The objective of the study was the estimation of the effect of socioeconomic factors and place of residence on the prevalence of hypertension among Polish population. The research was carried out during the period 2003-2005, based on an all-Polish Multicentre National Study of State of Health – WOBASZ, and covered a randomly selected sample of 14,769 Polish inhabitants (6,977 males and 7,792 females), aged 20-74. The survey was conducted based on the division of the territory of Poland into small, medium, and large communes, and large capitals of the regions. The data was collected based on a questionnaire form. Hypertension was diagnosed according to criteria by the WHO. Hypertension was more often observed among males than females; 77.7% of males and 84% of females received treatment. Among males, hypertension occurred among those who were married, whereas in females no significant effect of marital status on the occurrence hypertension was noted. Both among males and females hypertension was considerably more often diagnosed in the group of respondents possessing an elementary education level. The occurrence of hypertension also depended on income. The type of occupation performed affected the frequency of occurrence of arterial hypertension according to gender. In males, it was more frequently observed among those who had a sedatory type of work, whereas in females – in those who performed manual work. Hypertension was most often noted among the retired respondents. Conclusions: Place of residence exerted a significant effect on the frequency of occurrence and treatment of hypertension; socioeconomic factors had a significant effect on the prevalence of hypertension; in the majority of cases place of residence did not affect the variation in the frequency of occurrence of hypertension according to socioeconomic factors.