25 Delaware Communities Nominated
for Next Generation of Opportunity Zones

September 28, 2026

DOVER, Delaware — Following months of community engagement, stakeholder input, and economic analysis, Governor Matt Meyer today announced the 25 census tracts Delaware has nominated for the next generation of Opportunity Zones, targeting communities where economic need and opportunities for private investment can come together to create jobs, strengthen neighborhoods, and drive long-term growth.

The Meyer administration selected 25 census tracts from 61 eligible areas across Delaware after receiving 237 community nominations and working with investors, developers, property owners, local governments, land-use professionals, and economic development leaders to understand where Opportunity Zone designation could have the greatest impact.

“Opportunity Zones will bring private investment and economic opportunity to communities that have too often been overlooked,” said Governor Matt Meyer. “We spent months listening to communities and studying where investment is needed most, where it can succeed, and where we can use every tool available to help it grow. These 25 nominations reflect a strategy built around investing in people and creating opportunity across our state.”

The 25 nominations include thirteen census tracts in New Castle County, five in Kent County, and seven in Sussex County. Twelve of the 25 are federally designated rural census tracts, including all five nominations in Kent County and all seven in Sussex County.

That represents an increase from nine rural tracts under Delaware’s previous Opportunity Zone designations and creates additional opportunities to attract investment into rural communities. Investments made through qualifying rural Opportunity Zone funds are eligible for enhanced federal tax benefits under the new program.

Governor Meyer directed the Delaware Division of Small Business to develop a statewide community engagement process to inform Delaware’s selections and incorporate lessons from the first generation of Opportunity Zones.

The process began in December 2025 with investors who participated in the original Opportunity Zone program and expanded to include developers, property owners, land-use and planning professionals, economic development officials, and service providers.

In March, the state hosted a public webinar explaining the new Opportunity Zone program. The Division of Small Business opened a statewide nomination process on March 4 and received 237 unique nominations before submissions closed May 15.

State officials then convened county and municipal land-use and economic development leaders to review potential areas against local zoning and comprehensive plans and provide feedback on their preferred areas for investment.

The Division of Small Business worked with the Office of State Planning Coordination to analyze all 61 potentially eligible census tracts, considering poverty rates, median family income, brownfield sites, Downtown Development Districts, and other factors. The goal was to identify communities where need and investability intersect — places that would benefit from additional investment and have assets capable of attracting and sustaining private capital.

Governor Meyer also aligned the Opportunity Zone process with the administration’s broader economic development strategy. Under Executive Order 18, qualifying projects financed in whole or in part with Qualified Opportunity Zone Funds can be eligible for the JobsFirst Permitting Accelerator, providing another tool to move significant investments through Delaware’s permitting process more efficiently.

Several nominated areas also overlap with existing Downtown Development Districts, including areas in Dover, Wilmington, Seaford, Georgetown, Laurel, Milford, and the City of New Castle. That creates opportunities for qualifying investments to combine Opportunity Zone benefits with other available state and federal economic development incentives.

Opportunity Zones are designed to attract long-term private capital into eligible communities by providing federal tax benefits to investors who reinvest qualifying gains through Qualified Opportunity Funds.

Under the program beginning Jan. 1, 2027, investors can defer eligible gains invested through a Qualified Opportunity Fund until an inclusion event or five years after the investment, whichever occurs first. Investments held for at least five years receive a 10% basis increase on the original deferred gain. Qualifying investments through rural Opportunity Zone funds receive a 30% basis increase.

Investors who hold qualifying Opportunity Zone investments for at least 10 years may also generally elect to adjust the investment’s basis to fair market value when it is sold, potentially excluding appreciation generated by the Opportunity Zone investment from federal capital-gains tax.

The Meyer administration’s selection process reflects a central lesson from the first generation of Opportunity Zones: a tax incentive cannot make an unsustainable investment successful. Delaware therefore focused on communities where the incentive can strengthen investments that already have the potential to succeed while delivering economic benefits to the surrounding community.

Delaware’s nominations have been submitted for certification. The census tracts are not officially designated Opportunity Zones until the U.S. Department of the Treasury completes the federal certification process. If certified, the new designations will take effect Jan. 1, 2027.

The new federal framework made the Opportunity Zone program permanent and established a new round of state nominations every 10 years.

A detailed map of the Opportunity Zones and further information can be found here.