Official Site of The State of New Jersey
Opportunity Zones
The Opportunity Zones program was enacted as part of the 2017 federal Tax Cuts and Jobs Act and made permanent in 2025. The program incentivizes long-term capital investments into low-income communities. This federal program provides opportunities for private investors to support investments in distressed communities through participation in Qualified Opportunity Funds. These funds must directly invest in businesses or property located in low-income census tracts designated as Opportunity Zones.
Investors can defer and reduce federal taxes on capital gains reinvested in Qualified Opportunity Funds that invest in designated Opportunity Zones situated in low-income communities, under rules released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury. The federal tax incentives available to investors are established under federal law and administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service. Investors and Qualified Opportunity Funds should consult current federal guidance regarding eligibility requirements and applicable tax benefits.
The first version of the Opportunity Zone program, authorized in 2017, included 169 tracts across the state of New Jersey. The Opportunity Zone Program was made permanent in 2025, establishing a new designation cycle every 10 years. As a result, the new nomination window opened in 2026, which gave Governor Sherrill the authority to nominate 130 census tracts as Opportunity Zones.
2026 Opportunity Zone Nominations
The Opportunity Zone program was made permanent in 2025, establishing a new Opportunity Zone designation cycle every ten years. Governor Sherrill submitted 130 census tracts for federal Opportunity Zone designation, the maximum number allowed, to help attract investment in new housing, local businesses, and community revitalization.
Led by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (NJEDA), and the Department of State, the collaborative selection process included communities in all 20 counties with eligible census tracts.
The following Community Asset Map identifies the current and 2026 nominated Opportunity Zone Census Tracts along with other mapped features that may be of interest to stakeholders. The submissions are final and cannot be changed.
The State's recommendations are rooted in an extensive community input process. The State conducted intentional outreach with each county and eligible municipality over the four-month nomination period. As a result of this process, the State received letters recommending over 200 tracts for Opportunity Zone designation, 50 percent more than its maximum number of Opportunity Zones. This stakeholder feedback helped identify local economic, housing, and community priorities, and informed the State's assessment of each tract's readiness for investment.
To select the nominations, the Sherrill Administration combined community input with a technical analysis, guided by the New Jersey State Development and Redevelopment Plan and the Administration's housing and economic development priorities. The process prioritized revitalizing legacy cities, promoting transit-oriented development, and increasing housing access for New Jerseyans across the State. The selection process also considered displacement risk.
Opportunity Zones are designated census tracts where investors may qualify for federal tax incentives by investing through Qualified Opportunity Funds (QOFs). QOFs are investment vehicles that pool private capital and invest in businesses, housing, commercial developments, and other qualifying property located within designated Opportunity Zones.
The Governor's designation of Opportunity Zones identifies the communities that are eligible to receive these tax-advantaged investments. However, designation alone does not provide funding or guarantee investment. Rather, it makes qualifying projects within those designated census tracts eligible for investment through Qualified Opportunity Funds under federal law.
In short, Opportunity Zone designation makes a census tract eligible to receive investment through Qualified Opportunity Funds, while the federal tax incentives encourage private investors to make those investments.
To qualify for the federal Opportunity Zone incentive, Qualified Opportunity Funds and investors must satisfy the requirements established under federal law and U.S. Department of the Treasury regulations. Among other requirements:
- Qualified Opportunity Funds generally must maintain at least 90 percent of their assets in qualified Opportunity Zone property.
- Investors seeking federal tax benefits must comply with applicable federal eligibility requirements and investment timelines.
- Qualified Opportunity Funds and investors are subject to additional statutory and regulatory requirements administered by the U.S. Department of the Treasury and Internal Revenue Service.
For more information, visit the U.S. Department of the Treasury:
Comments or questions about the federal Opportunity Zone rules and tax guidance may be directed to OpportunityZone@cdfi.treas.gov
New Jersey selected Opportunity Zones based on a combination of stakeholder input and technical analysis. Selections prioritized census tracts that offered the greatest potential to further housing and economic development, advance local priorities, and align with available evidence on the most effective uses of Opportunity Zone incentives. The state also ensured that zones were distributed throughout the state.
Stakeholder feedback was evaluated based on alignment with the following priorities. Particular emphasis was given to communities that indicated meaningful public, private-sector, and elected support for particular tracts.
- Economic Opportunity and Investment Potential — Areas where there is demonstrated interest in leveraging the opportunity zone tool, developable land, proximity to strategic assets, such as employment centers, transit, incentive zones, and energy infrastructure.
- Housing Development — Areas that have the capacity to support housing development, are near transit and employment opportunities, and prioritize housing development across the affordability spectrum.
- Economic Need and Community Engagement — Areas with economic need demonstrated by indicators of economic distress and evidence of community engagement in economic revitalization.
Building on DCA’s Opportunity Zone designation methodology developed for OZ 1.0 in 2018, New Jersey used stakeholder input and technical analysis to identify the Opportunity Zones nominated by Governor Sherrill. The stakeholder input and technical analysis process reflected key indicators of economic need (e.g. income, unemployment rate, property values) and also considered geographic distribution, proximity to transit, and the value of existing investments and incentives, housing production, transit-oriented development potential, and economic development activity.
Note that the re-authorized Opportunity Zone program reduced the number of tracts that could be selected from 169 to 130. Some tracts that were eligible under the 2018 program were no longer eligible for designation.
Under the original Opportunity Zone program established by the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017, Governor Murphy nominated 169 census tracts, which were approved by the U.S. Department of the Treasury on April 9, 2018. These designations included census tracts in 75 municipalities representing every county in New Jersey.
Designated census tracts were based upon a formula incorporating the Municipal Revitalization index (MRI) which reflects key economic indicators (e.g. income, unemployment rate, property values) that also take into consideration geographic distribution, access to transit, and the value of existing investments, including those encouraged by state programs and incentives. To ensure a fair and transparent selection process, feedback and input was received from mayors throughout the state and the New Jersey Congressional delegation prior to the Governor’s Office making the final designation of state Opportunity Zones.
Click here for an Excel workbook containing a list of the 2018 designated OZ census tracts for New Jersey
Click here to view an interactive map of the 2018 designated OZ census tracts for New Jersey.
Click here to download a large, non-interactive map of the 2018 designated OZ census tracts for New Jersey.