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Opportunity Zones · Illinois

Opportunity Zones in Chicago, IL

The City of Chicago has 135 Qualified Opportunity Zones under the original 2018 (OZ 1.0) designation round. These zones remain in effect through December 31, 2028.

Under the Opportunity Zones 2.0 framework, the State of Illinois will nominate a new round of Opportunity Zones in 2026, with those designations taking effect on January 1, 2027.

135
Designated OZs (2018)
950
Illinois OZ 2.0-eligible tracts
238
Illinois 2.0 nomination cap

What Are Opportunity Zones?

Opportunity Zones are economically distressed communities designated at the census-tract level. U.S. taxpayers who reinvest eligible capital gains into Qualified Opportunity Funds that invest in Opportunity Zone property may qualify for several federal tax benefits.

How To Invest in Opportunity Zones

To qualify for the Opportunity Zone tax incentive, investors must reinvest eligible capital gains into a Qualified Opportunity Fund (QOF). The QOF must then deploy capital into qualified Opportunity Zone property or businesses located within designated census tracts.

Qualifying investments may include ground-up real estate development, substantial rehabilitation of existing property, or operating businesses structured as Qualified Opportunity Zone Businesses (QOZBs), provided all statutory and regulatory requirements are satisfied.

Chicago Opportunity Zones Map

The interactive map below shows every designated Opportunity Zone in Chicago. Click any zone for tract-level detail, or use the layer panel to explore rural and surrounding tracts.

Current Opportunity Zones in Chicago (Designated 2018)

Chicago's 135 Opportunity Zones are located throughout the city, with concentrations on the West Side and South Side. There are no Opportunity Zones in the Loop or on the North Side. There are an additional 46 Opportunity Zones in suburban Cook County.

The census tracts below were designated in 2018 under IRS Notice 2018-48 and correspond to 2010 U.S. Census tract boundaries. These OZ 1.0 designations remain in effect through December 31, 2028.

CountyCensus TractType
Cook17031230600Non-Rural
Cook17031231200Non-Rural
Cook17031231500Non-Rural
Cook17031251300Non-Rural
Cook17031251500Non-Rural
Cook17031251800Non-Rural
Cook17031251900Non-Rural
Cook17031260200Non-Rural
Cook17031260600Non-Rural
Cook17031270500Non-Rural
Cook17031271200Non-Rural
Cook17031271300Non-Rural
Cook17031271800Non-Rural
Cook17031280400Non-Rural
Cook17031280900Non-Rural
Cook17031290900Non-Rural
Cook17031291200Non-Rural
Cook17031292200Non-Rural
Cook17031292500Non-Rural
Cook17031301200Non-Rural
Cook17031340600Non-Rural
Cook17031350100Non-Rural
Cook17031351100Non-Rural
Cook17031351400Non-Rural
Cook17031351500Non-Rural
Cook17031380100Non-Rural
Cook17031380500Non-Rural
Cook17031381400Non-Rural
Cook17031390300Non-Rural
Cook17031400300Non-Rural
Cook17031400400Non-Rural
Cook17031400500Non-Rural
Cook17031400800Non-Rural
Cook17031420500Non-Rural
Cook17031420600Non-Rural
Cook17031420700Non-Rural
Cook17031420800Non-Rural
Cook17031430101Non-Rural
Cook17031430200Non-Rural
Cook17031430300Non-Rural
Cook17031430400Non-Rural
Cook17031430600Non-Rural
Cook17031430900Non-Rural
Cook17031431301Non-Rural
Cook17031431302Non-Rural
Cook17031440201Non-Rural
Cook17031460100Non-Rural
Cook17031460200Non-Rural
Cook17031460301Non-Rural
Cook17031460302Non-Rural
Cook17031460400Non-Rural
Cook17031460500Non-Rural
Cook17031470100Non-Rural
Cook17031490901Non-Rural
Cook17031491300Non-Rural
Cook17031491400Non-Rural
Cook17031500100Non-Rural
Cook17031500200Non-Rural
Cook17031500300Non-Rural
Cook17031520200Non-Rural
Cook17031530200Non-Rural
Cook17031530502Non-Rural
Cook17031540101Non-Rural
Cook17031611000Non-Rural
Cook17031611100Non-Rural
Cook17031611200Non-Rural
Cook17031611600Non-Rural
Cook17031611700Non-Rural
Cook17031611800Non-Rural
Cook17031611900Non-Rural
Cook17031660301Non-Rural
Cook17031660600Non-Rural
Cook17031660700Non-Rural
Cook17031660800Non-Rural
Cook17031660900Non-Rural
Cook17031670100Non-Rural
Cook17031670200Non-Rural
Cook17031670400Non-Rural
Cook17031670500Non-Rural
Cook17031670600Non-Rural
Cook17031670700Non-Rural
Cook17031670800Non-Rural
Cook17031671100Non-Rural
Cook17031671200Non-Rural
Cook17031671400Non-Rural
Cook17031671500Non-Rural
Cook17031671600Non-Rural
Cook17031671800Non-Rural
Cook17031680500Non-Rural
Cook17031680600Non-Rural
Cook17031680900Non-Rural
Cook17031681000Non-Rural
Cook17031681200Non-Rural
Cook17031681300Non-Rural
Cook17031690300Non-Rural
Cook17031691000Non-Rural
Cook17031691100Non-Rural
Cook17031691300Non-Rural
Cook17031691400Non-Rural
Cook17031691500Non-Rural
Cook17031710100Non-Rural
Cook17031710200Non-Rural
Cook17031710300Non-Rural
Cook17031710500Non-Rural
Cook17031711000Non-Rural
Cook17031711400Non-Rural
Cook17031750600Non-Rural
Cook17031834000Non-Rural
Cook17031834200Non-Rural
Cook17031834300Non-Rural
Cook17031834400Non-Rural
Cook17031834500Non-Rural
Cook17031834600Non-Rural
Cook17031834700Non-Rural
Cook17031834800Non-Rural
Cook17031834900Non-Rural
Cook17031835000Non-Rural
Cook17031835500Non-Rural
Cook17031835900Non-Rural
Cook17031836000Non-Rural
Cook17031836100Non-Rural
Cook17031836900Non-Rural
Cook17031837000Non-Rural
Cook17031838600Non-Rural
Cook17031838700Non-Rural
Cook17031838800Non-Rural
Cook17031841000Non-Rural
Cook17031841400Non-Rural
Cook17031841500Non-Rural
Cook17031841800Non-Rural
Cook17031842100Non-Rural
Cook17031842900Non-Rural
Cook17031843000Non-Rural
Cook17031843300Non-Rural
Cook17031843600Non-Rural

Future OZ 2.0 Designations in Chicago

On January 29, 2026, the U.S. Census Bureau released its five-year American Community Survey (ACS) estimates for the 2020–2024 period. These data determine which census tracts are eligible for Opportunity Zone designation under the OZ 2.0 framework.

Across the State of Illinois, 950 census tracts meet the statutory median-family- income and/or poverty-rate thresholds. Under the 25 percent statutory cap, Illinois may nominate up to 238 of those tracts, with new designations taking effect on January 1, 2027.

See our analysis of the OZ 2.0-eligible tracts for the full methodology, or explore the eligible tracts on the interactive Opportunity Zones map.