CHICAGO—Amazon's recent announcement that it had narrowed the list of possible locations for its massive new HQ2 headquarters from 238 to 20 is less important than it might appear at first glance. Chicago, of course, made the final cut, but then so did nearly every major metro area that applied. Although the Twin Cities, Detroit and a few others that attracted at least some notice were left off the list, the lack of big surprises means the contest is in essentially the same place it was at the beginning.

Although Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel did a bit of crowing when the news hit, a few interesting facts suggest city boosters should have modest hopes. The majority of the remaining metro areas are on or near the Eastern Seaboard. Perhaps most striking, three of those choices are in the Washington, DC region: Northern VA, Montgomery County in MD, and the city itself. If Jeff Bezos has ambitions to influence US government, and his purchase of The Washington Post is a good indication that he does, perhaps the best thing his company could do is become an economic powerhouse for the nation's capital. And Northern VA has a superb labor pool that sustains a dense concentration of high-tech data centers.

Toronto, the only non-US city still in the running, would be an ironic choice. It is the only applicant that has not offered Amazon any subsidies. Jennifer Keesmaat, the city's former chief planner, says they did it right by touting Toronto's quality of life, openness to immigration and forthcoming investments in transit.