Much speculation has surrounded the mystery of where Amazon will locate its second headquarters. Early this year, Amazon’s CEO, Jeff Bezos, announced that his company had deliberated and shortened its list for a potential HQ2 down to several cities, most of which have been vying for the opportunity to deliver on Amazon’s forecasted 50,000 jobs and $5 billion in investment.

The company requested four main criteria for the new headquarters location including: it must be a metropolitan area with more than one million people; it must have a stable and business-friendly environment; it must have urban or suburban locations with the potential to attract and retain strong mechanical talent; and it must have communities that think big and creatively.

Both Atlanta, GA and Dallas, TX are believed to be on the short list for the newest Amazon location. Dallas, which offers great infrastructure, workforce, and economy is located next to one of the world’s busiest airports, offering easy national and international air travel. Additionally, Dallas ranked one of the cheapest options among the expected finalists in annual operating costs. Atlanta, offering some of the fastest job growth rates across the nation, is also believed to be in the running. Other cities like Boston, Denver, Miami, Nashville, and Virginia, however, also have many attractive qualities like tax incentives, proximity to lawmakers, and growing MSAs.

It’s expected that Jeff Bezos should announce Amazon’s new headquarters location following the midterm elections though nothing official has been announced.

Sources:

• Dallas Business Journal
• Tech Crunch

Image Attribution to iStock and The Company.