Tech talent was a major draw for Amazon in selecting New York City and Northern Virginia for its new headquarters. Both locations have existing pools of skilled workers; both are places where talent wants to live. But the colleges and universities producing the pipeline of much of that talent were also a significant draw. Notably, New York City’s Cornell Tech campus is located directly across from Amazon’s future home in Long Island City, while Virginia Tech just announced it’s building a new billion-dollar Innovation Campus a couple of miles from Amazon’s new Arlington location.

Virginia Tech

• Location: Blacksburg, Virginia

• Established: 1872

• Campus environment: Rural/college town

• Type: Public, undergraduate and graduate

• Annual graduate resident tuition: $15,510

• Annual graduate nonresident tuition: $29,629

• Total student body: 34,440

• U.S. News ranking: #76 in national universities

Cornell Tech

• Location: Roosevelt Island, New York

• Established: 2012

• Campus environment: Urban

• Type: Private, graduate

• Annual tuition: $54,584-$102,652 (depending on program)

• Total student body: Approximately 300 in 2017

• U.S. News ranking: N/A

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