the many local equipment rental houses include Serious Grip and Electric and Red Star Baltimore. Local post facilities include Studio Unknown, Cerebral Lounge and Digital Cave.

Notable Film Festival: Maryland Film Festival 

The Baltimore-based Maryland Film Festival marks its 25th anniversary this year, and its recently appointed director of programming, KJ Mohr, says this edition, to be held at the historic SNF Parkway Theatre, will feature star-studded premieres, unique special events, and “innovative experiences both within and outside the theater spaces.”

15. PORTLAND, OREGON

The home of Todd Haynes, who you can read more about on page 80, has a rich film and TV history that also includes Gus Van Sant, Portlandia, and Simpsons creator Matt Groening. But its best days may be ahead of it: It was here that Guillermo Del Toro began production on his Oscar-winning Pinocchio, at the offices of animation house ShadowMachine.

It also welcomed the new Dean Israelite drama Little Wing, starring Brian Cox, Kelly Reilly and Brooklynn Prince, and draws lots of athletic-apparel commercials, in part because suburban Beaverton is the home of Nike. It offers a vast selection of shooting locales, with both coastline and mountains within 30 miles of downtown Portland, and ample warehouse space that can be converted to sound stages.

Portland is making it easier to get film permits in its efforts to grow as a filmmaking destination, and a sizable crew base means it can handle up to four feature films and commercial work at the same time. It’s an artistic community where you shouldn’t have much trouble finding imaginative collaborators, and it offers a 25% rebate to films above a $1 million threshold, plus up to 26.5% of labor costs.

Its strong film culture should be evident from the more than 20 film festivals in the region, and lovely local movie houses include The Hollywood Theatre, which recently purchased the iconic video store Movie Madness, home to more than 80,000 titles, with help from a successful crowdfunding campaign. That’s just another sign of how much Portlanders love their movies.

Notable Film Festival: Portland Film Festival

Led by the infectiously enthusiastic film producer Joshua Leake, the Portland Film Festival is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting new filmmakers, providing free or low-cost screenings, and filling cultural voids in Portland. Its opening night film last year, the documentary Jailhouse to Milhouse, celebrated The Simpsons in an appropriately mirthful, only-in-Portland setting: the McMenamins Kennedy School, an entertainment destination that includes a hotel, theater, soaking pool, restaurants, a brewery, and more. 

14. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Any filmmaker can see the benefits of living in close proximity to both the Slamdance and Sundance film festivals, but Salt Lake City doesn’t just come alive with those events based in nearby Park City — its film scene thrives with a mix of scrappy independent filmmakers and big out-of-state productions.

The crew base is filled with professionals who have decades of experience in projects ranging from features to TV to commercial work. (Utah’s dazzling natural beauty makes it a major draw for outdoorsy ad campaigns.) The state also has a competitive incentive program that offers a refundable tax credit or cash rebate of up to 25%, and Salt Lake City and its surrounding areas can stand in for locations from New York to Silicon Valley to Russia or even Mars.

You’ve likely seen the Bonneville Salt Flats, two hours out of town, without even knowing it: The breathtaking natural phenomenon has been used in blockbuster movies like Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End and Independence Day. If you’re into dive bars, this probably isn’t the city for you. But you’ll embrace it wholeheartedly if you like hikes, skiing, meadows full of flowers, lakes, and snow-peaked mountains. 

Notable Film Festivals: Sundance, Slamdance and FilmQuest

As you’re well aware, Sundance is one of the most prestigious of all film festivals, as well as one of the film world’s most important incubators of rising talent. It’s a star-studded affair that draws the best in indie filmmaking to Park City every January. (This year's edition is underway at the time of this writing.)

Slamdance, held concurrently in Park City, is a for-filmmakers, by-filmmakers festival devoted to discovering the most bold, groundbreaking and experimental new films and creators. Both Sundance and Slamdance are strongly dedicated to uplifting underrepresented filmmakers.

But we’d also draw your attention to FilmQuest, about 45 miles outside of Salt Lake City, in the cheery mountain town of Provo. Every fall, founder Jonathan Martin and his passionate, bighearted team preside over a vibe akin to an ’80s slumber party.

The crowd consists largely of moviemakers who watch each other’s often-brilliant DIY genre films almost around the clock, with occasional breaks for axe throwing and karaoke parties. Because it’s all held at one venue, the fun and cozy Velour Live Music Gallery, almost everyone sees everything, and filmmakers quickly bond over their shared love of wild cinema.   

13. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

Films shot in and around Pittsburgh include classics like The Silence of the Lambs and The Dark Knight, as well as recent productions like The Man Called Otto and The Pale Blue Eye,and TV shows like American Rust and The Mayor of Kingstown. Film and TV spending is steady, regularly coming to about $150 million per year.

The Steel City has a modern sheen it’s hard to replicate elsewhere, but with its historic buildings, three rivers, sweeping bridges, and nearby mountains, it can stand in for a wide range of other cities and time periods. Don’t visit Pittsburgh without filming — or at least riding — the cars of the Duquesne or Monongahela inclines, the two funiculars up Mount Washington that will make you feel like you’re living in the Swiss Alps while giving you a spectacular view of the city’s skyline.

They’re among the many charms of this city, more affordable than the U.S. average, that offers easy permitting, many free locations, including several bridges and parks, and four full crews. The number of crew members is growing thanks to a new workforce development program that has graduated about 75 people with paths to union membership.

The tax incentives are also impressive: Pennsylvania offers 25% for eligible projects, with an extra 5% if you use qualified production studios or post-production facilities. It also offers many equipment rental houses and post facilities, and is home to excellent universities including Carnegie Mellon, known for one of the best drama schools in the world.

Notable Film Festival: Three Rivers Film Festival

Now in its 42nd year, the festival locally abbreviated as 3RFF celebrates the best of international independent film. The latest edition featured22 indie features including dramas, comedies, and documentaries. Its well-curated list of recent films included The Holdovers and Sharon “Rocky” Roggio’s provocative documentary 1946: The Mistranslation That Shifted Culture, which argues that Biblical references to homosexuality are mistranslations. 

12. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia often has annual film and TV spending in the hundreds of millions, and it’s easy to understand why: It’s one of the most versatile of all film cities, offering everything from posh highrises to Revolutionary War-era manors to funky rowhouses to cozy farmhouses just outside of town, and a diverse mix of neighborhoods like the Golden Block, Italian Market, and Chinatown. It offers the same generous tax incentives as Pittsburgh — up to a 30% credit — and low or no costs to shoot on most public properties.

Seeking out a permit from Philadelphia Parks and Recreation can unlock access to iconic locations like the Schuylkill River Trail and the Rocky Steps leading up to the Philadelphia Museum of Art. Like Pittsburgh, Philadelphia benefits from a very savvy, professional film office that helps filmmakers quickly. Its cost of living is close to the national average, and Philly is an excellent home base for East Coast filmmakers given its accessibility to New York City, Baltimore and Washington, D.C.

The city’s more than 4,000 murals are an obvious sign of how much it values arts and culture for all, and the city has an experienced local crew base with a strong union history, as well as a sizable non-union crew base eager to take on indie projects. Filmmakers can also draw on the thriving local theater scene.

The long list of recent projects has included HBO’s The Gilded Age, ABC’s Philly-set Abbott Elementary, and M. Night Shyamalan’s feature Knock at the Cabin and Apple TV+ show Servant. Shyamalan, who grew up near Philadelphia, loves filming in the region, and watching his projects will give you a great sense of its astonishing adaptability. 

Notable Film Festivals: The Philadelphia Film Festival and BlackStar

The Philadelphia Film Festival recently marked its 32nd edition with 10 days of events and screenings, including the opening-night film American Fiction, paired with a skyline party, and the closing-night screening of Saltburn.

Blackstar is focused on celebrating the work of filmmakers of color beyond the confines of genre, hosting not just the festival but also year-round events including screenings, exhibitions, a filmmaker seminar, a film production lab, and a journal. The 2023 festival included films, panels, DJs, yoga and conversations from the Daily Jawn Stage. 

11. CINCINNATI, OHIO 

Cincinnati has its own special charm, but one of its big draws is that it can pose for many different cities — like Chicago, for example, in Jeff Nichols’ epic motorcycle gang drama The Bikeriders, which made excellent use of the city’s topography in scenes with long stretches of road. Barry Levinson’s 1950s gangster movie Alto Knights, starring Robert DeNiro, also recently shot in Cincinnati.

It’s a great place to make period films, and it can also easily pose as Europe because of its abundance of Italianate architecture.Its flexibility also owes a bit to geography: With Kentucky just across the Ohio River, it straddles the Midwest and South and reflects the flavors of both. Filmmakers can really stretch out and enjoy multiple types of terrain across both states without spending much time in transit.

Plus, Ohio offers a 30% refundable tax credit, and the affordable cost of living, which is below the national average, make it an attractive place for filmmakers to live well. Film Cincinnati notes that the number of local crew members has tripled in the last five years, and that crews can now handle up to three large feature films at once. There are no fees for film permits — but there is a real sense of community that draws fellow filmmakers together.

Notable Film Festival: Over-the-Rhine Film Festival

Over-the-Rhine is a fun, well-run diversity festival led by people from the disability community. Taking place in the historic Over-the-Rhine neighborhood, it uses cinema as a way to build empathy, seeking out dynamic storytelling and unique voices.

10. MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

Montreal is the kind of film-mad town where people will line up around the corner to see a South Korean film you’ve likely never heard of, as they did last August when director Lee Hae-young’s outstanding Phantom played the always-magnificent Fantasia Film Festival. Fantasia is just one anchor of Montreal’s sublime film scene, which supports local filmmakers and those from around the globe with equal passion.

Another key player is Concordia University, one of our 25 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada, which produces innovators like Félix Lajeunesse and Paul Raphaël, founders of the immersive virtual reality company Felix & Paul Studios,. Walk the streets of diverse, romantic Montreal and you’ll immediately feel creativity brewing — it’s a truly global city that feels welcoming, inspiring and urgent. But that incalculable energy is backed up by strong numbers: The tax credit for film production services can be as high as 42.6%, based on federal and provincial tax rates.

