Small towns used to be where aspiring young stars emerged to hop a bus to New York or Los Angeles, chasing big dreams on Broadway and in Hollywood. With apologies to San José, Calif., Omaha, Neb., and Erie, Pa., the next Marlon Brando is unlikely to come from the sticks.

Where are the new "star factories"? In the entertainment capitals themselves, it turns out. A new Forbes ranking of where stars come from shows the lion's share of today's stars were born in big cities like New York and Los Angeles.

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The Star Factories ranking was based on the hometowns of the 1,400 stars on Forbes' Star Currency list. Of those 1,400, 552 come from the cities on our top 10 list, all major urban hubs. The top five: New York, L.A., London, Chicago and Boston.

Surprisingly, sixth-ranked Washington, D.C., beat rivals like Las Vegas. For all its star power, Vegas does little to nurture homegrown talent. Sequined reviews on Brooklyn Bridge-size stages draw stars -- they don't create them.

So why are more actors born in New York? Gotham's theatrical ecosystem nurtures talent like nowhere else. For a half century, the best acting coaches and schools have held court in Manhattan. Hot talent creates word-of-mouth buzz in the business, which helps actors get a foot in the door at casting calls and auditions. The gold standard of acting schools continues to be HB Studio in Manhattan, founded by Herbert Berghof in 1945. Its list of alums boasts some of the biggest names in the business.

New York is honeycombed with venues for every level of performance -- from Michael Imperioli's 65-seat "Studio Dante" to Carnegie Hall. New York native Bernadette Peters got her start at a tiny off-off-Broadway coffeehouse.

One exception to the bicoastal shift in star factories: reality TV. Contestants for American Idol often hail from the heartland or the suburbs. Idol finalist Adam Lambert grew up in the small community of Rancho Penasquitos, Calif., on the outskirts of San Diego.

He took on singing roles in a local production of You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown and joined the Mt. Carmel High School jazz band. Lambert launched his career after moving to Los Angeles, where he performed at the Kodak Theater and was cast in a national tour of Wicked.

But until a performer can get a break like that, Los Angeles and New York offer more restaurant jobs than most other cities in the U.S. No wonder the median annual income for actors is US$23,400 a year.

But not for these stars.