EN
The role of metropolitan areas has gained importance in contemporary Poland, as it is in them that here, like throughout the world, the economic, financial, scientific, and cultural potential are all concentrated. As the centers of both digital society and the knowledge-based economy, they play a significant role in spatial development. The aim of the article is to quantify the Cracow Metropolitan Area’s level of socio-economic development. The analysis is used to present the differentiation of socio-economic development among the communes of the CMA. The analysis is based on a synthetic composite index of development that has been calculated using 15 different indices that characterise socio-economic development for the year 2008.