And the region has a dedicated union presence with thousands of technicians and actors and hundreds of directors and production managers. Thanks to its modern downtown, many green spaces and historic Old Montreal neighborhood, it can easily double for many North American or European locales. Recent local productions include Amazon Prime Video’s The Sticky, a maple syrup heist comedy from Blumhouse TV, Jamie Lee Curtis’ Comet Pictures, and Montreal’s Sphere Media, among others.

And the cost of living is remarkably low given the quality of life — as long as you love (or can learn to love) long, dreamy winters.  

Notable Film Festival: Fantasia International Film Festival

One of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, the genre-focused Fantasia combines a strong interest in genre films with a love of Asian cinema and some of the most passionate and informed audiences in the world. In partnership with the Cannes Film Festival, it also welcomes Frontières, the international co-production market and networking platform with a focus on genre financing and co-production.

9. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

The Bear, The Chi, and Wolf Entertainment’s Chicago One franchise have done a lovely job of showcasing the many skyscrapers, corners, alleys, open spaces, and sweeping views of rivers, canals and Lake Michigan that make Chicago one of the most beloved cities in the country.

The excellent tax incentives include a 30% credit on qualified production spending, the city film office is happy to help with permits and liaising with government agencies, and the Illinois Film Office can provide further assistance in dealing with state government.

America’s third-largest city has nightlife, restaurants, sports and culture to rival those of New York and L.A., but Chicago is far more affordable — its cost of living is just slightly above the U.S. average. Outside of town you’ll find breathtaking natural vistas, picturesque farmland, and small towns that look like they did decades ago. The region is home to thousands of seasoned, world-class union crew members, and an ever-growing concentration of young filmmakers from schools including Columbia College Chicago, DePaul University, Northwestern, and the Harold Ramis Film School.

The director and Ghostbusters star is among many comic icons who had formative experiences in the Chicago improv scene, including Bob Odenkirk, Conan O’Brien, Chris Farley, and Bill Murray, and you can still mine the city’s many improv hubs, including The Second City and iO, for fast-rising talents.

Notable Film Festival: Chicago International Film Festival 

The Chicago International Film Festival celebrates its 60th year in 2024, making it one of the longest-running festivals on earth. The festival programs films it hopes will get a big reaction from audiences, and likes them engaged, involved and opinionated: Last year’s theme was “Critics Welcome.”

The city has produced many great ones, including longtime TV partners — and occasionally feisty sparring partners — Gene Siskel and Roger Ebert. The latter inspired Ebertfest, held annually two hours from Chicago in Champaign.

8. CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA

Calgary is ranked the second-most livable city in North America by the the Economist Intelligence Unit, and is tied with Geneva, Switzerland for seventh-most livable city in the world. It’s easy to see why: An affordable, thriving and growing film hub, Calgary is a global city that has managed to retain its unpretentious charm. If you’ve seen The Last of Us or the latest season of Fargo, you’ve seen lots of Calgary, which boasts a glimmering modern downtown with easy access to prairies, badlands, and the Rockies.

It was recognized at the 2023 Location Managers Guild International Awards in the categories of Outstanding Film Commission and Outstanding Locations in a Contemporary TV Series for The Last of Us. Additionally, three Calgary-area ranches — the John Scott Ranch, the CL Ranch and Albertina Farms — won the Location of the Year Award at the Global Production Awards in Cannes, France, during the Cannes Film Festival. Calgary also entices productions with a 22% tax credit for foreign projects, and it can go up to 30% when Alberta-based owners or producers are involved.

Recent shoots in the region have included the latest season of Fraggle Rock: Back to the Rock, and the long-running Canadian series Heartland. Much of the credit for the region’s success goes to Calgary film commissioner Luke Azevedo and his team. He’s an extremely detail-oriented advocate for film in Alberta who welcomes newcomers from around the world with open arms — and hopes they’ll love Calgary so much they make it their full-time home. 

Notable Film Festivals: Calgary International Film Festival and Calgary Underground Film Festival

Calgary is one of the very few cities with two different film festivals on our list of 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, and it’s a testament to the strength of the city’s film scene that they’re very different. CIFF is the bigger one, an Oscar-qualifying festival known for a major industry presence. On its website, it espouses “passion for film… across virtually every culture and demographic.” 

CUFF also offers a wide range of films of all kinds, but is especially celebrated for genre. The festival, which just celebrated its 20th year, draws an intense following — attendees have even been known to get CUFF tattoos — and describes itself on its website as “a not-for-profit organization dedicated to programming films that defy convention.” It also features indie arcade games in its CUFFcade, which are free to play year-round at Calgary’s Globe Cinema. 

7. MIAMI, FLORIDA 

Miami’s golden beaches and vibrant culture make it a delightful place for anyone — but it’s an especially excellent place for filmmakers who crave a thriving, diverse, and skilled community of creatives. Among its greatest assets is a committed crew base, filled with professionals happy to share deep knowledhe of all their eclectic region has to offer.

Miami-Dade County also has almost 30 rental houses to choose from, including HD House, and the many notable local post houses include Accord Productions and Alacran Studios. Though the state of Florida doesn’t have film and television incentives, Miami-Dade County has a TV, Film and Entertainment Production Incentive Program geared toward small and mid-sized projects. If a production spends at least $500,000 in Miami-Dade County, it is eligible to get a maximum of $50,000 back as a cash rebate.

If it spends at least $1,000,000, it can receive up to $100,000 back. Additionally, Miami-Dade County is launching a new incentive program geared toward large productions called the High Impact Film Fund. The grant program, designed to recognize projects that will bring the highest return on investment to the county, offers a 20% cash rebate to productions that spend at least $5 million locally.

Miami-Dade County has allocated a total of $50 million to the program over the next five years. Recent projects filmed in Miami include DC Comics’ Blue Beetle and HBO’s A Missed Connection. 

Notable Film Festivals: Miami Jewish Film Festival and American Black Film Festival

The Miami Jewish Film Festival offers good opportunities for networking with distributors, and it’s one of the best showcases for independent films that tell heartfelt Jewish stories. This year’s Critics Prize went to the Israeli drama America, directed by Ofir Raul Graizer, and the Audience Award for Narrative Film went to the Israeli romantic comedy Matchmaking,by Erez Tadmor.

Just a short drive from the city of Miami is beautiful Miami Beach, home of the celebrated American Black Film Festival. Lena Waithe was honored as an ambassador in 2023, and she shared the wisdom she’s gathered through her work with her production company, Hillman Grad, and her many successful projects like Master of None, Queen & Slim and The Chi. 

Both festivals are alums of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee list.

6. ATLANTA, GEORGIA

The anchor of Georgia’s multibillion-dollar film and TV industry, Atlanta is a huge homebase for a wide range film and TV productions, thanks to its vast industry infrastructure, string of hit productions, and welcoming weather almost year-round. Anyone working on blockbusters is almost certain to spend some time here, and it’s telling that the great Francis Ford Coppola selected it for shooting his next epic, Megalopolis.

Georgia also wins fans with its 20% tax credit, which can be boosted another 10% for productions that use the famous Peach logo. Prime production hubs include the 330-acre Tyler Perry Studios, on the former grounds of the historic Fort McPherson army base, which hosted recent projects including Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, the Hawkeye series on Disney+, and 2021’s Coming 2 America.

Other recent large Atlanta productions have included Blue Beetle (which also filmed in Miami) and Netflix’s They Cloned Tyrone. Given the many projects it attracts, Atlanta is known for very experienced crews, and takes pride in its hospitality, noting that both above and below the line collaborators can live very well in the area. Its reasonable cost of living makes it another good choice for people who want to earn money working on big productions, and to spend that money on their own indie projects.

That model has been applied many times by graduates of the Savannah College of Art and Design’s Atlanta campus, which provides a top-tier, real-world education. Its attractions include an LED volume wall that students enlist to add a sense of awe to their productions.

The city’s many popular shooting locations include Piedmont Park, and we also recommend The Clothing Warehouse in Little Five Points —as both a location and a fun shopping destination. Another notable production hotspot is Briarcliff Mansion, which has been featured in Stranger Things, Doom Patrol, The Vampire Diaries and First Man. 

Notable Film Festivals: Atlanta Film Festival

The Atlanta Film Festival hosts an annual Creative Conference full of helpful educational programming, as well as a highly regarded screenplay competition. The very diverse lineup of films that screened at the 2023 edition included Petter Ringbom and Marquise Stillwell’s documentary This World Is Not My Own; Paul Schrader’s Master Gardener, and Bomani J. Story’s The Angry Black Girl and Her Monster.

5. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Vancouver’s long list of high-profile recent film and TV projects — from HBO’s The Last of Us to A24’s Heretic to Netflix’s Virgin River and The Fall of the House of Usher — speaks for itself. Vancouver is ranked as the most livable city in North America by the Economist Intelligence Unit, and the fifth-most livable city in the world.

We promise you can find whatever location you need in this affordable British Columbia film kingdom, from the friendly, modern city streets to the timeless cobblestones of Gastown to the rain forest of Stanley Park to the shores of Kitsilano, a lovely beach that also offers mountain views from its sandy beaches. (You might also want to film — or unwind — in the huge saltwater Kitsilano Pool.) Local film incentives have lured many films and TV shows from Los Angeles, three hours away by plane.

In addition to a basic tax credit of 28% for international projects and 35% for Canadian projects, filmmakers can add several additional potential incentives including a DAVE (Digital, Animation, Visual Effects & Post Production) credit of up to 16%.

If you’re thinking of going to film school — or recruiting film students to help with your project — Vancouver is one of the best places you could possibly be. It’s the home of education institutions including Simon Fraser University, Capilano University, and the Vancouver Film School, which made our recent list of the 25 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada. 

Notable Film Festival: Vancouver International Film Festival

The Vancouver International Film Festival is one of the largest festivals in North America, sharing films from more than 70 countries on nine screens, with an emphasis on documentary, Canadian films, and East Asian cinema. It’s led by the Greater Vancouver International Film Festival Society, a not-for-profit founded in 1982 that offers stellar programming year-round at the VIFF Centre.

