Wadowice is situated in the western part of the Wieliczka Foothills, in a basin between the Foothills and the Beskid Mały ranges, in the valley of the Skawa river.
There are 16 villages in the Wadowice Commune: Babica, Barwałd Dolny, Chocznia, Gorzeń Dolny, Gorzeń Górny, Jaroszowice (sołectwa Jaroszowice and Jaroszowice Zbywaczówka), Kaczyna, Klecza Dolna, Klecza Górna, Ponikiew (sołectwa Ponikiew and Chobot), Roków, Stanisław Górny, Wysoka, Zawadka.
Wadowice plays an important role in this part of the region, being the centre of many local and supra-regional initiatives, the centre of administration, culture and education, the seat of the commune and district authorities. The area of the commune is crossed by two important transport routes of national importance, intersecting in Wadowice, the route Krakow-Bielsko-Biała as the national road K-52 and Oświęcim-Sucha Beskidzka, running through the area of the commune as a fragment of the national road K-28 Zator – Medyka (state border).
The distance from Wadowice to the regional capital, Kraków, is 52 km. The Wadowice commune has just under 37,000 inhabitants. In the area of the Wadowice commune there are various programmes supporting activities for the family, including: the local government programme called ‘Wadowice Friendly to the Family’ and the nationwide government programme ‘Karta Duża Rodziny’ (Large Family Card).