In this study, the comparative financial performances of Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality, Izmir Metropolitan Municipality and Ankara Metropolitan Municipality were evaluated by the ratio analysis method, using the data in the budget accounts, activity accounts and balance sheet accounts tables presented by the municipalities in their activity reports between 2018-2022. Ratio analyzes were made within the framework of 21 budget/cash based indicators included in the 'Financial Analysis Guide for Public Administrations' published by the Ministry of Treasury and Finance. The obtained ratio analysis results revealed that all three metropolitan municipalities have a positive or negative financial outlook according to various indicators.

The remarkable findings of the study are that in the 2018-2022 period, Ankara Metropolitan Municipality had a budget deficit corresponding to 9.44% of its 2018 budget revenue, a budget surplus of 12.28% in 2019, and maintained this financial performance in the following years. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality's total liabilities for 2018 correspond to 136.02% of the accrued revenues, and it showed good performance by decreasing significantly in 2021 and 2022. When it comes to Izmir Metropolitan Municipality, although the ability to cover the operating income, operating expenses and liabilities accrued in 2018 in the 5-year period shows a continuous decreasing trend until 2021, its increase to 56.53% in 2022 shows that it has a positive financial outlook in terms of this indicator. There are few scientific studies on ratio analysis in revealing the financial situations of municipalities in our country, and the majority of them are based on old data sets. Therefore, this study is expected to contribute to the scientific literature.