HOW AMAZON’S 20 SUITORS STACK UP

Toronto made the short list, but how does it compare to competitors from Pittsburgh to Los Angeles?

NEW YORK— Now that Amazon.com Inc. has whittled down the list of cities it’s considering for its second North American headquarters, it’s time for a new round of everyone’s favourite parlour game: arguing about which city would suit the technology giant best.

Now it has narrowed the field from 238 places to 20, including three bids from the Washington D.C., area, where Amazon chief executive Jeff Bezos has put down roots, as well as proposals from smaller Midwestern cities (Columbus, Ohio; Indianapolis) and major centres (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Toronto).

Economic incentives aside — and there are plenty — here are some pros and cons of the places on Amazon’s very long shortlist:

ATLANTA

Population: 472,522 Pros: A major airline hub and home to big corporations, such as UPS, Coca-Cola and Delta. A recent focus on redevelopment projects like the BeltLine — a series of parks built on an old railroad spur — may add to the city’s appeal.

Cons: It’s still not that cool. Amazon prides itself on its urban Seattle locations being walkable and bikeable, and a more suburban city like Atlanta may contradict that spirit.

AUSTIN

Population: 966,860 Pros: Close to the distribution and business hub of Dallas but much hipper. No Texas income tax, an established tech industry and home to Whole Foods, which Amazon recently acquired.

Cons: Small airport. Despite surging population, still doesn’t feel like a major U.S. city.

BOSTON

Population: 673,184 Pros: Proximity to Harvard, MIT and a wealth of other colleges and universities, an airport with non-stop flights to Seattle and Washington, D.C., and a track record for providing rich relocation benefits.

Cons: Has some of the same drawbacks as New York — high cost of living, tight residential and commercial real estate markets — without the same cultural amenities and depth of talent.

CHICAGO

Population: 2,704,958 Pros: A heavy concentration of operations, marketing, finance and sales employees to poach from other industries. Good public transit, walkable neighbourhoods and a variety of housing choices.

Cons: Shootings in the city have become national news, and the state is still emerging from dire financial straits. Digging its government out of debt could require tax hikes and cuts to public services.

COLUMBUS

Population: 860,090 Pros: A major research university in Ohio State, a fast-growing economy and cheap housing. Cons: The housing is cheap for a reason.

DALLAS

Population: 1,317,929 Pros: Has been a magnet for corporate relocations, offering high quality of life and access to a deep pool of workers. There’s no state income tax, and unlike Austin, it’s a major city and an airline hub.

Cons: Dallas suburbs may seem pretty stodgy to Amazon employees used to the cultural amenities in downtown Seattle.

DENVER

Population: 693,060 Pros: Denver is already popular with tech companies. Colorado boasts strong engineering schools and trounces the other finalists when it comes to close proximity to fresh powder. Fresh, and legal, pot, too, for those who partake.

Cons: The exodus of workers to Denver’s burgeoning tech hub has already stretched the local housing market. Doesn’t offer a lot of geographic diversity from Seattle.

INDIANAPOLIS

Population: 855,164 Pros: Tech company salaries would go far in the heartland, and choosing Indianapolis would make Amazon arguably the most important employer in middle America.

Cons: The sheer of size of the Amazon HQ could swamp the city’s residential and commercial real estate markets. As in Columbus, the cheap housing here isn’t a mystery.

LOS ANGELES

Population: 3,976,322 Pros: The tech giant’s Amazon Studios division — quickly becoming a force in Hollywood — is based in Santa Monica.

Cons: It’s an expensive place to live, a hard place to build in and, like Denver, it doesn’t offer a lot of geographic diversity from Seattle.

MIAMI

Population: 453,579 Pros: The Seattle workforce could use a little sun. Bezos, currently the richest man in the world, attended Miami Palmetto Senior High School. Cons: Lacks an existing tech ecosystem, has high housing costs and might be under water at some point.

MONTGOMERY COUNTY

Population: 1,043,863 Pros: This Maryland county is one of three bids in or near the District of Columbia on the shortlist. Bezos has put down roots in the area with his acquisitions of the Washington Post and the city’s largest private home.

Cons: Commercial real estate is probably more available here than in the U.S. capital. The trade-off is asking the company’s workforce to work in the ’burbs.

NASHVILLE

Population: 684,410 Pros: Good universities, no income tax and fame as the country music capital have already made the city popular with major employers.

Cons: Like Austin and Denver, the city has succeeded in convincing companies to relocate, and the housing market has struggled to keep up with the flood of new workers.

NEWARK

Population: 281,764 Pros: Proximity to New York without the Big Apple’s staggering home prices. In October, then-New Jersey governor Chris Christie pledged to back the city’s bid with as much as $7 billion (U.S.) in tax breaks.

Cons: The city might be a tough sell for workers over San Francisco, Los Angeles or New York.

NEW YORK

Population: 8,537,673 Pros: Access to the world’s top pool of finance and media talent and a growing tech scene.

Cons: Housing prices are already high, one of the reasons locals in Seattle are pushing back against the company’s expansion there. There’s also limited space for new office construction.

NORTHERN VIRGINIA

Population: 2,800,000 Pros: Northern Virginia offers an educated workforce and proximity to the federal government and the Washington Post. Commercial real estate is more plentiful than in D.C.

Cons: The area isn’t as strong on urban appeal as some of the other contenders.

PHILADELPHIA

Population: 1,567,872 Pros: Good transit, large population, and it’s close to New York and Wash- ington, with lower housing costs.

Cons: Amazon would have to convince workers in those cities that giving up cultural amenities for cheaper housing is worthwhile.

PITTSBURGH

Population: 303,625 Pros: Home to top AI and robotics university Carnegie Mellon, which has already drawn top tech companies. Close to major distribution hubs in the middle of the country. Cons: It’s far from other major cities and tech hubs.

RALEIGH

Population: 468,990 Pros: Part of an existing tech hub; offers cheap housing, good quality of life and the chance for Amazon to put its stamp on a city. Cons: Hot political issues suggest North Carolina is still struggling over its own identity.

TORONTO

Population: 2,731,571 Pros: A major financial and technology hub. Potentially easier to hire people from abroad because of a more open tone on immigration.

Cons: Housing prices are high compared to cities like Atlanta. The city also doesn’t have much space for housing and commercial development in the downtown core. Moving integral operations north of the border holds political risks in dealing with the Trump administration.

WASHINGTON, D.C.

Population: 693,972 Pros: A strong technology workforce and proximity to lawmakers and regulators. Bezos put down roots in the area with his 2013 acquisition of the Washington Post.

Cons: Lack of space and zoning restrictions could make it hard to find enough office space. Sticking the headquarters in the ’burbs would make it easier to find land but harder to appeal to workers.