How Likely Is Atlanta To Land Amazon Headquarters?

ATLANTA, GA — A new look at the fight to land Amazon's new headquarters, and the 50,000 high-paying jobs that will come with it, shows Atlanta near the top of the pack.

Moody's Analytics, the economic-research arm of the business and financial services company, ranks the Atlanta area No. 2 among the many localities striving to become home to a second headquarters for the Seattle-based online-retail giant.

Austin, Texas, was ranked No. 1 by Moody's, which analyzed Amazon's stated preferences and the firm's knowledge of leading economic factors. After Atlanta, Philadelphia, Rochester, N.Y., and Pittsburgh rounded out the top five.

Last month, Amazon announced that it plans to spend $5 billion on the new headquarters, creating as many as 50,000 jobs in the process. In its call for proposals, the company said the project is expected to create tens of thousands of additional support jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the community where the new headquarters land. (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The company estimates that its investments in Seattle, where its current 33-building campus is located, pumped $38 billion into the city's economy from 2010-16.

Moody's says that 50 cities have publicly expressed interest in becoming home to what Amazon is calling "HQ2."

Moody's analyzed five key categories — business environment, human capital, cost, quality of life and transportation. On a scale of 1-5, here's how Atlanta scored in each of the five categories on its way to the second-place spot.

• Business environment — 3.63
• Human capital — 4.32
• Cost — 3.28
• Quality of life — 2.5
• Transportation — 1.67

The firm also looked at a "wild card" geography category, on the chance that Amazon may be looking at certain areas, like the economically attractive Northeast Corridor or cities closer to the halls of government in Washington D.C., with favor. When geography is factored in, Philadelphia moves from third to first and Pittsburgh slides into the No. 2 spot.

Moody's analyst Ilir Hysa writes that Atlanta "is among the healthiest economies in the U.S. and satisfies many of Amazon’s criteria."

"The metro area has nearly 6 million residents and is a supply-chain hub with a burgeoning tech workforce and is home to Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, a globally connected port of entry," Hysa writes. "Not only has Atlanta built superior logistics and adequate fiber connectivity, but it has also become one of the most important professional services hubs in the South, with competitive costs of doing business supporting corporate relocations and expansions and allowing for agglomeration economies."

The analyst also cites the presence of Georgia Tech and other colleges and universities as a plus, along with "an abundance of highly skilled workers."

On the down side, Hysa notes Atlanta's low score in the transportation category.

"Traffic congestion remains a headache despite recent improvements, and mass transit is inadequate," says the report.

State and city officials have remained publicly quiet about the exact pitch they've made to Amazon and CEO Jeff Bezos. But it's clear they're taking the effort very seriously.

"I’ve made it very clear to our economic development team that this is a big one," Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. "And if we can get this one, it would be a very big coup for us."

Photo of Amazon's Seattle campus courtesy Amazon.