4. AUSTIN, TEXAS

Early in this list we included a quote from Troublemaker Studios co-founder Elizabeth Avellán, a crucial figure on the Austin film scene, because Austin is in many ways the model for a thriving film scene outside of New York City or Los Angeles: Thanks to local icons like Richard Linklater and Robert Rodriguez, it blazed a trail for other towns that want to do it themselves, way back in the ’80s and ’90s when the coasts had a virtual lock on film production.

Austin is a powerhouse today, with a long list of productions including Rodriguez and Avellán’s Spy Kids: Armageddon for Netflix, Max’s Love & Death, CW’s Walker, Apple’s The Last Thing He Told Me, and much more. Its 50 years of intense indie film production mean the city has more than 1,000 crew members, about 25 boutique production houses, and 18 production facilities — including two LED volume stages. It’s also free to film on city streets and sidewalks and in parks, and a wide range of terrain, from lakes to the Hill Country, are easily accessible.

The new Hill Country Studios, the $267 million production hub we also mentioned in our San Antonio entry, will be located between San Antonio and Austin, but a little closer to Austin — about a half-hour’s drive away. It plans to offer 800,000 square feet of soundstages. Austin’s local film scene is anchored by the Austin Film Society, which Linklater founded in 1985, and also includes the original Alamo Drafthouse, which has five local locations and its headquarters in the city.

If you’ve visited the Austin Film Festival or SXSW, we probably don’t need to tell you that Austin is just plain fun, with delicious food and lovely trails along Lady Bird Lake and some of the best nightlife in America. You’ve already read in our previous entries about Texas’ state rebate of up to 22.5%, and Austin offers an additional 0.75% incentive for qualifying projects. 

Notable Film Festivals: SXSW and the Austin Film Festival

SXSW is such an industry happening that it’s one of the key places where indie filmmakers find distributors. It’s known for smart, bold programming, and a big showing here can jumpstart your career.

The Austin Film Festival is also well-curated and is especially targeted toward writers, who pack panels and networking events and spend weeks leading up to the festival eagerly checking their emails to see how their scripts performed in AFF’s very popular competition. As often happens at these things, though, some of the best connections happen while you’re waiting in line for screenings or breakfast tacos.

3. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

You could use New Orleans as a stand-in for other locations, but why would you? America’s most eclectic city has history, stately architecture and some of the best food and music on earth.  In addition to a 25% base tax credit and an additional 15% for local labor, you can receive another 15% if you’re shooting a Louisiana screenplay. And New Orleans has 17 union crews who are among the most experienced in the country.

The film office has seen everything, and can turn around permits quickly, as well as direct you to city-owned shooting locations including Gallier Hall (the former City Hall), Armstrong International Airport (which has permanently closed terminals available) and a shuttered prison. Recent projects include the big-budget Netflix action thriller Carry-On, starring Taron Egerton and Jason Bateman.

And if you’re making an indie short, please note: shooting in New Orleans — or anywhere in Louisiana — qualifies you to enter the Shreveport-based Louisiana Film Prize, which every fall hands out up to $50,000 for the best short made in the Pelican State. New Orleans’ cost of living is almost exactly the U.S. average, and whether you live for nature or nightlife, you can do more living here than almost anywhere else — it’s immersed in the history, romance and legends of all the varied cultures that come together in the Big Easy. 

Notable Film Festival: New Orleans Film Festival

A regular on our list of the 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee, NOFF works tirelessly to find new talent and promote underrepresented filmmakers, and is one of the few festivals that is Oscar-qualifying in all three short-form Academy-accredited categories — narrative, documentary and animated. It draws top industry representatives, offers generous prizes, and is known for transparency and thoughtful programming.

2. ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

Albuquerque returns to a place it has held many times before on this list: It’s our top big U.S. city for moviemakers. One of the most culturally rich cities in the country, it anchors a growing New Mexico film scene that also includes nearby Santa Fe and Las Cruces, both of which you’ll soon read about in our list of Smaller Cities and Towns. All in all, the film industry supports about 8,000 well-paying jobs statewide.

Albuquerque’s experienced crew base, sunny weather, and affordability have helped draw big hitters like Netflix and NBCUniversal, which have made use of Local Economic Development money for ambitious studio builds. In turn, the presence of huge entities provides stable jobs that give local filmmakers the security to make their own indie projects.

The maximum credit is 40%, under optimal conditions, and film commissioner Cyndy McCrossen, who has astonishing knowledge of area locations, runs a very professional operation that is quick to handle permit requests and anything else filmmakers need. Recent productions in the area include Netflix’s Obliterated, A24’s Love Lies Bleeding, Paramount’s A Really Haunted Loud House, and the Warner Bros shows The Cleaning Lady and Duster.

The city owns roughly 30,000 acres of stunning wide-open spaces including rocky foothills, pine forests and deserts, and filmmakers are also attracted to its trails, parks, railyards, and the ABQ BioPark, which includes a zoo, botanical garden, aquarium, and Tingley Beach, which features fishing ponds, paddle boats, and more. The cost of living in Albuquerque is below the U.S. average and the quality of life is high: It has little traffic, lots of open space, and nature all around. And it’s just a two-hour flight to Los Angeles. 

Notable Film Festival: Albuquerque Film & Music Experience

Giving equal weight to music and film, AFMX is an annual interactive event held every September with an emphasis on domestic and international films. It offers panels and workshops, intimate networking, and, of course, live musical performances. One of its key objectives year-round is to encourage young people to find careers in film and music.

1. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

Each fall, the eyes of the film world turn to the Toronto International Film Festival for an early look at some of the year’s likely Oscar contenders. But the eyes of the world are also on Toronto almost all the time, because we see it every time we flip through our TV channels or subscription services.

With productions from Amazon Prime Video’s The Boys and Cruel Intentions to Reacher to Paramount’s Star Trek franchise to Hulu’s What We Do In the Shadows to Netflix’s Umbrella Academy, Toronto hosts just about every entertainment giant, thanks in large part to its more than 2 million square feet of studio space and ability to double for countless other locations around the world. But it also plays itself quite adeptly, as evidenced by the upcoming Canadian series Law & Order Toronto: Criminal Intent. 

Canada’s largest city, with a population of nearly 3 million, is a booming, no-nonsense film and TV capital that consistently draws billions in industry spending — which helped it climb three places since last year to claim the No. 1 spot among the big cities on this list. The hometown of filmmakers like David Cronenberg and Sarah Polley employs 35,000 workers in the film and TV sector.

It has a strong union presence, and the city partners with unions and community organizations on job training to make the industry more diverse and inclusive. Its film office also promises the fastest turnaround time in North America for permits. And Toronto offers reliably fantastic financial incentives: Several tax credits can be combined for savings of up to 45% on qualified labor costs and up to 32.5% on total production costs.

Excellent available rental facilities include William F. White International, and the impressive local film programs include the Toronto Film School — one of our 25 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada — as well as Toronto Metropolitan University and York University. It’s also reasonably affordable compared to similarly metropolitan U.S. cities. We could go on and on, but really: Just turn on your TV.

Notable Film Festival: Toronto International Film Festival

One of the most prestigious and influential film festivals in the world, the non-profit TIFF is a renowned cultural force and launching pad for awards-season films that draws on the best of cinema from Canada and around the globe.

It always hosts an impressive cavalcade of A-list filmmakers and stars, and also does an enviable job of discovering and promoting daring new filmmakers, especially in its Discovery and Midnight Madness Programs.

MovieMaker's Best Places to Live and Work as a Moviemaker 2024: Smaller Cities and Towns

10. RICHMOND, VIRGINIA

If you’re interested in making a period project involving early American history, Richmond is uniquely set up to accommodate your needs. Among its many free filming locations is the gorgeous, state-owned, 3,000-acre scenic backlot at State Farm just 30 minutes outside of the city. It offers access to period sets that can cover a 300-year span and were built by past productions including John Adams, Lincoln, Harriet and The Good Lord Bird.

The backlot includes rolling hills, forests, farmlands, battlefields, a sailing ship set, and vacant prison facilities. Richmond also boasts many museums, a bustling restaurant and bar scene, and all kinds of recreational activities, like kayaking on the James River, which runs through downtown. It’s less than a two-hour drive to Washington D.C., but there’s not much you’ll need that Richmond doesn’t already have.

Virginia offers a 20% tax credit for film, TV and commercials that can go up to 40% if the production uses local workers, first-time workers, or locations in disadvantaged districts, among other qualifiers. There are also opportunities for sales, use, and hotel tax exemptions. Plus, Virginia has lots of small grant opportunities for microbudget projects, especially by local filmmakers.

And the Virginia Film Office goes above and beyond to help productions with whatever they need, bringing a red-tape eliminating, make-it-happen attitude. Recent projects filmed here include the Apple TV+ drama Swagger and the Nicholas Colia-directed indie movie Griffin in Summer, starring Melanie Lynskey. 

Notable Film Festival: Virginia Film Festival

The University of Virginia’s Virginia Film Festival prides itself on enlightening talks with dynamic filmmakers: In 2023, Ava DuVernay attended to accept the VAFF Visionary Award and talk about her eye-opening film Origin, which explores the worldwide caste system. 

9. ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

Close to Tampa, Clearwater, Bradenton and Sarasota, St. Petersburg is the production hub of Florida’s thriving western central coast, a sunny stretch of powder-white beaches and almost any other kind of location you could desire — from marinas to warehouses to charming downtowns to ultramodern towers to thick tropical canopies.

The St. Pete-Clearwater Film Commission draws a wide range of projects through a business development program that offers a cash rebate incentive of 10 to 30% on qualified expenditures in Pinellas County’s 24 municipalities. The amount of the rebate depends on factors including the impact on local tourism.

The area regularly attracts productions from the History Channel and HGTV, and is a top choice for print ads and commercials thanks not just to the blue skies but also to the magnificent architecture, including showstopping  Mediterranean Revival homes. The Ringling College of Art and Design, in nearby Sarasota — a gorgeous location in its own right — is one of our 25 Best Film Schools in the U.S. and Canada.

