The UK has long been a powerhouse of talent, producing world-renowned musicians, actors, and sports stars. From iconic bands to legendary footballers, the nation continues to shape the global entertainment and sports industries.
But which of the UK’s cities and regions are the true talent hotspots?
By analysing the birthplace of actors, actresses, musicians, and footballers, Prime Casino will identify the areas that have nurtured the most gifted performers. This research highlights the UK’s most talent-rich regions and showcases where the country’s stars are most concentrated.
Manchester Is The Most Talented City In The UK
1. Manchester
City talent score: 9.53/10
Taking first place by a narrow margin scoring 9.77 out of 10, we have Manchester. Most notably, Manchester is the birthplace of the highest proportion of actors per 100,000 people, at 13. This includes House of the Dragon star Olivia Cooke and Lewis Tan, who appeared in Deadpool and Wolverine. It also ranked second for the most bands and musicians per 100,000 people, at 65. Notably, rock band Oasis and Wigan-based Tasmin Stephens, known as TTSSFU, come from the city. It ranked second for the number of footballers it has produced per 100,000 people, at 14. This includes huge names like Marcus Rashford, Cole Palmer and Everton defender James Tarkowski.
2. Liverpool
City talent score: 9.52/10
Liverpool takes second place, having scored 9.52 out of 10 for its talent production. The city ranks top for the number of footballers playing first to fourth-tier football, at 19 per 100,000 people. One star is 21-year-old Liverpool left-back James Norris, currently on loan at Shelbourne FC. Liverpool also ranked top for musical talent, with 67 Scouse-born musicians per 100,000 people–one of the obvious acts being The Beatles. The city also ranked third for having nine Liverpool-born actors and actresses per 100,000 people, including Stephen Graham, who starred in Netflix’s Adolescence and Joe Dempsie, best known for playing Gendry Baratheon in HBO’s Game of Thrones.
3. Nottingham
City talent score: 8.62/10
Taking third place for the UK’s most talented cities is Nottingham. The city ranked fourth for the number of locally born professional footballers per 100,000 people, at eight in total. Six of those players currently play tier-one football, including Brennan Johnson, Tom Cairney and Nottingham Forest midfielder Ryan Yates. Nottingham also ranked sixth for the number of locally produced musicians per 100,000 people, at 25. This includes Alvin Lee, the lead guitarist and vocalist for the blues rock band Ten Years After.
The North West Of England Produces The Most Talented Individuals
1. North West England
Region talent score: 10/10
North West England takes the top spot as the UK’s leading talent hub, boasting a perfect talent score of 10. This region stands out particularly for its exceptional number of actors and musicians, with 37 and 156 per 100,000 people, respectively. It also has a strong presence of actors and professional footballers, the highest among the top three. This suggests that the North West has a rich cultural and entertainment scene and a thriving football legacy, making it the most talent-packed region in the UK.
2. Yorkshire And The Humber
Region talent score: 7.08/10
Yorkshire and the Humber takes second place among the various regions in the UK for talent, scoring 7.08. It ranked second for the number of actors and actresses born in the region, with 47 per 100,000 people. Sean Bean is an obvious Yorkshire filmstar, having appeared in The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Game of Thrones and The Martian. Robert Aramayo, the actor who played young Ned Stark, Sean Bean’s character on Game of Thrones, is also from Yorkshire. The region also has the third most footballers per 100,000 with 19, including Kalvin Philips, and Erling Haaland, who, despite his Norwegian nationality, was born in Leeds.
3. East Midlands
Region talent score: 6.67/10
In third place, we have another tie involving the East Midlands, which has scored 6.67. The region ranks second for locally produced footballers per 100,000 with 7, including Torino FC forward Ché Adams and Newcastle player Jamal Lascelles. It also ranks third for the number of actors born in the region per 100,000, with 15, including Leicester-born Richard Armitage, who starred in Peter Jackson’s The Hobbit films and Alison King, who has featured on Coronation Street since 2004.
Manchester Is The Birthplace Of The Most Actors Per 100,000 People
Manchester - 13 Actors Per 100,000 People
Coming out on top as the city with the most locally produced actors and actresses is Manchester. Manchester-born Mike Leigh, who appeared in the 1998 mockumentary Welcome to Hollywood, was also recently nominated for a BAFTA, for Outstanding British Film of the Year, for his work writing and directing the 2024 feature, Hard Truths. Kenneth Colley, another Mancunian, played the commander of Darth Vader’s flagship in Star Wars: Episode V.
Liverpool Has Produced The Most Musicians Per 100,000 People
Liverpool - 67 Musicians Per 100,000 People
Liverpool has the highest number of locally born musicians per 100,000 people in the UK. The city has a rich musical culture, with many stars, including the members of The Beatles, being born there. Before The Beatles, there was the 60s band “Gerry & the Pacemakers”, who played a pivotal role in shaping music on Merseyside, especially with their song “You’ll Never Walk Alone”, the anthem of Liverpool football club.
Liverpool Is The Top City For Footballers Born Per 100,000 People
Liverpool - 19 Footballers Per 100,000 People
Liverpool, home to one of Europe’s biggest football clubs, comes in first for the number of footballers produced per 100,000 people. The city has produced some world-class football talent, including Liverpool right-back Trent Alexander Arnold, who has been heavily linked with a summer move to Real Madrid. Among others are Curtis Jones, Conor Coady, and lifelong Liverpool fan Anthony Gordon, whose team Newcastle beat Liverpool in the Carabao Cup final this season.
Methodology
We started by taking the 30 most populous cities in the UK. Using data from Nomis, we recorded the estimated populations.
We recorded the number of actors and actresses on IMDb, using their advanced search function to filter actors and actresses by each cit. We filtered for the results to show only those with actor or actress tags. We calculated the figure per 100,000 for each city.
We used All Music to record the number of musicians born in each city, then calculated the figure per 100,000 of each city’s population. Note: some band members who later pursued solo careers may be counted twice.
We used Transfermarkt to record the number of footballers born in each city from first to fourth-tier football, then added the number from each tier to get the total before calculating as per 100,000 people. For Newcastle and Kingston upon Hull, we used the terms “Newcastle” and “Newcastle upon Tyne” and “Hull” and “Kingston upon Hull”.
All data was collected from 09/03/2025 to 10/03/2025.
We then grouped each city into its respective region and calculated the average number of actors, musicians and footballers per 100,000 people for each region in the UK.
Note: in the case of Brighton and Hove, we searched Brighton and Hove separately and combined the figures.
We gave each city and region a normalised score out of 10 for each factor, with each factor given equal weighting, using the Google percentrank function. We then ranked the top 15 cities separately for our overall ranking.
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