Richest cities in India: Bengaluru earns, Chandigarh spends, Chennai borrows the most, Delhi is India’s biggest market: Study shows where Indians earn, save, spend and borrow the most

India’s richest cities are not necessarily the ones that spend, save or borrow the most. A new 100-city study by Tata, titled ‘The Many Urban Indias’, offers a closer look at how households across the country earn, spend, save and borrow, and shows that prosperity looks very different from one city to another.

The study looks at India’s Big Six metros: Bengaluru, Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad and Kolkata, and finds some striking differences in household finances.

Bengaluru leads on income and savings, Chennai has the highest debt burden, while Delhi-NCR emerges as the country’s biggest consumption market because of its sheer number of households.

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Bengaluru households earn 1.7 times more than Kolkata

The income rankings among India’s Big Six may not come as a major surprise, but the size of the gap is notable.

Bengaluru leads the group in annual household income, earning around 1.7 times as much as Kolkata.

However, the study points out that the Big Six do not tell the entire story. Cities outside this group also perform strongly. Chandigarh would rank just behind Bengaluru on annual income, while Vadodara would sit alongside Delhi.

Mumbai has the highest share of rich households

Average household income is only one way to look at prosperity. The distribution of income tells another story.

The study classifies households earning below Rs 1.5 lakh a year as low-income, those earning Rs 1.5-6 lakh as aspirant, Rs 6-36 lakh as middle-income and Rs 36 lakh or more as high-income.

Mumbai and Delhi-NCR have the largest numbers of high-income households.

Bengaluru, despite leading in average household income, has the lowest share of high-income households among the Big Six, with a sizeable proportion of households falling into the aspirant-income category.

Hyderabad, meanwhile, has the highest proportion of middle-income households.

Low-income households account for only a small share across the Big Six, ranging from 0.2% in Delhi-NCR to 1.1% in Kolkata.

Chennai households spend the highest share of their income

Having a lower income does not necessarily mean spending less of it.

Households across India’s 100 cities spend around 75% of their income, compared with about 58% among the Big Six.

Within the metros, Bengaluru households have the highest spending in absolute terms. Delhi-NCR follows, with annual household spending of nearly Rs 14.5 lakh, while Mumbai comes next.

Chennai, however, stands out when spending is measured as a share of income. Households there spend around Rs 12.7 lakh a year, the highest proportion of income among the Big Six.

The numbers also point to changing priorities among urban Indian households.

Spending is moving beyond basic goods towards housing, healthcare, mobility and education. Households are also spending more on convenience, experiences and developing human capital.

There are clear regional differences, too. Northern households tend to allocate more towards housing, clothing and education, while southern households spend more on healthcare.

Delhi-NCR is India’s biggest consumption market

Delhi-NCR’s strength lies not just in how much individual households spend, but in the sheer number of households.

The region has around 7.5 million households, with annual household spending of nearly Rs 15 lakh.

Put together, that makes Delhi-NCR India’s biggest consumption market, almost as large as Mumbai and Bengaluru combined.

But the picture changes when spending is looked at on a per-household basis.

Chandigarh takes the top spot, while households in Vadodara and Surat also spend more on average than those in Bengaluru.

So while Delhi wins on scale, other cities can outpace it when it comes to spending per household.

Bengaluru leads India’s Big Six in savings

The savings story offers another interesting contrast.

Households in the Big Six save around 42% of their income, significantly higher than the 25% average across all 100 cities.

Bengaluru leads both in earnings and savings.

Mumbai and Delhi-NCR together account for around one-fifth of urban India’s household savings, highlighting the enormous financial weight of these two metros.

Savings in the Big Six are also more structured. Bank accounts remain widely used, while life insurance and gold continue to be important parts of household portfolios.

The study also finds that urban households are increasingly saving with specific long-term goals in mind.

Around 46.2% set money aside for old age, with retirement savings particularly prominent in Mumbai and Bengaluru.

Delhi-NCR has a more evenly distributed savings pattern, with households saving for wealth creation, education and emergencies.

Chennai has India’s highest household debt-to-income ratio

Borrowing provides perhaps the most interesting contrast between the Big Six.

The group has a debt-to-income ratio of 18.5%, the highest among the different categories of cities covered by the study.

But the study cautions against automatically treating higher borrowing as a sign of financial distress.

Chennai stands out with a debt-to-income ratio of 27.7%, with housing and vehicle purchases driving much of the borrowing.

Hyderabad and Bengaluru have much lower ratios, at around 15%.

The difference, however, is not simply about how much people borrow. It is also about what they are borrowing for and how much they earn.

Chennai borrows the most, Hyderabad the least

Chennai records the highest borrowing ratio as well as the highest absolute borrowing amount among the Big Six.

Hyderabad sits at the other end of the spectrum, with the lowest borrowing ratio and the lowest absolute amount, at around Rs 3 lakh.

Bengaluru presents a slightly different picture.

Its debt-to-income ratio is relatively low, but its absolute borrowing is considerably higher because household incomes are also much higher.

That means a higher rupee value of debt does not necessarily translate into greater financial stress.