Perhaps surprisingly, the cost of living is almost exactly the U.S. average.

Notable Film Festival: Sarasota Film Festival

Held about 50 minutes away from St. Petersburg, Sarasota is a fun-filled, smartly curated festival that last year celebrated its 25th anniversary with guests including Roma Downey, documentarian Barbara Kopple, and the Indigo Girls, who attended a packed, emotional screening of Alexandria Bombach’s terrific documentary about the duo, It’s Only Life After All.

Its enticing location is known for serene beaches, pleasant shopping and tours through tunnels of mangrove trees, and executive director Mark Famiglio makes sure everyone has a fun and memorable time, especially with a closing-night dinner that turns into an impromptu talent show.

8. LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

Las Cruces has a large, close-knit, largely Latino indie film community, and it is making smart, strategic moves toward even greater growth. Eminently film-worthy thanks to its old adobe architecture, lavish mansions and ample palm trees, Las Cruces is a solid stand-in for Los Angeles, many other American cities, and several Mexican locales. It’s also a perfect homebase for shoots at Spaceport America, the U.S./Mexico border, and White Sands National Park.

The healthy film scene is fueled by magnificent tax incentives: Thanks in part to a new statewide benefit for productions shooting outside of Albuquerque and Santa Fe, projects in Las Cruces can receive up to a 40% refundable tax credit. Notable recent projects have included In the Summers, starring Flash star Sasha Calle. Film Las Cruces handles film permitting with joyful hospitality and an emphasis on speed — it offers two full-time employees available 24/7 to meet filmmakers’ needs.

The region also has a large crew base for both union and non-union projects. And its passionate film culture is augmented by New Mexico State University’s Creative Media Institute, multiple offerings at Doña Ana Community College, and the state’s new film training facility. As we’ve mentioned, the Las Cruces and El Paso film communities are closely aligned, and residents of each locale benefit from their proximity to the other. And Las Cruces has a cost of living below the U.S. average.

Notable Film Festival: Las Cruces International Film Festival

You didn’t really think we’d lavish all this praise on New Mexico’s film and TV industry without once mentioning Better Call Saul or Breaking Bad, right?

The great Giancarlo Esposito, who starred in both, was honored with the Award for Outstanding Achievement in Entertainment at the latest edition of the Las Cruces International Film Festival, which offered a stacked slate of films — especially New Mexico stories — including entries in the 48 Hour Film Challenge Las Cruces. Better Call Saul star Patrick Fabian was also a welcome part of the lineup. 

7. BOULDER, COLORADO

Those who appreciate a nice work/life balance will gravitate to the bustling town of Boulder, nestled in the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. With its adorably charming downtown, Boulder is as pleasant in real-life as it looks on screen. It offers an abundance of choices for filming locations, from city stops like the Pearl Street Mall to the enthralling natural beauty of Rocky Mountain National Park and Boulder Falls.

For the active, there’s biking, hiking, and rock climbing, and for those interested in kicking back and enjoying that work-life balance, there are many microbreweries and streetside cafes. Colorado offers a rebate of up to 20% off expenses if the productions hire at least 50% Colorado-based cast and crew. In-state projects need to spend at least $100,000 to qualify, while out-of-staters need to spend at least $1 million.

The Boulder County Film Commission makes it easy and inexpensive to get film permits, and it’s hard to argue with 300 days a year of sunshine. Recent projects that have filmed in Boulder include Elevation with Anthony Mackie and Amazon Prime Video’s Coach Prime, a docuseries following University of Colorado Boulder’s head football coach, Deion Sanders. 

Notable Film Festival: Boulder International Film Festival

Celebrating its 20-year anniversary in 2024, the Boulder International Film Festival is a four-day celebration that combines local, national and international films with tastings, happy hours, and more. Its cool and innovative ideas include a Best Adventure Film category.

6. KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

Knoxville has lured an impressive number of recent TV projects, from true crime like TV One’s Fatal Attraction and Oxygen’s Snapped to adorable and educational Sesame Street fare for Max like Cookie Monster’s Bake Sale, Oscar’s Handmade Halloween and Elmo & Tango’s Holiday Helpers.

Films that have taken advantage of the region’s astonishing natural beauty include the Hallmark Channel’s Love in the Great Smoky Mountains: A National Park Romance. And recent documentary standouts include Curren Sheldon’s Country Brawlers, a look at rural boxing in Central Appalachia that won the Best Tennessee Feature last year at the highly respected Nashville Film Festival.

Filmmakers are drawn by very professional, experienced crews, and by the many gorgeous locations: It’s free to film in city-owned locations, including parks, downtown Market Square and Gay Street, as well as in the very photogenic Augusta Quarry. Free locations aren’t the only financial incentive. All who invest $200,000 or more in qualified spending are eligible for a cash rebate in the form of a 25% grant from the state, which also offers an additional qualified production credit that can offset up to 50% of franchise and excise tax liability.

And productions that qualify for the state grant rebate are also eligible for another 5% grant for shooting in Knox County, where Knoxville is located. One more reason to love Knoxville is the close proximity to Dollywood, the homey theme park established by local hero and national treasure Dolly Parton. 

Notable Film Festival: Film Fest Knox

With its first edition this past November, this festival — started by the Visit Knoxville Film Office, Public Cinema, and the locally based Regal Theaters — introduced the American Regional Film Competition, to showcase great work from outside New York City and Hollywood that is too often overlooked. The winner of the competition receives an Oscar-qualifying theatrical run through Regal.

5. KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

We consider Kamloops, returning to our list after its debut last year, to be a true discovery — and a fast-rising film hub where you can still make a name for yourself before everyone’s talking about it. It’s the hub of the gorgeous, gloriously unspoiled Thompson-Nicola region about 200 miles inland from Vancouver, with 3,300 film-friendly locations from badlands to desert to grasslands to snowy mountains to waterfalls to forests and ski resorts.

In other words, it’s a fantastic place to shoot a movie — or to enjoy being alive. Adding to the joy are massive tax incentives: British Columbia offers a basic domestic tax refund of 35%, or basic international tax refund of 28%, and that’s before you start adding more possible benefits, such as a 16% DAVE (Digital, Animation, Visual Effects & Post Production) credit.

Recent projects include Apple TV+’s monster series Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, and past projects have included Jurassic World Dominion. Expect to see many more projects, from small to monster-sized, in the near future.

And what Thompson-Nicola Regional District film commissioner Terri Hadwin told us about the area last year remains true in 2024: “No film fatigue — people are excited to work with the film industry.” The area is also exploring the possibility of opening a new film studio in Kamloops. 

Notable Film Festivals: Kamloops Film Festival and Stseptékwles re Sk’elép Indigenous Film Festival

The Kamloops Film Festival returns for its 28th annual edition this year, after a 27th go-round that included a slew of Oscar-nominated films as well as the Kamloops-filmed action thriller/reality TV satire Outrunners. 

It is led by the Kamloops Film Society, which also presents the Stseptékwles re Sk’elép (Coyote Stories) Indigenous Film Festival in association with Tk’emlúps te Secwépemc. Guided by an all-Indigenous committee, the festival offers storytelling, art, and free family films.

4. WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

Wilmington has played a charming all-American town — with secrets! — in movies from Blue Velvet to The Black Phone to Halloween Kills. It really is a delightful place, but the secret has long been out about its position as a thriving film hub. It boasts plenty of top-tier crews, some of who go back two or three generations — productions in the region often hire about 90% local crew, including all department heads. The community also boasts over 30 members of the Directors Guild of America,

including unit production managers and first and second assistant directors. Filmmakers are lured not only by its livability and charm, but by a 25% North Carolina rebate on qualifying expenses and purchases. Recent projects include an Ava DuVernay Starz series starring Joshua Jackson and Lauren Ridloff. 

Notable Film Festival: Cucalorus Film Festival

One of our favorite festivals — Cucalorus is both one of our 50 Film Festivals Worth the Entry Fee and one of our 25 Coolest Film Festivals — offers a safe harbor from ego by eschewing prizes and awards in favor of an artist-driven environment known for joyful screenings and meaningful late-night talks. In lieu of trophies, chief instigator Dan Brawley makes sure everyone goes home with a great story.

3. SAVANNAH, GEORGIA 

With its many lush green squares and endless ghost stories, Savannah has long been a magnet for Hollywood productions. It’s known as the location for the famous bus stop in Forrest Gump, but its most recent projects include Todd Haynes’ Netflix drama May December, Ava DuVernay’s aforementioned Origin, and Fear the Walking Dead.

It has a particularly energized creative atmosphere thanks to the presence of the Savannah College of Art and Design. The university will gladly allow Hollywood productions to film on its state-of-the-art new backlot as long as they hire SCAD students to work on the project. You can also shoot for free at the Savannah Hilton Head International Airport.

Other amazing locations include Tybee Island, the beaches of the Golden Isles, and historic downtown Savannah, which has architecture that can serve different periods from Colonial to Victorian to mid-century modern and contemporary industrial design. In addition to Georgia’s tax credit, Savannah productions can also take advantage of the city offering up to a 10% cash rebate and an additional $25,000 bonus incentive if they hire 50% local crew. 

Notable Film Festival: SCAD Savannah Film Festival

If the balmy weather and spooky fall vibes in October aren’t enough to draw you to the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, then come for our favorite part — the genuine awe and happy abandon with which SCAD students watch movies. They ooh, they aww, and they squeal with delight at all the right parts. Just don’t try to compete with them for a selfie with stars like Eddie Redmayne on the red carpet, because you will certainly lose.

2. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

The air is warm but the business is brisk in this diverse, celebrity-studded city of about 180,000 people that is just 15 miles from downtown Miami, but is very much its own community — and a cinematographer’s dream. The region is known for 22 miles of beaches, waterfront mansions, a buzzing boardwalk, four fishing piers and endless parks — many of which are available for filming with no fees.

And it refuses to be typecast: Greater Fort Lauderdale film commissioner and Film Florida president Sandy Lighterman notes that it also has areas that look like Colorado and Connecticut. She runs a very friendly operation offering concierge-like assistance, and the local crews are also known for skill and experience.

