Georgia has proven itself in the world of film and television, and has earned the number one spot in MovieMaker Magazine’s best place to work and live for TV and film. The Peach State has beat out the competition including New York and LA.

According to an article on AJC.com, in just this past year Georgia went from number six to number one, and also surpassed Austin, Texas and Albuquerque, New Mexico; however, there is still room to grow in overall production. Los Angeles and New York are still ahead of Georgia in total production among U.S. cities.

Governor Nathan Deal continues to fight for Georgia’s tax incentive program, and with the new statewide certificate program ‘The Georgia Film Academy,’ and the lower cost of living in Georgia it looks like the state is on the right track to becoming number one.

Rix Reitz, an Atlanta actor who helped develop the tax incentive program in 2008, knew that it would be important to create something that drew in veteran crew members from other parts of the country. Reitz also commented that Moviemaker magazine is read worldwide, and therefore allows Georgia great publicity for filmmakers all over the world.

Lee Thomas, deputy commissioner of the Georgia, Film Music & Digital Entertainment Office, commented that Georgia has now become a place where producers, directors, and writers find themselves taking up residency.

While everything glitters like gold at the moment it is crucial to remember that production companies seek the best incentives that they can find. If Georgia for some reason decided to cut back on the tax incentive, it is almost certain that production companies would seek new locations.

The incentive may have to go through changes to stay competitive, but with more than $6 billion in annual new business generated last year Georgia may want to be flexible.