DC just never struck me as the type of place you'd set up these kinds of operations. Toronto on the other hand seems made for what Amazon wants to achieve.
My prediction is Atlanta gets it.
Atlanta performs questionably on several of the criteria outlined by Amazon:
Community/quality of life. The new headquarters should be in a place where people want to live. Amazon is interested in daily living and recreational opportunities for people in each proposed metro area. It is also requesting information about housing prices and availability, general cost of living, and crime statistics.
Atlanta isn't known for having great quality of life, and it has one of the highest violent crime rates in the United States. Housing prices would be a strength, however.
Cultural community fit. Like any tech company, Amazon cares about “culture fit.” It defines this as a diverse population, strong higher-education system, and local government that is “eager and willing to work with the company.” Amazon is asking cities to “demonstrate characteristics of this” in their responses. “We encourage testimonials from other large companies,” it adds.
Atlanta would perform poorly here as well, assuming the type of diversity Amazon seeks is racial diversity. Atlanta's sprawling urban geography might be a problem. Georgia's conservative politics would also be a major drawback. Atlanta's higher education system does have Georgia Tech, but I don't believe that school performs as well as U of Toronto or U of Waterloo.
Amazon is first and foremost a master of logistics, so it should come as no surprise that the company cares a lot about transportation. Amazon wants on-site access to mass transit—train, subway, or bus—and to be no more than one or two miles from major highways and connecting roads. It wants to be within 45 minutes of an international airport with daily direct flights to Seattle, New York, the San Francisco Bay area, and Washington DC. The company is also asking applicants to identify “all transit options, including bike lanes and pedestrian access” for the proposed site and to rank traffic congestion during peak commuting hours.
Like Toronto, Atlanta suffers from terrible roads congestion. However, Atlanta's mass transit system is
very poor compared to Toronto's. Atlanta's strength in this category will come from their Hartsfield Jackson International Airport, and the abundance of connection it offers.