Which census tracts qualify as Opportunity Zones

It must be a low-income community under one of two prongs: low median family income, or high poverty with income not above 125% of the area median.

Section 1400Z-1 limits designation to population census tracts that are low-income communities, using the definition of that term in the new markets tax credit statute, §45D(e), as modified for Opportunity Zones by Public Law 119-21.^1,2 As amended, the test reads as follows.^3,4

The statewide median for a tract outside a metropolitan area, and the greater of the statewide or metropolitan median for a tract inside one.

Using the greater of the two medians helps tracts in high-income metros. A metro tract with an MFI of $64,000 is 80% of an $80,000 statewide median, which fails, but 67% of a $95,000 metro median, which passes.^5,1

Tract D is the kind of tract the 125% ceiling is meant to exclude: high measured poverty, for example from a large student population, alongside high family incomes. Tract E shows that a moderate-income tract with low poverty does not qualify under either prong.

No. Every tract nominated for the new designation period must qualify as a low-income community on its own data.

The statute as amended by Public Law 119-21 has no option to designate non-low-income tracts that are contiguous with low-income tracts.^4,6 The result is a map made up only of tracts that meet the test directly. Economic Innovation Group's summary of the law notes that this, together with the 70% income threshold, targets the eligible pool.⁷

Census Bureau American Community Survey 5-year estimates at the census tract level, reflected in Treasury's eligible-tract list.

A census tract is a small, relatively stable statistical area defined by the Census Bureau, generally with 1,200 to 8,000 residents and an optimum of about 4,000.⁸ Tracts are identified by an 11-digit code made of the state, county and tract numbers. Reports on this cycle indicate eligibility uses the 2020 to 2024 ACS 5-year estimates released in January 2026.^9,10

Rev. Proc. 2026-14 contains the eligible list as an appendix.¹³ Under §5.04, a governor may nominate a tract that is not on the list by providing tract-level data showing it meets the test; at least one state reportedly had off-list tracts rejected.^14,12

No. Eligibility only makes a tract a candidate. A governor must nominate it and Treasury must certify it.

Each state may designate no more than 25% of its eligible tracts, or 25 tracts if that is greater, so most eligible tracts will not become zones.^1,15 With 25,332 eligible tracts, a tracker estimates about 6,575 designations nationwide, an estimate rather than an official figure.¹⁶ The process is explained in how Opportunity Zones are designated, and the status of the new map in the new Opportunity Zone maps taking effect in 2027.

Look up the tract's 11-digit code, check it against Treasury's eligible list, then check the state's nominations and Treasury's certified list.

1. 1.Geocode the address or parcel to its census tract.
2. 2.Look up the tract on the Rev. Proc. 2026-14 eligible list, which also flags wholly rural tracts.
3. 3.If it is not on the list, check whether the state nominated it as an off-list tract with supporting data.
4. 4.Check the governor's nomination list and, once published, Treasury's certified list.
5. 5.Save dated copies for the compliance file.

State agencies, such as Ohio's local input process, posted eligible-tract maps for public review during the nomination window.¹⁰ Tools are compared in Opportunity Zone maps and data tools, and the practical lookup is in how to check if a property is in an Opportunity Zone. More on tract geography is in census tracts and Opportunity Zones.

Large, sparsely populated tracts with low incomes often qualify, and many of them are rural, which is where large data center campuses tend to go.

Data center campuses need hundreds of acres, high-voltage transmission and room for substations. Tracts with that profile are frequently rural or industrial, with low resident populations and below-median family incomes. About a third of Treasury's eligible tracts, 8,334 of 25,332, are wholly rural, and those tracts can support a Qualified Rural Opportunity Fund with a 30% basis step-up.^11,17 See rural Opportunity Zones and data center site selection inside Opportunity Zones.

Two cautions. Industrial tracts can have very few residents, which makes ACS estimates noisy, so check the eligible list rather than computing ratios yourself. And because designation is limited to 25% of eligible tracts, a qualifying tract still needs the governor's nomination and Treasury's certification.