Miami Makes Amazon's Short List Of Cities

MIAMI, FL — Miami has made the short list of 20 cities still in contention to host Amazon's second headquarters. At stake is nothing short of 50,000 high-paying jobs and an economic boost equal to $5 billion for the winning city. Thursday's announcement capped off a process in which the online giant evaluated 238 proposals from around the country.

"Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” said Amazon's Holly Sullivan from the company's Public Policy group. “Through this process we learned about many new communities across North America that we will consider as locations for future infrastructure investment and job creation.”

Financial research firm Moody's Analytics predicted that Miami would make the shortlist behind Austin, Texas; Atlanta; Philadelphia; Rochester, N.Y.; Pittsburgh and New York City. Of those, only Rochester failed to make the list.

Moody's used Amazon's stated preferences, its "understanding of relevant economic factors" and a little geography to put together its top 10 list of likely locations.

Amazon said that it evaluated each of the proposals based on a set of criteria in its request for proposals. The company will now work with each of the 20 locations to "dive deeper into their proposals, request additional information, and evaluate the feasibility of a future partnership that can accommodate the company’s hiring plans as well as benefit its employees and the local community." Amazon expects to make a decision in 2018.

"Miami-Dade offers many advantages in its bid to be selected to for Amazon's second headquarters," according to Moody's analysis. "Amazon is a logistics behemoth and Miami is a leading distribution center — Miami International is the nation's second busiest airport as ranked by metric tonnes of international freight and Port Miami is the only East Coast port south of Virginia capable of docking the largest ships that can navigate through the recently expanded Panama Canal."

Moody's also pointed to the fact that there are no state or local income taxes in Florida, which would be like giving Amazon employees a pay raise. CEO Jeff Bezos also graduated from a Miami-area high school so he is already familiar with the area.

But Moody's pointed out that Miami would be a difficult commute for Amazon executives who travel back and forth from the company's first headquarters in Seattle. Miami and Seattle represent the two furthest U.S. cities from one another. Moreover, Moody's believes it might be difficult to find a space large enough to accommodate the estimated 8 million square feet needed by Amazon.

Here is the complete list of the 20 cities in alphabetical order:

1. Atlanta, GA
2. Austin, TX
3. Boston, MA
4. Chicago, IL
5. Columbus, OH
6. Dallas, TX
7. Denver, CO
8. Indianapolis, IN
9. Los Angeles, CA
10. Miami, FL
11. Montgomery County, MD
12. Nashville, TN
13. Newark, NJ
14. New York City, NY
15. Northern Virginia, VA
16. Philadelphia, PA
17. Pittsburgh, PA
18. Raleigh, NC
19. Toronto, ON
20. Washington D.C.

Jeff Bezos, CEO and founder of Amazon (AP Photo/Reed Saxon)