Strengths and weaknesses

The following is a look at the strengths and weaknesses of metro areas that are finalists for Amazon’s second headqaurters project, based on Dispatch research:

Atlanta

Strengths: World’s busiest airport by total passengers with connections around the world; three urban university campuses. Weaknesses: Traffic, traffic, traffic; by some accounts, the city is not doing enough to make the project a regional effort. Austin

Strengths: Booming tech center; 425,000 college students; offices for Facebook, Google, Apple and Microsoft; headquarters for Amazon-owned Whole Foods. Weaknesses: Rapid growth is snarling traffic; concerns about whether the city’s infrastructure can handle a huge influx of newcomers; small airport. Boston

Strengths: Huge tech hub; highly educated workforce; international airport. Weaknesses: High cost of living; many new graduates leave Boston for other cities.

Chicago

Strengths: Diverse workforce; top universities; has infrastructure in place to handle the project; major rail hub; variety of housing. Weaknesses: City’s reputation for violence; weak finances for the city and state.

Columbus

Strengths: Ohio State and a cluster of other universities; major logistics hub; workforce; growing population; proven host for companies with a large number of workers; inexpensive housing. Weaknesses: No significant airport hub; lack of public transportation; doesn’t have the amenities of bigger finalists.

Dallas

Strengths: One of the best economies of any metro area in the country; strong job growth; could handle influx of residents. Weaknesses: Ranks low among Amazon finalists for college-educated millennials; lags when it comes to high-skill employment growth. Denver

Strengths: Talented and educated workforce; space to grow; already big draw for tech companies;

mountains; quality of life. Weaknesses: Not geographically different enough from Seattle; already feeling pressure for not having enough housing.

Indianapolis

Strengths: Low cost of doing business; space to grow; recently approved additional tax to put millions of dollars into buses and light rail. Weaknesses: Lacks the transportation system of other finalists; city could struggle to handle the project because of its size. Los Angeles

Strengths: Universities; access to talent. Weaknesses: Like Denver, it is not different enough from Seattle in terms of location; traffic; housing costs.

Miami

Strengths: Easy access to Latin America; plenty of space; Amazon founder Jeff Bezos went to high school in the area. Weaknesses: Could be a challenge to provide the tech talent Amazon will want; hurricanes; public transportation. Montgomery County, Maryland

Strengths: Proximity to Washington, D.C.; state has offered incentives totaling $5 billion. Weakness: Critics say the county has enacted antibusiness tax and energy policies.

Nashville

Strengths: Business environment and no state income tax; growing startup culture; Vanderbilt; music scene. Weaknesses: No significant airport hub; weak public transportation systems; rising housing costs.

New York City

Strengths: Size and diversity; able to absorb 50,000 workers; growing tech community; access to finance and media talent. Weaknesses: Costs; transportation; limited space for new office construction.

Newark

Strengths: Close to New York without the high housing costs; New Jersey has offered $7 billion in incentives; more to gain than most contenders

because a third of its population lives under the poverty line; home to Amazon company Audible. Weaknesses: In competition with New York; could be hard to lure workers compared with other finalists.

Northern Virginia Strengths: East Coast data-center hub; close to Washington, D.C.; international airports. Weaknesses: May not have the appeal of a more urban area.

Philadelphia

Strengths: Has momentum, with construction and employment growing the last few years; cheap compared with other Amazon East Coast finalists; major international airport. Weaknesses: City services; onerous local tax on salaries and wages; high poverty rate.

Pittsburgh

Strengths: Home to major universities, including computer-engineering school Carnegie Mellon; has a Google office; slated to be the first fully driverless-car-enabled metro area by 2020. Weaknesses: Stagnant population growth; with small population, concerns about how easily it could absorb 50,000 workers. Raleigh

Strengths: Research triangle of Duke, University of North Carolina and North Carolina; strong quality of life. Weaknesses: Fast growth causing challenges; state controversy over genderidentity bill and other issues has created negative publicity.

Toronto

Strengths: infrastructure; business climate; airport with international connections; growing tech hub. Weaknesses: Won’t offer tax breaks or subsidies; only city not in the U.S. to be a finalist; high housing costs.

Washington, D.C. Strengths: Nation’s capital; universities; strong tech workforce; Bezos owns The Washington Post and has a home in Washington. Weaknesses: Congestion; affordability; could be tough to find adequate office space.