Four Southeast Texas counties have 18 designated Opportunity Zones

Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, and Jasper counties have 18 designated Opportunity Zone tracts on the CDFI Fund final designations workbook. 12News in Beaumont reported 23 designated tracts across six Southeast Texas counties on November 5, 2026. That count matches the final list: it adds Newton County’s three tracts and Tyler County’s two, both Rural, to the four counties covered here. The 18 in this story comes from the workbook rows for Jefferson, Orange, Hardin, and Jasper counties only. Treasury press release sb0682 says designated tracts take effect January 1, 2027.

Each QOZID uses an N prefix, the workbook’s Non-Rural mark. The county page is Jefferson County Opportunity Zones.

Beaumont tract 1.03. KFDM reported on November 5, 2026 that the City of Beaumont says it secured a designation for census tract 1.03 in the North End, Ward 3, including the East Lucas corridor that the city’s comprehensive plan marks for mixed-use development. City Manager Chris Boone called it “another tool to encourage private investment, attract new businesses and create more opportunities for the people who live and work in this community.” KFDM reported the city’s statement that the designation takes effect January 1, 2027 and runs through 2036. The workbook confirms GEOID 48245000103 is designated. The Census Bureau geocoder puts Beaumont city hall, 801 Main Street, in tract 117 (GEOID 48245011700), which is not one of the nine. The North End tract is not the city-hall tract.

Port Arthur city hall at 444 4th Street geocodes to tract 61, GEOID 48245006100, which is one of the nine Jefferson County designations.

See Orange County.

Hardin County, 1 tract, Rural. GEOID 48199030800, tract 308, QOZID R48199030800-27. See Hardin County.

See Jasper County.

Seven of the 18 are Rural (Hardin’s one and Jasper’s six). The other 11 are Non-Rural. That rural flag is the workbook field tied to the rural incentive. Our rural designations story covers the national count of 2,594.

The Office of the Governor’s Opportunity Zones page says Governor Greg Abbott nominated 608 census tracts. The workbook has 608 Texas rows. Those statewide numbers are already in the Texas filing story and the county-by-county breakdown. This article is only the four-county slice. The national list is Treasury’s final-list story.

Correction, Nov. 10, 2026: An earlier version of this story said 12News’s headline count was not the count used here, which suggested the station’s number was wrong. It was not. 12News reported 23 designated tracts across six counties, including Newton (3) and Tyler (2), and that matches the final list. This story’s 18 covers four counties. We regret the error.