Which are the wealthiest local governments in Poland?

A ranking gives insight into the fiscal power of Polish cities and regions in 2018

The magazine of the Local Self-Government "Wspólnota" each year develops a ranking of the richest local governments in Poland. It serves, among other things, to make general observations on the trends in the most important financial indicators at the local level in the country which was recently declared as developed. The magazine has just published the list for 2018 in its 9^th issue.

Overall, the financial situation of the local government sector seems to improve, reads the report, but in reality this is the result of government social programs that can have positive effects on the social situation in the country, but have little to do with the freedom of policy development by local governments or their ability to perform other public tasks.

Naturally, the Masovian Voivodeship where the capital Warsaw is located leads the income ranking, followed by Lower Silesia for the second year. This development is possible thanks to investments in a Mercedes factory in Jawor, Xeos Lufthansa plant, BASF in Środa Śląska or LG Chem near Wrocław, observe the authors. The Subcarpathian, Greater Poland, West Pomeranian, Pomeranian, Silesian, Kuyavian-Pomeranian, Lesser Poland and Podlaskie voivodeships complete the top 10 respectively.

As far as the wealth of provincial cities is concerned, the first place is of course occupied by Warsaw with 7747,11 PLN per capita in 2018. Trailing by a considerable amount, the capital is followed by Wroclaw with 5805,25, Opole with 5747,77 and Gdansk with 5617,72. The top 10 list of cities includes also Kraków (5605,84) , Poznań (5592,46), Katowice (5411,84), Olsztyn (5063,64), Rzeszów (4979,11) and Białystok (4768,84). The latter is the only city which was not included in top 10 in the previous year – to be exact, it occupied the 15^th place in 2017. Good tax policy ensures success to Warsaw, Wrocław and Opole which remain the richest provincial cities in Poland, believe the authors.

The ranking of towns with powiat status (a division of the voivodeships, similar to a county) is no less interesting. Leader with 6950,52 PLN per capita is Polkowice, followed by Piaseczno with 4860,82 and Grodzisk Mazowiecki with 4846,57. Interestingly, Limanowa moves from the 41^st to the 8^th position this time which is due the sale of shares. The Polish Development Fund paid for the shares PLN 12 million, so that the city could expand the sewage system and water supply.

Finally, the ranking of cities with powiat rights is as follows: Sopot, Świnoujście, Plock, Gliwice, Dąbrowa Górnicza, Nowy Sącz, Ostrołęka, Gdynia, Krosno and Konin.

For the full report and rankings in different categories, follow this link (in Polish).