Hollywood Hopefuls: Examining Your Chances of Fame

There are different categories of celebrity, from musicians to comedians and authors to actors. The different varieties of a-listers means that people have a better chance of finding fame, money, and opportunities to walk red carpets in their future. If you’re hoping to head to Hollywood someday, there are a lot of variables your chance of fame hinges on. Depending on what your star-studded dreams are, there might be more obstacles in your path.

For one thing, the closest coast to your home town might indicate what type of celebrity you could attain. This analysis of the highest paid celebrities in the United States by the team at Homes.com shows that the west coast turns out more athletes, actors and actresses, and musicians while the east coast turns out more authors and comedians. 22% of the highest paid athletes are from California, in particular. Notables include Carson Palmer, football player; Damian Lillard, basketball player; and Jeff Gordon, race car driver. 25% of the highest paid actors and actresses are also from California, but that isn’t very surprising. Needless to say, there’s clearly a west coast bias for these types of a-listers.

As far as the east coast is concerned, New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey are all home to authors on the highest paid celebrity list. Some of the highest paid authors include James Patterson, Suzanne Collins, and, of course, Stephen King. New York and Massachusetts are the home states of the most comedians.

Is it fair to say that almost everyone has wanted to be a rockstar once upon a time? The Nickelback song might have something to it, but it’s likely in the south where the best chances of fame lie. Over 25% of the highest paid celebrities over the last few years have been musicians, and 1 in 5 of those musicians come from cities in Georgia, Tennessee, and Texas. Although 14% of the highest paid musicians are native to the Golden State, country musicians and residents of the southeast have the highest chance of celebrity status.

Have you ever taken a look at where stars in your preferred genre of fame are born and bred? This breakdown of the highest paid a-listers in the United States is clear about one thing: it pays to be from the Golden State.