Fort Lauderdale makes up for Florida’s lack of big statewide film incentives by offering several of its own, including a film and TV incentive of a 15% rebate, capped at $175,000, for projects that spend at least $400,000 in Broward County. It also offers a Special Projects Incentive of a 10% rebate, capped at $2 million, for productions that spend at least $5 million in the county.

There’s also a pilot program for Broward County-based emerging filmmakers that gives out up to $10,000 per project. (These are just a few of the impressive incentives offered.) All of these advantages make it a hotbed of film and TV production.

Lionel Messi recently bought a home in Fort Lauderdale, but non-superstars can afford to live here, too — it isn’t too high above the national cost of living, and the quality of life is well above average, especially if you like beaches and sunshine.

Notable Film Festival: Fort Lauderdale International Film Festival

With screenings of some 200 films at locations across South Florida and the Bahamas, FLIFF is especially committed to raising up first-time filmmakers, and doesn’t forget its roots: Its audience awards include four different “Filmed in Broward” categories. Its latest edition, its 38th, included films from 40 countries and eight world premieres.

1. SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

This majestic wonder returns for the second consecutive year to the top of our list of Smaller Cities and Towns, and after a year of upheaval in the film world, one thing remains steady: We haven’t found another place with so many film opportunities per capita.

As an added bonus, Santa Fe is one of the loveliest places on the planet, a chosen hideaway for people like George R.R. Martin, Gene Hackman and Robert Redford who could live anywhere, and prefer to spend much of their time in this town at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

The area was well-represented in Oppenheimer, which shot in Santa Fe and in locations close to it, including Los Alamos and Ghost Ranch. Santa Fe’s film scene thrives under the tireless watch of film commissioner Jennifer LaBar-Tapia, whose peerless people skills help productions at all levels get what they need. And she gets plenty of business thanks in part to New Mexico tax incentives that can quickly add up to a 40% credit.

A UNESCO-designated City of Craft and Folk Art, with 300 days a year of sunlight, Santa Fe offers many excellent places to point your cameras, indoors and out. The inside options include Santa Fe Studios, with two 20,000 square-foot soundstages, and the indoor/outdoor offerings include the sprawling Bonanza Creek Ranch, which has hosted beloved Westerns from Lonesome Dove to The Ballad of Buster Scruggs to 3:10 to Yuma. A recent but very impressive addition is Camel Rock Studios, which is owned by the Native American Tesuque Pueblo and is the home of AMC’s Dark Winds.

Hanging your hat in paradisiacal Santa Fe means you can fly to Los Angeles for morning meetings and still be home in time for the countless evening art shows. And yes, it’s another fine place to earn a good living, while living less expensively than you would in L.A. or New York, so you have time and money to make your own films. You’ll find plenty of inspiration in Santa Fe.

Notable Film Festival: Santa Fe International Film Festival

Another of our 50 Film Festivals Worththe Entry Fee, SFiFF caters to a sophisticated audience that knows great art and great film, and treats filmmakers well: Besides offering generous assistance with travel costs, it gives out prize packages from Panavision and Light Iron for the winners in the Best Narrative Feature and Best Narrative Short categories. Perhaps most importantly, SFiFF supports the young New Mexico movie talent by holding a student day when they meet with visiting filmmakers.

They also stand out in expense. The Worldwide Cost of Living Index just released by the Economist Intelligence Unit found that New York tied Singapore for the most expensive city in the world. Tel Aviv was next, and Los Angeles and Hong Kong were tied for fourth.

We don’t believe people should have to be rich or well-connected to make movies. And we know plenty of people who moved to L.A. or New York with filmmaking dreams and ended up working industry-barely-adjacent jobs just to pay the bills. We think the best place to live is one you can afford — a place where you can be happy, inspired, and financially free to pursue your art.

That philosophy factored highly into the creation of this list. We based it on surveys with film officials, discussions with filmmakers, independent research into cost of living and quality of life, and, whenever possible, visits to the cities and towns on this list.

We also took into account that some people want to live in a massive city with the biggest possible overall film-industry spend, while others want to live in a smaller community with high per-capita spend. That’s why we offer one list of Big Cities, and another list of  Smaller Cities and Towns. But we’ve made a change this year, capping the Smaller Cities and Towns list at places with a population of 200,000 or less. That means cities like New Orleans — No. 1 on our Smaller Cities and Towns list last year — have been bumped up to the Big Cities category.

For this and other reasons, we have a new No. 1 this year in both categories. After the astonishing feat of spending four consecutive years at the top of our big cities list, Albuquerque is handing the top position back to the big city that last led our list in 2018. Albuquerque hasn’t so much slipped as spread the wealth across the rest of New Mexico. The state, which we visited for several days in the summer of 2022, has built a thriving, sustainable film scene that goes well beyond its biggest city. And of course Albuquerque remains one of our favorite cinematic cities.

Finally, as you’ve probably heard, you can do almost anything over Zoom now — so your options have been freed up considerably in recent years. We understand that cold weather will be a non-starter for some people, and hot summers a problem for others. Family and personal connections are incredibly important. So our top choices may not be your top choices, and that’s fine. We hope this list helps your research and fires your imagination.

All that said, let’s travel.

BIG CITIES

25. FORT WORTH, TEXAS (TIE)

Texas is booming, as you’re about to see from the five Lone Star State cities on this list — all of which would be higher in our rankings if Texas offered more generous tax incentives. Still, the state is working hard to attract film and TV projects, and the signs of growth are obvious all over the state. Fort Worth is the proud home of Taylor Sheridan’s upcoming Paramount+ limited series about Bass Reeves, the once-enslaved man who became a famed federal marshall. Sheridan’s Yellowstone prequel 1883 also shoots in Fort Worth, and is based in nearby Weatherford, where Sheridan owns a ranch. Fort Worth offers clear skies, easy permitting, and a vibrant film culture that includes the Lone Star Film Festival. The 13th-biggest city in the country also has experienced crews and a cost of living almost exactly in line with the U.S. average. While there’s no official local incentive program, the city’s very accommodating film officials work hard to offer soft incentives like deals on hotels.

25. ORLANDO, FLORIDA (TIE)

Much more than just the home of Disney World, Orlando is especially popular lately for commercial shoots. It offers reliably sunny skies, an average temperature of 83 degrees, and more than 4,000 miles of varied locations. The homes range from modern to rustic; the bodies of water from swamps to shimmering lakes to streams; the land from pastoral to jungle to cityscape. The cost of living is close to the national average, and while Florida ended its statewide film-tax incentive program in 2016, productions can apply for a sales and use tax exemption on certain production-related purchases. One of the best parts of the Orlando film scene is the presence of Full Sail University, which recently made our list of the best film schools in the U.S. and Canada. Full Sail students provide a steady flow of talent and creativity.

24. KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

Kansas City requires no film permits, and has spectacular locations, from the 18th & Vine Jazz District to suburbs to beautiful Art Deco buildings to gorgeous lakes, as well as miles and miles of caves and natural tunnels that are ideal for filming — or storage. KC does a remarkable job of attracting high-profile productions considering Missouri’s lack of tax incentives for filmmakers. (As state representative LaDonna Appelbaum noted last year, as she introduced the latest unsuccessful bill to put a film tax credit in place, “Even a show like Ozark that takes place in Missouri’s own Lake of the Ozarks is mostly filmed in Atlanta.”) Steph Shannon, director of the KC Film Office and vice president of communications for the Missouri Motion Media Association, is working tirelessly to get lawmakers in Missouri and Kansas to realize how many millions their states could be earning from film and TV. But in the meantime, the charms of Kansas City have still lured projects like Amy Poehler’s non-scripted The Gentle Art of Swedish Death Cleaning and indie film features like the Burghart Brothers’ Head Count. HBO’s The Last of Us, shot mostly in Calgary, has also shot in KC.

23. ST. PETERSBURG, FLORIDA

This can-do production magnet makes up for Florida’s lack of statewide incentives by offering its own. Film St. Pete/Clearwater’s Cash Rebate Program pays 10-30% on qualified expenditures within Pinellas County’s 24 municipalities, luring plenty of projects drawn to the year-round sun, immaculate beaches, and magnificent architecture — from the mind-bending Salvador Dali Museum to Mediterranean Revival homes to the Neoclassical Princess Martha building, a hotel turned glamorous 55+ community. If you’re looking for humdrum, dull locations, we’re afraid St. Petersburg won’t be of much use to you. St. Petersburg is especially popular for indies and Lifetime movies, like the recent, brilliantly titled Spring Break Nightmare. It boasts an extremely experienced and deep crew base, as well as free permits you can easily apply for online. If you’re thinking it all sounds expensive, no! The cost of living is almost exactly the U.S. average.

22. SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS

San Antonio offers turnkey film permitting and free permits for more than 250 city-owned locations, including parks, libraries and the endlessly photogenic San Antonio River Walk. That very welcoming attitude has drawn a healthy mix of indie films, documentaries, and unscripted shows, and the crew base is known for experience, flexibility and budget consciousness. The cost of living is surprisingly low, and San Antonio offers very competitive tax breaks: In addition to the Texas incentive of up to 22.5%, the San Antonio Film Incentive Program provides qualified productions with up to a 7.5% rebate, for a total incentive of up to 30%. The growing film culture is reflected in the University of Texas at San Antonio now offering a brand-new Bachelor of Arts in Multidisciplinary Studies: Film and Media Studies. And you can choose from a dozen equipment rental houses, half a dozen post houses, and more than 15 production facilities. All in a region rich in history that exudes friendliness and authenticity.

21. HOUSTON, TEXAS

It’s surprising that the country’s fourth-largest city isn’t a bigger film hub, but it has its hands full being one of America’s most diverse, business-friendly, and culturally blessed cities, all while being home to NASA. Even without big tax incentives, it remains irresistible to many filmmakers, and Richard Linklater’s semi-autobiographical 2022 animated epic Apollo 10 ½ is a great indicator of why — its history is fascinating, and its competitive drive intoxicating. Recent shoots include VH1’s Hip Hop Family Christmas Part 2 and HBO’s Max’s House of Ho. The cost of living is below the U.S. average, which is a special find in an American metropolis of its vastness and opportunity.

