The city of Houston will not be the new home to Amazon.com Inc.'s second headquarters, or HQ2, company officials announced this week. The online retail giant announced plans in September to make a $5 billion capital investment in a new city for HQ2, creating an estimated 50,000 jobs. The company received more than 230 proposals from cities across the country. In the company's request for proposals, Amazon expressed an interest for metropolitan areas with more than 1 million people, a business-friendly environment, a 45-minute proximity to an international airport and access to mass transit. However, two Texas cities have made the cut: Austin and Dallas are still in the running to be the new home of Amazon's 8.1 million-square-foot campus. The top finalists to be considered by Amazon include:
  • Toronto, Ontario
  • Columbus, Ohio
  • Indianapolis, Indiana
  • Chicago, Illinois
  • Denver, Colorado
  • Los Angeles, California
  • Dallas, Texas
  • Austin, Texas
  • Nashville, Tennessee
  • Boston, Massachusetts
  • New York City, New York
  • Newark, New Jersey
  • Pittsburgh, Pennslyvania
  • Philadelphia, Pennslyvania
  • Montgomery County, Maryland
  • Washington, D.C.
  • Raleigh, North Carolina
  • Northern Virginia
  • Atlanta, Georgia
  • Miami, Florida
The company is expected to make a final decision later this year. For more on Amazon's latest announcement, visit its HQ2 website.