The paper presents characteristics of the development level in rural and urban-rural communes, situated in border areas of three Voivodeships in western Poland (Zachodniopomorskie, Lubuskie and Dolnośląskie). In order to classify and compare rural areas, Hellwig’s synthetic measure was used. The analysis showed that communes with a high level of development are concentrated mainly in the Zachodniopomorskie Voivodeship, including Szczecin’s suburban area as well as the Baltic coastal zone.