The characteristic of Polish rural communes, in comparison with municipalities, is the lower income of their inhabitants, higher unemployment rate, less developed technical and social infrastructure and, last but not least, the lower quality of municipal services. In order to bridge that gap, the investments in local development, e.g. infrastructure expenses, are required. Unfortunately, the investment activities of communes are hampered by their limited financial resources. The aim of this article is to assess the investment potential of some typical Polish rural communes, situated in the Opoczno County, Łódź Voivodeship. The analysis uses the financial ratios from the 2007-2013 period, provided by the Polish Ministry of Finance and Central Statistical Office. The analysis asserts that, in general, the communes of the named region are in worse financial condition than the Polish average, with higher unemployment rates and underdeveloped social and technical infrastructure. There are also some substantial differences in the financial condition of the analyzed communes. The communes of Opoczno and Mniszków have the lowest investment potential, due to their excess indebtedness, high debt service coverage ratio and limited operating surplus. The biggest investment opportunities exist in the richest communes of the region, Paradyż and Sławno, due to their high per capita income, relatively small debts and low debt service coverage ratio. These are also the communes with the highest investment expenditures in comparison to their global income.