20. DALLAS, TEXAS

Why choose Dallas? The city offers an online document that addresses just that question, and points to factors including its equal access to both coasts, great weather (except for some cold nights) and striking visuals, including modern and futuristic buildings that form a strikingly camera-worthy nighttime skyline. It’s one of the most diverse cities in the country, with a deep, experienced crew base, easily obtainable permits, and hotel deals to be had — if you’re shooting in Dallas and staying in the city’s hotels for at least 15 nights, you could qualify for up to 10% back on rooms. It’s a great city to work on other people’s projects so you can save enough money to create your own, and is almost exactly in line with the U.S. average cost of living. Just drive or walk its streets and it’s impossible not to notice the new construction and businesses popping up all over town, and it’s full of rising filmmakers who pitch in to do each other favors and bring one another’s projects to life. The Dallas International Film Festival does an admirable job of showcasing must-see films like last year’s documentary Juneteenth: Faith and Freedom.

19. TULSA, OKLAHOMA

Tulsa’s new Filmed in Oklahoma Act of 2021 offers a cash rebate base of 20%, with additional uplifts of up to 38% on qualifying expenditures, and has already been a big boon to the state. How big? The Sylvester Stallone Paramount+ series Tulsa King was originally set in Kansas City, before Sooner State incentives lured the production from Missouri. Other thriving productions include Reservation Dogs, from Taika Waititi and Sterlin Harjo. Local soundstages include a 27,000-square-foot facility within the Cherokee Nation, which has 9,000 square feet of dedicated XR space, as well as edit suites, a professional grade audio booth and more. Industry interest in Tulsa is finally catching up with the region’s love of film. Film lovers will want to be sure to visit the Admiral Twin Drive-In for a classic drive-in experience. And fans of Tulsa King will no doubt want to check out the Center of the Universe, an acoustic anomaly in downtown Tulsa where you can shout your secrets and they’ll echo back to you — but sound garbled to anyone nearby. Just one of the magical qualities in this fast-growing film hub.

18. CLEVELAND, OHIO

The Russo brothers’ hometown is a cinematic powerhouse with Midwestern charm, a very reasonable cost of living, and a long record of proven success and stability. It can double as almost any other part of the country, offers a deep bench of production facilities and equipment-rental houses, and is home to the Cleveland International Film Festival, one of the best proving grounds for crowd-pleasers. Recent projects include the upcoming LeBron James film Shooting Stars, about his early life, and the Tim Blake Nelson drama Asleep in My Palm. Northeastern Ohio’s history with the industry means experienced crews who earn the same rates as those in more expensive regions.

 17. MEMPHIS, TENNESSEE

Hollywood loves to mine Memphis for its abundant musical legacy – take Baz Luhrman’s Elvis, for example, which was shot in Australia — but Bluff City is well-positioned to become a thrumming film hub, as well. Tennessee has offered a 25% cash refund on qualified expenditures for a decade, but now also offers an innovative new payroll tax credit that can offer up to a 40% payroll tax credit, or even more in some cases. Comcast, owner of NBCUniversal, is among the current beneficiaries thanks to the Dwayne Johnson show Young Rock. And Memphis’ Craig Brewer, director of Coming 2 America and Dolemite Is My Name, has been extolling Memphis’ cinematic virtues since his Hustle & Flow days. Indie Memphis, one of the country’s best film festivals, supports local talent by waiving fees for local filmmakers. If you can’t tell, we’re very big believers in Memphis — one of the projects backed by our own MovieMaker Production Services is Jacir, by writer-director Waheed AlQawasmi, about a Syrian refugee living in Memphis, which stars Malek Rahbani and Sopranos star Lorraine Bracco. Visit and you’ll find exquisite food, a legendarily great music scene on Beale Street, and a very low cost of living.

16. MISSOULA, MONTANA

One word: Yellowstone. A 2022 study by the University of Montana’s Bureau of Business and Economic Research found that the show’s fourth season alone contributed $85 million to Montana businesses and non-business organizations, plus $25 million in income for Montana households. That doesn’t even include revenue from tourists who want to visit Ruby’s Cafe in downtown Missoula. Yellowstone hasn’t just boosted Missoula, the nearest city to the real-life site of the fictional Dutton Ranch. It has also opened the state’s eyes to the many benefits of embracing smaller productions. When Amanda Kramer decided to shoot her gender-bending indie Please Baby Please in Butte, about two hours from Missoula, she found that the locals were completely accommodating. “Once they started shooting Yellowstone, a lot of people were bringing in productions, and the Montana Film Office welcomes you warmly. Everyone is so amenable,” she wrote in the fall 2022 issue of MovieMaker. Montana’s many film incentives include 25% compensation for Montana resident crew, 15% compensation for non-Montana crew, 20% of above-the-line compensation for actors, 25% of post production wages, and an additional 5% for using the Filmed in Montana screen credit logo. The state also boasts about 700 available crew members. In addition to rugged natural beauty and a wide variety of locations that can capture many decades, Missoula has a reasonable cost of living, and is home to the outstanding Big Sky Documentary Film Festival. And have you tried the pie at Ruby’s?

15. SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH

Surrounded by gorgeous mountains, this sprawling, affordable, and meticulously maintained city offers a perfect home base for exploring one of our most beautiful states. You’re in easy reach of locations that can double as Washington, D.C. or the Old West, all covered by the state’s 25% tax credit. If you’re up for a beautiful drive, check out the otherworldly Bonneville Salt Flats. And there’s no shortage of lovely suburbs and surrounding small towns. The longtime home of the High School Musical franchise has more recently welcomed films like Patricia Arquette’s Gonzo Girl, Kevin Costner’s Horizon: An American Saga and Jonathan Nolan’s Fallout. Utah draws plenty of filmmaker attention thanks to Sundance and Slamdance, based mainly in Park City. But they’d be wise to also attend the Sundance screenings down the mountain in Salt Lake City, or to come back in the fall for FilmQuest, in nearby Provo, to experience more of Utah outside the hustle of the festivals. The region has a tight-knit, supportive film community, with skilled, experienced professionals ready to work on DGA, SAG or non-union productions both behind and in front of the camera. For post, filmmakers often turn to Cosmic Pictures, which offers services from digital lab and editorial support to feature and episodic finishing and delivery, including color grading, VFX, and mastering.

14. BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Apple’s Lady in the Lake and the Paramount+ show Lioness are among the latest productions shot in Charm City, which lures film and TV projects aplenty with its proud film and TV track record, low cost of living, and refundable tax credits of 25% for films and 27% for series. The hometown of John Waters, Barry Levinson and David Simon offers a wide range of locations: the seductive seaport of Fells Point, the Gilded Age elegance of Mount Vernon, Antebellum historical sites, vibrant Federal row houses, and the modern-glass architecture of the Inner Harbor East. It has a creative, collaborative spirit and very close proximity to Washington, D.C., as well as very experienced crews and low permit fees. The crackerjack, detail-oriented Baltimore Film Office will work fast to get your needs met quickly. Local post facilities include audio specialists Clean Cuts.

13. BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Boston looks gorgeous on screen, as you can attest if you saw the big bridge fight scene in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. (Yes, we know MIT is in Cambridge, across the bridge from Boston.) The Marvel super sequel was just one of many recent projects to come to the Bay State, which offers a 25% production credit, 25% payroll credit and sales tax-exemption. Other recent major productions include the Whitney Houston biopic I Wanna Dance With Somebody and Luca Guadagnini’s Challengers. Boston also has a vibrant festival scene, and the Nantucket Film Festival, Provincetown International Film Festival and Salem Film Festival are all a short distance away. Its thriving film programs include Boston University and Emerson College, which counts the Everything Everywhere All at Once directing duo of Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert among its graduates. (We had the pleasure of watching the film at the AMC theater near Boston Common, packed with Emerson students cheering on The Daniels.) Also, we suspect that Ben Affleck and Matt Damon launching a new production company won’t be bad for the Boston film scene. Called Artists Equity, it has $100 million in initial investment, and given their track record we expect at least some of its projects will be set around their hometown.

12. AUSTIN, TEXAS

We attended the Austin Film Festival last year and couldn’t find a single thing wrong with the place, from the outstanding screening venues to the perfect tacos and barbeque to the trail along Lady Bird Lake. Sure, it’s hot in the summer, and yes, there’s an influx of tech and Hollywood money that keeps driving up prices — but Austin is still doing an admirable job of staying weird. And it’s still a lot cheaper than New York City or Los Angeles, with a film culture that matches theirs in enthusiasm. Perhaps the best of all cities for a festival, it offers not just SXSW, the Austin Film Festival and Fantastic Fest, but more than 30 others. Also welcoming: the Texas Moving Image Industry Incentive Program, administered by the Texas Film Commission, a cash grant based on in-state spending by feature film, television and commercial projects that offers up to 22.5% back to qualifying productions. And no city on this list submitted such an impressive list of filmmaker residents, from Richard Linklater to Robert Rodriguez to Terrence Malick. Its film culture also includes the Austin Film Society, founded by Linklater in 1985, and the originaal Alamo Drafthouse Cinema that started it all.

11. CINCINNATI, OHIO

Cincinnati is making serious moves, hosting such productions as Shirley, the Regina King biopic of Congresswoman Shirley Chisholm, Jeff Nichols’ The Bikeriders, starring Tom Hardy, Austin Butler, Michael Shannon and Jodie Comer, and The Wise Guys, directed by Barry Levinson and starring Robert De Niro as two different gangsters. Cincinnati pulled in an estimated $200 million in industry spending last year, thanks in no small part to Ohio’s 30% refundable tax credit on eligible expenses. Film Cincinnati notes that as it attracts bigger and bigger productions, more and more film professionals are moving to town to get hired as locals. What they find is a diverse, friendly city that’s as American as it gets, with a lower-than-average cost of living. The popping film scene includes the wonderfully inclusive Over the Rhine Film Festival — which we recently rated one of the 25 Coolest Film Festivals in the World — as well as the film program at the University of Cincinnati. A little bit Midwestern, a little bit Southern, Cincinnati is close enough to Northern Kentucky to share an airport. So filmmakers can choose from a diverse range of locations across two states, and more local flavor than the city’s celebrated chili. (To put out the fire we recommend Graeter’s ice cream, just maybe the best we’ve ever had.)

10. PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

We used to list Pittsburgh as one of our best small towns, but it can hold its own against much bigger cities. Shockingly affordable, especially given its beautiful housing stock, it boasts architecture that begs to be filmed, rolling hills, countless bridges crossing its three rivers, and world-class museums, music and food. People who visit from elsewhere often wonder why no one’s ever told them how cool Pittsburgh is, so folks: We’re telling you now. Plenty of movie people get it, though. Last year Pittsburgh welcomed back Dark Knight Rises star Christian Bale for The Pale Blue Eye, one of many productions wisely seizing on the atmosphere and tax incentives that make the Steel City so inviting. Others include the new Tom Hanks drama The Man Called Otto and Season 2 of Mayor of Kingstown. The tax incentives are great: 25% percent for eligible projects, with an extra 5% if you use Pennsylvania-qualified production studios or post-production facilities. Of the $100 million available through the program, $5 million is carved out specifically for independent films.

9. PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Philadelphia and its surrounding communities offer everything from stately manors to metropolitan grandeur to neighborhood grit to rural majesty to woodsy mystery — all within about a half-hour of driving. Like Pittsburgh, it doesn’t need to boast, because its rich cinematic history does the talking. Philadelphia offers world-class art, boundless creativity, and opportunities galore to meet fellow artists without losing a close-knit, neighborly feel. You can soak up life without going broke, and enjoy nearby hiking and camping without abandoning your big-city dreams. In short, it’s a very sensible and inspiring place to eke out an affordable life as a filmmaker. There are many reasons M. Night Shyamalyn, whose new film Knock at the Cabin will almost be in theaters by the time you read this, so often stays close to home. It has the same tax incentives as Pittsburgh, and its easy proximity to New York City, Baltimore and Washington, D.C. expand your work and cultural opportunities.

8. CALGARY, ALBERTA, CANADA

Ranked by the Economist Intelligence Unit last year as the most livable city in North America — and the third most livable city in the world — Calgary is thriving in every sense. It’s safe, culturally rich but not too expensive, and, best of all, is actively courting film and TV industry professionals to make it their new home. You’re going to see a lot of it on TV in 2023, just like you did in 2022. It’s the home of the new HBO big-swing series The Last of Us, as well as the new season of FX’s Fargo. Last year it hosted the Hulu hit Prey, a smart update of the Predator franchise, as well as FX’s Under the Banner of Heaven. It hosted 11 projects running simultaneously with a full crew base. Among the many draws are a 22-30% tax credit and Calgary’s gorgeously diverse locations — it’s a gorgeous modern city close to prairie, badlands, and the Rockies. The CL Western Town and Backlot is just 40 minutes from downtown. The permit process is easy, equipment rental and post houses abound, and it is the home of beloved film festivals including the Calgary International Film Festival and Calgary Underground Film Festival. Once it was known mostly as a cattle town, celebrated for its very fun summer stampede. But today it’s also gaining a reputation as one of the world’s great film hubs — and a place that still knows how to cowboy up.

7. CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

The excellent Hulu series The Bear put Chicago on spectacular display this past year, but it’s one of many projects that make the Windy City a sensible yet thrilling place to stake your filmmaking career. With a surprisingly low cost of living given all it has to offer, Chicago is a perfect place for people who are tough, pragmatic, and funny enough to keep up in the city’s thriving artistic scene. With a big 30% tax credit and scores of great actors — including in its world-famous improv scene — Chicago is a major player that remains affordable for normal people. Case in point: All Jacked Up and Full of Worms, one of 2022’s boldest horror breakouts, which was almost entirely the work of young Chicago friends, many of whom met through Northwestern University. The film’s magnificent music was developed in large part by Cue Shop, a music collaborative of people playing instruments together in a room through the Chicago winter, just like your parents’ parents used to do it. More mainstream standout productions include Apple’s Shining Girls and Dick Wolf’s One Chicago franchise.

6. MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA

Go to the Fantasia Film Festival — held at glorious Concordia University in the heart of downtown Montreal — and just try not to fall in love with the festival, the school, and the city itself. Montreal prizes individuality and fun, as you’ll come to understand as your fellow Fantasia-goers start meowing at the screen. (We never figured out why they do this; we were too busy meowing.) The sense of mischief doesn’t detract from the serious business in this French-Canadian metropolis that impeccably melds Old World charm with new-school futurism: Montreal pulled in a staggering $2.5 billion in business last year, luring highly desirable projects like the sixth film in the Scream franchise. The incentives don’t hurt: in addition to a 20% tax credit, other offerings include a very forward-thinking 16% tax rate for VFX/green-screen shots and animation. It’s very difficult to visit Montreal without plotting out how you might someday get to live here.

5. ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

The end of Better Call Saul might be the last we see of the Breaking Bad universe, but Albuquerque used its nearly 15-year relationship with the franchise as a foothold to establish New Mexico as one of the the most vital states for film, with an empire that expands to Santa Fe (less than an hour away from Albuquerque) and Las Cruces (about three hours south). Attracting major investment in recent years from companies like Netflix and NBCUniversal, Albuquerque has clocked sustained, steady growth for years to become a very viable alternative to Los Angeles (two hours away by plane) at a fraction of the expense: Albuquerque offers a tax credit of up to 35% and the cost of living is lower than the national average. You can raise a family here with less stress and a healthy work-life balance, and traffic is so mild that one can easily commute between Albuquerque and Santa Fe. But the best part of the region is that it still has room to grow, in terms of soundstages, post-production houses, and other job creators. One of its major assets is film commissioner Cyndy McCrossen, an expert in location and production services who has worked for Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul and Outer Range, among other projects, and can help you find the best sights in a region packed with stunning visuals. Albuquerque owns nearly 30,000 acres of open-space land including rocky foothills and pine forests, and filmmakers are also drawn to the area’s parks, pools, botanical garden and railyards — as well as the nearby Sandia, Manzano and Jemez mountains. Permits are easy and fast, and fees are flexible.

4. TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA

This booming film capital has hosted productions from almost every major studio and streamer in 2022, including Amazon’s The Boys, Hulu’s The Handmaid’s Tale, and Netflix’s Ginny and Georgia. Its eminence in the film world is on global display with the Toronto International Film Festival each fall, which celebrates not just the year’s shiniest awards-season contenders but also bold indie voices. (TIFF Midnight Madness programmer Peter Kuplowsky deserves a special shoutout for his championing of the daring and avant garde.) It’s filled with outstanding film programs, including Toronto Metropolitan University, Toronto Film School, and York University, and great filmmakers from Sarah Polley to David Cronenberg call it home. How film-friendly is it? Its film office vows to be the fastest in North America when it comes to issuing permits, handling them in as little as 48 hours. And the tax incentives are outstanding, including the Ontario Production Services Tax Credit of 21.5% on all qualifying production expenditures incurred in the province, and the Ontario Film and Television Tax Credit of 35% of the eligible Ontario labor expenditures — with an enhanced credit rate of 40% on the first $240,000 of qualifying labor expenditures for first-time producers.

3. NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Laissez les bons temps rouler: If you shoot in New Orleans, your cast and crew will love you. One of the world’s most storied cities, it offers eclecticism, adventure and spirit no American city can match – but also appeals to pragmatists with a 25% base credit for in-state expenditures, and additional 15% for local labor. There is also a special tax credit for projects written by Louisiana writers. A New Orleans setting can make even a dull story watchable, and New Orleans has enough working crew — more than 1,800 union professionals – to handle up to 18 major productions. The New Orleans Film Festival anchors its commitment to rising filmmakers, and shooting in New Orleans (or anywhere in Louisiana) entitles you to take part in the Louisiana Film Prize, a one-of-a-kind competition in which filmmakers from across the state compete to win up to $50,000 for the best short film. That money will go far here, given New Orleans’ surprisingly reasonable cost of living. We used to list New Orleans among smaller cities and towns – it was No. 1 last year — but given the size of its big, beautiful, nearly 400,000-strong population, we decided to bump it up to compete among the big cities, where it more than holds its own. AMC’s revived Interview With a Vampire is a perfect display of its undying beauty.

2. VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Vancouver’s charms are very familiar to the countless American film and TV productions that shoot almost everything there, and the appeal is only growing. Locations range from sleek modern streets and plazas to the cobblestones of Gastown to the sandy beaches of Kitsilano to the lush rain forest of Stanley Park — all within the city of Vancouver. The very film-friendly city offers steep discounts on permit fees, and the tax credits have changed lives: British Columbia offers a 35% credit for Canadian-owned businesses, as well as a 16% incentive available for post-production, and a screenwriting incentive of 35%. The benefits are almost, but not quite, as good for non-Canadians. Vancouver is a flourishing, creative, and inspiring city year-round, with very mild winters by Canadian standards.

1. ATLANTA, GEORGIA

The center of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — and the anchor of Georgia’s more than $4 billion film industry last year — comes closest to rivaling New York or Los Angeles for film and TV opportunities. Just spend a few days in Atlanta and you’ll feel a powerful sense of things happening everywhere, and creative people thriving. It’s a little more expensive than the average U.S. city, but it’s a bargain considering its size and abundance of anything you could want: jobs, creative opportunities, great food, and culture. The 20% tax credit is boosted another 10% for productions that include the now-very-familiar Peach logo. Recent projects that shot in Atlanta and the surrounding region include Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, DC’s Black Adam, and the subject of our latest cover story, Warner Bros.’s Creed III. The permitting process is easy and efficient, and soundstages, equipment rental houses and post facilities abound. Atlanta is also home to the famed Atlanta Film Festival, Atlanta Jewish Film Festival, BronzeLens Film Festival, Morehouse Human and Civil Rights Film Festival, and SCAD TVfest, among other festivals. SCAD is one of the anchors of its film culture: the Atlanta campus of the Savannah College of Art and Design is a colorful and joyous place where students learn everything from gloriously experimental animation to using a state-of-the-art Volume screen to nailing an elevator pitch. The city’s next generation of filmmakers is coming in hot. Atlanta has energy, passion and a constant sense of progress.

