Tracts, Not Counties — and Why It Matters Less Here
Program and regulatory figures verified September 26, 2026. Details change; confirm your scenario with us.
In most states the targeted-area map is the first thing to check. In Missouri it is worth checking second, because a program name gets you most of the same benefit.
How Missouri does it
MHDC publishes a list of targeted census tracts, effective January 8, 2024, and directs lenders to the FFIEC geocoding map at geomap.ffiec.gov to locate a property's tract number before cross-referencing it against that list.
No Missouri county is designated targeted in its entirety. So there is no shortcut: two houses on opposite sides of the same street can differ, and the county tells you nothing.
What a targeted tract buys
| Non-targeted | Targeted tract | |
|---|---|---|
| First-time buyer required on First Place? | Yes | No |
| Purchase price, 1-family | $566,354 | $692,211 |
| Purchase price, 2-family | $725,146 | $886,289 |
| Income, 1–2, all other areas | $97,100 | $116,520 |
| Income, 3+, all other areas | $111,665 | $135,940 |
Both of those are real. A repeat buyer in a targeted tract can use First Place, and the income headroom rises by $19,420 for a couple at the floor.
Why it matters less here than it should
Look at the column heading on MHDC's limits sheet: "TARGETED AREAS/NEXT STEP". The higher limits are not exclusive to targeted tracts. Next Step reads the same column, and Next Step is available across Missouri to first-time and repeat buyers alike.
So the targeted-tract question collapses to one narrow case: a buyer who wants First Place specifically, has owned recently, is not a qualified Veteran, and needs the higher limits. Everyone else gets the same numbers by choosing Next Step. Next Step.
That is a genuinely unusual piece of program design, and it is the most useful thing on this site after the forgiveness schedule.
How other states compare
Michigan designates 66 of its 83 counties as targeted in their entirety, so most Michigan buyers get the waiver without checking anything. Missouri is at the other end: tract-level everywhere, nothing county-wide.
Neither approach is better for a borrower on its own. What matters is whether the state gives you another route to the same limits, and Missouri does.
Why we do not publish the tract list
MHDC's list is dated January 8, 2024 and it changes. Tract boundaries are not visible from the street, and a list typed onto a lender's page goes stale quietly. A stale list could talk someone out of a house that qualifies, which is the worse error.
So we do two things instead. We point you at the FFIEC map, which is the same tool MHDC tells lenders to use. And we check the address ourselves when you send it. Send us the address.
Next
The first-time test the tract waives · the income figures · the full eligibility test.
Frequently asked questions
How does Missouri define targeted areas for MHDC?
By census tract. MHDC publishes a list of targeted census tracts effective January 8, 2024 and directs lenders to the FFIEC geocoding map at geomap.ffiec.gov to locate a property's tract before cross-referencing it. No Missouri county is designated targeted in its entirety, so the county tells you nothing and the answer is address-level.
What does a targeted census tract do for a Missouri buyer?
Two things. On First Place it waives the first-time homebuyer requirement, so a repeat buyer can use the program. And it raises the limits: the one-family purchase price cap goes from $566,354 to $692,211, and the income limit for a one to two person household in most of Missouri rises from $97,100 to $116,520.
Do I need a targeted tract to get Missouri's higher limits?
No. MHDC's limits sheet heads the higher column 'TARGETED AREAS/NEXT STEP', so the Next Step program carries those same limits everywhere in Missouri without a targeted tract. That leaves the tract question mattering only for a buyer who specifically wants First Place, has owned recently and is not a qualified Veteran.
Is any Missouri county entirely a targeted area?
No. MHDC designates by census tract only, and no Missouri county carries a whole-county targeted designation. That differs sharply from Michigan, where 66 of 83 counties are targeted in their entirety, so Missouri buyers cannot reason from the county the way Michigan buyers often can.
How do I check whether an address is in a Missouri targeted tract?
Use the FFIEC geocoding map at geomap.ffiec.gov to get the census tract number, then check it against MHDC's targeted tract list, which is the process MHDC gives its lenders. We do not reproduce the list here because it is dated January 8, 2024 and changes, and a stale list could talk someone out of a house that qualifies. Send us the address and we will check it.
Mike Certo · NMLS #260555 · Cornerstone First Mortgage NMLS #173855 · Equal Housing Lender. Educational content about financing, not a loan commitment and not legal or tax advice. MHDC program terms, income limits and purchase price limits are set by the Missouri Housing Development Commission and change; figures here carry the date we verified them against MHDC's published documents. MHDC down payment assistance is a forgivable second loan, not a grant, and selling or refinancing inside ten years can require repaying all or part of it. Loans are subject to borrower and property qualification.