Austin edges Atlanta in a
data-driven view of cities eligible to become host to Amazon’s second headquarters. The project, dubbed HQ2, is expected to bring 50,000 jobs and a $5 billion capital investment by Amazon in the next 10 to 15 years.
The winning city for the project will be announced in 2018.
Moody’s Analytics ranked each city on a scale of 1-to-5 on five criteria, including business environment, human capital, cost, quality of life and transportation. The following is a breakdown of numbers for the top three and the average score for the remaining regions eligible, which means they have a population of more than 1 million in the Metropolitan Statistical Area.
The rankings and the average score, according to Moody’s Analytics:
1. Austin-Round Rock, Texas (3.086 of 5.0)
2. Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, Ga. (3.08)
3. Philadelphia, Pa. (3.07)
4. Rochester, N.Y. (3.01)
5. Pittsburgh, Pa. (2.99)
6. New York-Jersey City-White Plains, N.Y.-N.J. (2.97)
7. Miami-Miami Beach-Kendall, Fla. (2.94)
8. Seattle-Bellevue-Everett, Wash. (2.93)
9. Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, Ore.-Wash. (2.91)
10. Boston, Mass. (2.90)
11. Salt Lake City, Utah (2.89)
12. Cambridge-Newton-Framingham, Mass. (2.89)
13. Raleigh, N.C. (2.84)
14. San Antonio, New Braunfels, Texas (2.84)
15. Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, N.C.-S.C. (2.83)
16. New Orleans-Metairie, La. (2.82)
17. Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. (2.79)
18. Nashville-Davidson-Murfreesboro-Franklin, Tenn. (2.79)
19. Los Angeles-Long Beach-Glendale, Calif. (2.78)
20. San Diego-Carlsbad, Calif. (2.77)
21. Buffalo-Cheektowaga-Niagara Falls, N.Y. (2.76)
22. Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, Minn.-Wis. (2.76)
23. Las Vegas-Henderson-Paradise, Nev. (2.74)
24. Grand Rapids-Wyoming, Mich. (2.73)
25. Chicago-Naperville-Arlington Heights, Ill. (2.73)
26. Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, Fla. (2.71)
27. Oklahoma City, Okla. (2.71)
28. Columbus, Ohio (2.70)
29. Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, Fla. (2.69)
30. Cincinnati, Ohio-Ky. (2.67)
31. Cleveland-Elyria, Ohio (2.66)
32. St. Louis, Mo.-Ill. (2.65)
33. Phoenix-Mesa-Scottsdale, Ariz. (2.63)
34. Dallas-Plano-Irving, Texas (2.62)
35. Virginia Beach-Norfolk-Newport News, Va.-N.C. (2.62)
36. Louisville-Jefferson County, Ky.-Ind. (2.62)
37. Indianapolis-Carmel-Anderson, Ind. (2.60)
38. Washington, D.C.-Arlington-Alexandria, Va.-Md.-W.V. (2.59)
39. San Francisco-Redwood City-South San Francisco, Calif. (2.58)
40. West Palm Beach-Boca Raton-Delray Beach, Fla. (2.52)
41. Tucson, Ariz. (2.51)
42. Nassau County-Suffolk County, N.Y. (2.50)
43. San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara, Calif. (2.50)
44. Jacksonville, Fla. (2.49)
45. Hartford-West Hartford-East Hartford, Conn. (2.48)
46. Milwaukee-Waukesha-West Allis, Wis. (2.43)
47. Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, Md. (2.42)
48. Richmond, Va. (2.41)
49. Houston-The Woodlands- Sugar Land, Texas (2.39)
50. Fort Lauderdale-Pompano Beach-Deerfield Beach, Fla. (2.35)
51. Providence-Warwick, R.I.-Mass. (2.32)
52. Oakland-Hayward-Berkeley, Calif. (2.31)
53. Anaheim-Santa Ana-Irvine, Calif. (2.26)
54. Memphis, Tenn.-Miss.-Ark. (2.17)
55. Fort Worth-Arlington, Texas (2.16)
56. Kansas City, Mo.-Kan. (2.12)
57. Detroit-Dearborn-Livonia, Mich. (2.11)
58. Newark, N.J.-Pa. (2.06)
59. Montgomery County-Bucks County-Chester County, Pa. (2.04)
60. Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills, Mich. (2.00)
61. Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif. (1.88)
62. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. (1.80)
63. Camden, N.J. (1.75)
64. Silver Spring-Frederick-Rockville, Md. (1.71)
65. Birmingham-Hoover, Ala. (1.64)
Austin scored the highest in the business environment category with a 4.6 rating on a 5-point scale. Quality of life was among the top at 3.5. Human capital was a 3.3, while transportation (2.2) and cost (1.9) were scored in the lower half for Austin.
According to
CNBC, San Antonio will not submit a proposal to host HQ2. One bid per MSA has a deadline to Amazon of Oct. 16-19.
