This article presents the results of analyzing environmental competence among municipal officials of three northern cities of the Sverdlovsk Region, conducted in the form of personal semi-structured interviews. According to the authors, environmental competence includes the standard list of requirements regarding education, professional experience, and personal traits. To assess environmental competence, subjective and objective criteria were developed, as well as indices for each of them. The subjective analysis involved such criteria as self-estimation of qualification and experience, general satisfaction with the job, and motivation for further work. The article presents the status of indices and the analysis of possible steps toward improving environmental competence among municipal officials. The study has shown that municipal officials do not stick to declared values of career development, while requirements to upgrade skills are just a formality. Only those officials who participated in federal-scale educational programs have high-grade environmental competence. Considered inefficient, distance education is not demanded by municipal officials of remote regions.