Of the 20 Amazon HQ2 Finalist Cities, 17 Have Now Released at Least Partial Information on Their Bids

With the HQ2 contest now concluded, additional cities are releasing details on their Amazon HQ2 bids. Bid amounts in this blog include both city and state incentives. With the exception of HQ2 “winners” New York City, Arlington Va. and Nashville, all cities’ bids are based on Amazon’s original proposal that promised 50,000 jobs.

New York, Virginia and Nashville have not disclosed their initial bids, making comparisons between the 17 “non-winners” and the 3 “winners” impossible. The winners’ bids outlined separately here are based on the final jobs commitments (25,000 each for New York City and Arlington, and 5,000 jobs for Nashville).

Among the 20 finalist cities, just three – Indianapolis, Los Angeles, and Miami– have kept their bids hidden and their citizens in the dark.

Two cities bids offered no incentives – Austin (state subsidies, however, might have been offered) and Toronto. There were four bids greater than $5 billion – led by Pittsburgh at $9.7 billion (currently the largest known bid, exceeding Montgomery County, Maryland’s $8.5 billion.

In Austin and Nashville, the Chambers of Commerce control the bidding documents and have refused to release them in response to public records request. The Nashville Chamber has released some pages of its bid, from which estimates of the deal’s value have been reported. The Austin Chamber also has refused to release its submission but has affirmed that it offered no incentives on behalf of the city. Dallas mayor disclosed the amount of his city’s bid, but offered no further details on incentives offered.

Here’s what we know so far, including links to source documents on government web sites or media stories describing the details of each deal:

17 Non-Winners Bids for 50,000 Jobs

Three “Winners” Negotiated Agreements for Lesser Jobs