Amazon.com Inc. is one step closer to choosing the location for its second headquarters, announcing today that it has narrowed down the choices for its “HQ2” to just 20 candidates.

Amazon said in September that it expects to spend $5 billion on HQ2, which will house up to 50,000 employees once it is complete as a “full equal to its existing Seattle headquarters. The company said today that it also expects the project to create “tens of thousands of additional jobs and tens of billions of dollars in additional investment in the surrounding community,” which explains why Amazon received proposals from 238 cities across the U.S., Canada and Mexico that want to host the new headquarters.

After evaluating all of the proposals, Amazon has singled out 20 finalists that are almost exclusively located in the eastern half of the United States, far from the company’s Seattle headquarters and other tech-saturated West Coast cities. Here is the full list of finalists for Amazon’s HQ2 (in alphabetical order):

• Atlanta, Georgia
• Austin, Texas
• Boston, Massachusetts
• Chicago, Illinois
• Columbus, Ohio
• Dallas, Texas
• Denver, Colorado
• Indianapolis, Indiana
• Los Angeles, California
• Miami, Florida
• Montgomery County, Maryland
• Nashville, Tennessee
• Newark, New Jersey
• New York City
• Northern Virginia
• Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
• Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
• Raleigh, North Carolina
• Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• Washington, D.C.

Amazon’s list includes a few up-and-coming technology hubs such as Austin and Denver, but it also includes a few surprises such as Miami and Nashville. Los Angeles is the only West Coast city to make the list, and Toronto is the only non-U.S. city.

“Getting from 238 to 20 was very tough – all the proposals showed tremendous enthusiasm and creativity,” Holly Sullivan, Amazon’s head of economic development, said in a statement. “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.”

According to Amazon, the candidates were chosen based on the preferences listed in the original request for proposals for HQ2. These preferences included a metropolitan population of at least 1 million people, a stable and business-friendly environment, an ability to attract top tech talent and finally “communities that think big and creatively when considering locations and real estate options.” The company also listed a few nice-to-have features for the actual HQ2 building site, including an urban or downtown location, a similar layout to its Seattle headquarters and a “development-prepped site” that can offer nearby real estate options for employees.

Amazon said it will work with each candidate city in the coming months to explore their proposals in more detail and evaluate the advantages they can offer for the new headquarters. The company said it will announce its final decision for the location of HQ2 later this year.

Photo: Amazon