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The deadline for cities to apply to become Amazon’s second headquarters (or HQ2) is Thursday. While proposals have come from all over the map, it is unlikely that any metro area with fewer than 4 million people will make the grade, according to Everest Group, a Dallas-based consulting and research firm.

Only cities of that size are likely to have the both the basic infrastructure and base of skilled employees to supply Amazon’s needs. Amazon (AMZN, -1.99%) has said the new location could eventually employ 50,000 skilled people with average annual salaries of more than $100,000. These are not blue-collar jobs, and filling skilled jobs in these numbers is not easy, Eric Simonson, managing partner of Everest’s research group, told Fortune.

Given that, Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, New York, and Washington D.C. will likely be Amazon’s top candidates, according to Everest.

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