OZ 2.0 eligibility

Houston Opportunity Zones

Houston, Texas has 342 census tracts eligible for OZ 2.0 designation. Demographics, eligible tract list, and state filing tracker.

342

Eligible Tracts

2,304,580

City Population

$56,019

Median Household

19.4%

Poverty Rate

How OZ 2.0 applies to Houston

Houston sits within Texas, which is running its own OZ 2.0 selection process under the federal framework. The state's lead agency is Economic Development & Tourism Office (EDT), Office of the Governor. Texas has 2,420 census tracts eligible under OZ 2.0 — it can nominate up to 605 to Treasury.

342 of those tracts are inside Houston. OZ 2.0's tightened eligibility criteria — median family income at or below 70% of the state/metro reference (down from 80% under OZ 1.0), with the contiguous-tract option eliminated — means fewer Houston neighborhoods qualify than under the 2018 OZ 1.0 map. How states choose OZ 2.0 tracts →

For investors targeting Houston, the OZ 2.0 tax benefits — rolling 5-year deferral, 10% basis step-up (or 30% for Rural QROFs in qualifying rural tracts), and 100% federal-tax-free exclusion of QOF appreciation after a 10-year hold — apply to investments made on or after January 1, 2027. See the full OZ 1.0 vs 2.0 comparison →

What Houston's demographics imply: with a median household income of $56,019 and a 19.4% poverty rate, Houston is likely to retain a meaningful share of designated tracts in higher-poverty census areas, while higher-income neighborhoods that qualified through the contiguous-tract pathway under OZ 1.0 will lose designation under OZ 2.0.