India's salary hotspots are no longer just the biggest metros

India's salary growth is no longer concentrated only in the country's largest metropolitan centres. A new TeamLease Jobs and Salaries Primer for FY2026-27 suggests that several Tier-2 cities are narrowing the gap with established employment hubs, driven by manufacturing, industrial expansion and enterprise investments rather than just information technology.

The TeamLease study surveyed 1,268 businesses across 23 industries and 20 cities to project salary increment trends for FY2026-27. It covers entry-level roles across sectors including manufacturing, IT, banking, logistics, retail, healthcare, education and financial services.

Among metros, Chennai is projected to record the highest average salary increment at 9.7%, followed by Pune and Hyderabad at 9.6% each, while Bengaluru is expected to see 9.4% growth. Mumbai and Delhi are both projected at 9.3%.


However, the report shows that several smaller cities are now posting salary growth rates comparable to, and in some cases higher than, major metros.

Ahmedabad is projected to see salary increments of 9.5%, matching Visakhapatnam and exceeding Bengaluru, Mumbai and Delhi. Nagpur follows at 9.4%, while Jaipur is expected to record 9.3%, putting them on par with some of India's largest employment markets.

Manufacturing drives the shift

According to TeamLease, the emerging salary growth pattern reflects a broader economic shift.

"Within the non-metro landscape, a more advanced group of cities, such as Ahmedabad and Nagpur alongside Visakhapatnam and Jaipur, are becoming increasingly difficult to ignore. With increment outlook now competitive with several metros, and supported by manufacturing expansion, industrial corridor development, and steady enterprise investment, they are steadily emerging as the connective layer between India's established hubs and its next salary-growth frontier," the report said.

Unlike earlier cycles that were dominated by IT hiring, the report attributes the growth in these cities to expanding industrial clusters, manufacturing investments and enterprise operations.

Metros still lead in technology

While Tier-2 cities are catching up on overall salary increments, the biggest technology hubs continue to dominate IT-specific pay growth.

Within the information technology sector, Bengaluru is projected to register salary growth of 12.7%, followed by Hyderabad at 11.7%, Chennai at 11.5% and Pune at 11.3%, reflecting continued demand from global capability centres (GCCs) and technology companies.

The report notes that Chennai, Pune, Hyderabad and Bengaluru remain at the centre of India's premium talent economy because of mature technology ecosystems and sustained enterprise demand, even as overall salary growth becomes more geographically distributed.