Amazon Atlanta HQ2: Atlanta ranks 2nd in Amazon finalist cities list

A new survey from Seattle-based tech and business news site GeekWire ranked Atlanta the second top favorite among cities in the running for Amazon's second headquarters.

Analysts asked more than 2,000 of its readers which of the 20 cities on Amazon’s HQ2 shortlist they’d live in to understand “which city has the highest chances of attracting talent.”

Approximately 29 percent of the voter pool said they work in business or marketing, 28 percent noted they’re developers or engineers and about 13 percent said they’re tech execs or startup founders.

Of the 20 cities on the shortlist, Raleigh, North Carolina, emerged the victor with 259 votes (11 percent), followed by Atlanta at No. 2.

“Our survey suggests Raleigh might have enough appeal but there is a catch,” Geekwire analysts wrote, noting that 71 of the 259 who voted for the North Carolina city already live there.

While about 18 percent of the survey respondents are based in Seattle, the geographic distribution was “roughly consistent” with the site’s overall audience, which boasts its largest readerships in Washington, California, Texas, New York and Illinois.

Both Raleigh and Atlanta have also been top-ranked in Attom Data Solutions' analysis, which examined factors such as housing, crime rate, schools, costs and property taxes.

Since Amazon announced its shortlist from 238 communities to 20 in January, the company has been vetting each city and may soon be announcing the winning site.

Amazon officials met with local and state government officials as well as Atlanta business leaders in March.

"Georgia's bid — described by multiple observers as 'unprecedented' — is believed to top $1 billion in taxpayer-funded incentives, including grants, worker training, tax breaks, transportation improvements and other perks. But the details remain shrouded in secrecy under an exemption in state sunshine laws for active economic development projects," the AJC previously reported.

Amazon's second headquarters would bring 50,000 promised jobs to the metro.

Geekwire readers share their top 10 favorites for Amazon HQ2