SMALLER CITIES AND TOWNS

10. THE HUDSON VALLEY, NEW YORK TOWNS OF POUGHKEEPSIE, KINGSTON AND NEWBURGH (THREE-WAY TIE)

We rank cities, not regions —but there’s no denying the rise of the Hudson Valley, a collection of small cities and towns making a huge impact on the industry. Poughkeepskie has welcomed productions including NBCUniversal’s The Endgame, Apple’s Invasion and Severance, Showtime’s The First Lady and HBO Max’s The Sex Lives of College Girls. Severance has also shot in nearby Kingston, and so have Netflix’s Manifest, HBO’s Full Circle and The Undoing, as well as many more productions. Newburgh, meanwhile, has welcomed Rian Johnson’s Peacock show Poker Face, HBO’s The White House Plumbers, and Darren Aronofsky’s The Whale. The region’s stately, reserved beauty and century-long embrace of arts and culture have made it highly desirable, especially for thoughtful prestige productions. Many New York City residents found the area to be a refuge as they fled tight quarters during lockdowns, which may explain why so much creativity has spilled out of the valley. And it benefits from New York’s 25% tax credit on below the line costs, and an additional 10% on below-the-line labor. Massive Clouds, in Kingston, is among the superb local boutique post houses.

9. ASHLAND, OREGON

The celebrated Oregon Shakespeare Festival has anchored a love of storytelling in the Ashland-Medford region since 1935, and has recently become a significant producer of film and media. The OSF-produced short film “You Go, Girl” premiered at Sundance in 2022, and the company has produced four multi-camera theater-on-film streaming presentations recently as it moved away from only live presentations. (All the world’s a stage, after all.) Southern Oregon’s PBS station SOPBS has also welcomed a new CEO, Phil Meyer, with a fresh emphasis on promoting local productions. Recent indies shot in the area include the feature Bad Fish, which Medford-based director Ray Nomoto Robinson shot with local crews. The Oregon Production Investment Fund offers qualifying film or TV productions that spend more than $1 million in the state a 25% cash rebate on goods and services, and a 26.5% cash rebate for payroll. Additional incentives are available for smaller-budget films. And if you like small towns, Ashland is the smallest on this list, with about 20,000 people. We probably don’t need to tell you that the hikes in Southern Oregon are spectacular.

8. KAMLOOPS, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA

Kamloops is the hub of the quietly astonishing Thompson-Nicola region about 200 miles inland from Vancouver, which offers locations from badlands to desert to grasslands to snowy mountains to waterfalls to forests and ski resorts. But the biggest draw may be the 53.5% tax credit. It’s no surprise the region has attracted projects like Jurassic World Dominion. Recent Canadian productions include Bones of Crows, about a Cree woman who survives the Indian residential school system to become a code talker for the Canadian Air Force in World War II. Permitting is fairly easy, and the crew base is understandably growing fast. Terri Hadwin, the new Thompson-Nicola Film commissioner, also points out another benefit of the area’s swift ascent as a movie hub: “No film fatigue. People are excited to work with the film industry.”

7. LAS CRUCES, NEW MEXICO

Joining our list for the first time, New Mexico’s second-largest city adds to its cache as an essential center of film: It offers a low cost of living, up to 35% in tax credits, and captivating locations aplenty. It’s a hub for productions taking advantage of the hypnotic White Sands National Monument, and can double easily for Texas and Mexico — not a huge stretch, since El Paso and the border are both 40 miles away. But it can also stand in easily for Los Angeles and a wide range of other locations thanks to abundant palm trees, stunning mansions and adobe-style homes. Filmmakers also appreciate the ready availability of the vacant courthouse and prison. Recent films shot locally include The Locksmith with Ryan Phillippe, Kate Bosworth and Ving Rhames, and Bad Hombres with Thomas Jane, Luke Hemsworth, Nick Cassavetes and Tyrese Gibson. It promises easy and fast film permitting.

6. KNOXVILLE, TENNESSEE

Nestled in the Great Smoky Mountains, Knoxville is alluring and versatile enough to attract plenty of shows with the names of other cities in their titles. That’s a testament to its easy-going versatility and very experienced crew base. If you invest $200,000 or more in qualified spending per episode or project, you’re eligible for a cash rebate in the form of a 25% grant. There’s also a qualified production credit to offset up to 50% of franchise and excise tax liability. But enough tax stuff — can we talk about the beauty of eastern Tennessee? Among the most irresistible locations are Meads Quarry and Augusta Quarry, two exceedingly photogenic swimming holes and recreational areas. The Ijams Nature Center also offers a wide range of looks, from wetlands to rock formations to trails, and you can even watch movies under the stars there in the summer. Recent local productions include the survival drama Roof, as well as Dolly Parton’s Mountain Magic Christmas. Speaking of our queen: When it’s time to unwind, Knoxville is less than an hour from Dollywood.

5. PALM SPRINGS, CALIFORNIA

Angelenos loved Palm Springs already, prior to the pandemic, for its untamed desert, unbeatable pool scene, and history as a playground for everyone from Frank Sinatra to Elvis Presley. But it became an industry mecca when everyone in isolation became increasingly desperate for open space and remembered the desert oasis just over a hundred miles away. Even the endless gossip around Don’t Worry Darling couldn’t distract from its breathtakingly beautiful shots of Palm Springs, captured in all its well-preserved Space Age wonder. (It looked pretty great in A Star is Born, too.) Film fanatics who flock each year to the Palm Springs International Film Festival may want to stay year-round, especially with Palm Springs Studios opening soon and expected to greatly expand film and TV production in the Coachella Valley far beyond the roughly $32 million the industry pulled in last year. The tax credits are potentially better than they are in Los Angeles — in addition to California’s 20 or 25% credit (the amount depends on the type of production), eligible projects shot outside the 30-Mile Studio Zone can earn up to 10% in additional credits.

4. FORT LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

Offering experienced crews, easy permitting, miles and miles of beaches and a wide range of stunning no-fee locations, the Fort Lauderdale region does brisk business, pulling in roughly $140 million last year thanks to productions ranging from HBO’s Rap Sh!t to a slew of basic-cable reality shows. While Florida lacks a statewide film tax incentive, Fort Lauderdale wants your business, and is working hard to get it. Its $10 million special projects program targets TV shows or higher-profile films that will bring long-term job creation to the region, and the Broward County film and TV incentive program offers up to a 15% rebate on expenditures up to $175,000, within certain conditions. Among the impressive local businesses are Robot Studios in Hallandale Beach, which boasts a 54,000-square-foot facility including an LED screen with Unreal Engine, a massive green-screen cyclorama, and an array of robot cameras.

3. SAVANNAH, GEORGIA

A town of endless charm, with a surprisingly low cost of living, Savannah is one of the country’s most-loved tourist destinations. But why leave? Its locations — from picturesque marshes and beaches to the pristine historic district, call out to be filmed, and Savannah’s film history goes back more than a century. The city’s diversity, in every sense, allows it to stand in for just about anywhere in America. (Recent films shot here included Halloween Ends.) Atlanta is the biggest economic driver of Georgia’s film economy, but Savannah offers the same tax credit (up to 30%), a more reflective pace, and even more architectural majesty per square foot. A sense of romance hangs in the air like Spanish moss from the trees. The main SCAD campus does a lovely job of showing off the city each year with the SCAD Savannah Film Festival, which draws a steady stream of award-season films and A-list talent who share their experience and wisdom with SCAD students and passionate local film fans. Employment opportunities are plentiful enough that many graduates opt to stay in this city of less than 150,000 people instead of venturing off to Atlanta, New York or Los Angeles.

2. WILMINGTON, NORTH CAROLINA

A quiet powerhouse of film that doesn’t rest on its considerable laurels, Wilmington offers a low cost of living for a high quality of life. Known for charming homes and gorgeous beaches, Wilmington looks so idyllic that filmmakers can’t help but cast it against type in scary stories — it’s the site of David Lynch’s Blue Velvet, the fifth Scream, The Black Phone and Halloween Kills. Rather than jump scares, the real Wilmington offers security and dependability: there’s steady work from TV shows that hire mostly local crews, and some crew members have worked here for decades. (Some are even two or three generations deep in the industry.) The city has over 30 Directors Guild of America members. It earned roughly $210 million in film and TV spending last year — highly impressive for a city of about 120,000 people — thanks in part to a 25% North Carolina rebate on qualifying expenses and purchases. The anti-competition Cucalorus Film Festival epitomizes the region’s affable blend of cool confidence and professional expertise.

1. SANTA FE, NEW MEXICO

In our travels across the United States, we’ve never found a place with so many film opportunities per capita. Santa Fe boasts a close-knit film community, surrounded by astonishing natural beauty and artistic inspiration everywhere you look. It offers diverse locales, endless views, more than 300 days a year of sunlight, and bountiful sound stages — including the stunning Santa Fe Studios, with two 20,000 square-foot soundstages, and, just outside of town, the Camel Rock Studios, a former casino owned by the Native American Tesuque Pueblo and the home of AMC’s Dark Winds. Tireless film commissioner Jennifer LaBar-Tapia seems to know every industry person in town on a first-name basis — she’s part sheriff, part cheer captain, and all rock star, able to roll with big requests and surprises at a moment’s notice. Yes, Santa Fe is more expensive than most American cities — its elite residents include George R.R. Martin — but it is still significantly more affordable than Los Angeles, which is two hours away by plane or driveable in a day. With a population of about 88,000, it has none of the steel skyscrapers or 24/7 distractions of a big city, but you won’t miss them. It’s a place to move when you’ve made the decision to focus on self-improvement and creativity instead of the rat race. There are far fewer industry people to network with than you’ll find in larger cities, but your chances of meeting and working with them are much higher.