The independence of local government is complex and multi-faceted. It should be considered taking into account many aspects, including the financial aspect. It is financial independence, especially its income approach, that plays an important role from the point of view of the current functioning of local government units. The aim of the article is to analyze the level of financial independence and development activities of municipalities in Poland. The data used for the analysis come from the Statistics Poland and Regional chambers of audit databases. The time taken for analysis is 2014-2022. The study used the following methods to assess the degree of financial independence and development activities of municipalities: an analysis of the level of communes' income from individual sources, an analysis of the level of operating surplus in municipalities and an analysis of the level of debt .