Gov. Mike Dunleavy has submitted Alaska's 25 census tract nominations for Opportunity Zone 2.0, according to an October 14, 2026 press release from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED), bylined by public information officer Alexandra Vrabec and reproduced in full by Alaska Native News. The state scored 32 federally eligible tracts on a 100-point framework; a DCCED budget document on the state's public-notice site says 21 of the 32 are rural. The nominations are pending Treasury certification and would take effect January 1, 2027. As of October 16, the tract-level list and map have not been published on a state website.
The filing. According to an October 14, 2026 press release from the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development (DCCED), bylined by DCCED public information officer Alexandra Vrabec, Gov. Mike Dunleavy “has submitted Alaska’s 25 census tract nominations for the next generation of the federal Opportunity Zone program.” We could not find the release on gov.alaska.gov or commerce.alaska.gov; the text we cite is the full reproduction published by Alaska Native News the same day. Twenty-five is the most Alaska could nominate: under IRS Rev. Proc. 2026-14, a state with fewer than 100 eligible tracts may nominate up to 25.
Where the picks are. The release says the nominations come from these census areas and boroughs: Aleutians West, Anchorage, Bethel, Fairbanks North Star, Kodiak Island, Kusilvak, Lake and Peninsula, Matanuska-Susitna, Nome, Northwest Arctic, Prince of Wales-Hyder, Southeast Fairbanks, Wrangell and Yukon-Koyukuk. It does not give tract numbers. It describes the targets as housing and redevelopment in Anchorage and Fairbanks; ports, maritime infrastructure and seafood processing in coastal communities; aerospace and defense infrastructure; energy and transportation; and mineral, timber and other resource development in rural Alaska. DCCED Commissioner Julie Sande is quoted naming Wrangell, Prince of Wales, the Aleutians, Kodiak and Interior Alaska.
How Alaska chose. Per the release, DCCED evaluated 32 federally eligible census tracts on a 100-point scoring framework built on community impact, market viability and policy alignment. Recommendations were reviewed by a state subcabinet, the governor’s Cabinet and the Governor’s Office before the selections were submitted. DCCED’s outreach began in fall 2025, and its public notice on the state’s Online Public Notices site set a presentation and oral comment session for April 14, 2026 and a written comment period from April 1 to April 30, 2026.
The numbers. A DCCED budget overview posted on the state public-notice site says “Alaska has 32 eligible census tracts to select from, 21 of those tracts receive a rural designation,” and lists federal submission of the selections as the step after the governor’s 90-day selection window. Treasury’s September 23, 2026 eligible-tract data lists 33 Alaska tracts (21 rural); neither the state nor Treasury has said whether the added tract changes Alaska’s list, and the 25-tract cap is the same either way. Our Alaska zone page and OZ 2.0 tracker use the state’s 32.
What isn't public yet. The release says a statewide map of the selected tracts and resources for communities and investors will be available through the Alaska Business Initiative website, which had not posted it as of October 16. As of October 16, 2026, we have not found the tract-level list or map on any state website, so we cannot yet say which of the 32 tracts were picked or how many of the 25 are rural. We will add the tracts to the Alaska zone page when the state posts them.
What happens next. The nominations are not designations. Under Rev. Proc. 2026-14, Treasury’s review period ends by November 27, 2026 at the latest (extendable to December 28 at a state’s request). The release says certified zones take effect January 1, 2027 and remain in place for 10 years. To check an Alaska address now, use the OZ 2.0 eligibility checker.
Original reporting by Sarah Whitfield for Opportunity Zone Invest, an independent OZ 2.0 research site. Facts are drawn from the primary sources cited above per our editorial standards. Nothing here is tax, legal, or investment advice.
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