If you’re wondering what India’s average salary is or how much it’ll cost to hire a workforce in India, we’ve got you covered.
In 2024, the average salary in India is 32,000 INR (Indian Rupee) per month or 384,000 INR per annum. That is 382 USD per month, according to the exchange rates in July 2024.
Like anywhere else in the world, salaries in India are affected by several factors including, an employee’s education, city, gender, age, and work experience.
But the one thing we know for sure?
The average Indian salary is significantly lower than average salaries in countries like the USA (7,920 USD) or even Russia (1,223 USD). And that makes India one of the most popular outsourcing destinations in the world.
In this article, we’ll take a deep dive into the average salary in India, its comparison with other countries, and the minimum wage in India. We’ll also discuss the top 3 industries commonly outsourced to the country.
Table of Contents
Let’s begin.
What is the average salary in India?
According to Salary Explorer, India’s national average salary amounts to 382 USD per month, as per the exchange rates in July 2024.
A country’s average salary is an important indicator of its standard of living.
However, other key indicators like the median salary and the average salary range can help you get a broader overview of the country.
A. Median salary:
India’s median salary is 27,300 INR per month (325 USD).
This implies that half of the Indian population earns less than 27,300 INR every month, while the other half earns more than 27,300 INR.
How is the median salary value different from the average salary?
The median salary represents the middle value between all salaries considered, while the average divides the sum of all salaries by the number of salaries considered.
For example, let’s say employee A earns 20,000 INR, employee B earns 30,000 INR, and employee C makes 50,000 INR. In this case, the average salary is 33,333 INR, whereas the median salary is 30,000 INR.
B. Salary range
India’s average salary range extends from 8,080 INR per month (98 USD) to 143,000 INR per month (1,734 USD).
However, this doesn’t mean that the actual highest salary in India is only 1.43 Lakhs.
The average salary range only considers salaries that fall between the average lowest salary and the average highest salary in India.
Salary data like the national average salary, the median salary, and the salary range can help you understand the Indian population and economy.
Salary comparison in India
While it’s easy to determine the average income in any country, what you actually pay an employee depends on several variables.
These factors include profession, education, work experience, location, etc.
We’ll compare the average salaries in India based on each one of these parameters.
A. Salary comparison by profession
The average base salary in India varies drastically across different sectors like IT, manufacturing, customer care, etc. The salaries also differ based on the job profile and the type of job (full time, part-time, freelance, etc.) within each of these sectors.
Let’s take a look at the salary comparison across different professions in India (full time job):
| Profession | Average Indian Salary (per month) |
| Program Manager | 150,000 INR (1,790 USD) |
| Healthcare Consultant | 133,333 INR (1,591 USD) |
| Project Manager | 125,000 INR (1,492 USD) |
| Life Sciences Consultant | 116,666 INR (1,392 USD) |
| Data Scientist | 91,666 INR (1,094 USD) |
| Human Resources Manager (HR Manager) | 66,666 INR (795 USD) |
| Chartered Accountant | 66,500 INR (793 USD) |
| Software Developer/ Software Engineer | 50,000 INR (596 USD) |
| Data Analyst | 50,000 INR (596 USD) |
| Java Developer | 41,666 INR (497 USD) |
| Restaurant Manager | 37,281 INR (445 USD) |
| Legal Advisor | 35,532 INR (424 USD) |
| Journalist | 31,442 INR (375 USD) |
| Interior Designer | 25,000 INR (298 USD) |
| Mechanical Engineer | 20,850 INR (248 USD) |
| Accountant | 20,000 INR (238 USD) |
| Content Writer | 20,000 INR (238 USD) |
| Teacher | 20,000 INR (238 USD) |
| Graphic Designer | 20,000 INR (238 USD) |
| Data Entry Operator | 15,228 INR (181 USD) |
Source: glassdoor.com
B. Salary comparison by education
In most countries, you’ll earn a bigger paycheck if you have a higher education. The scenario isn’t any different in India.
A survey by salaryexplorer.com shows that employees with a certificate or a diploma earn 17% more than their peers who have only graduated from high school.
Employees with a Bachelor’s Degree earn an average of 24% more than those who only have a certificate or a diploma. Similarly, professionals with a Master’s Degree make up to 29% more than those with a Bachelor’s Degree.
Ph.D. holders earn high salaries that are approximately 23% more than Master’s Degree holders for the same job title.
Note: Salary estimate based on education depends on the different job locations and the chosen career field.
C. Salary comparison by experience
It’s a given that any employee’s pay scale will increase with their work experience.
Salary Explorer’s salary report reveals that, on average, a person’s starting salary usually doubles by the time they cross the ten years experience mark.
Here’s an approximate breakdown of how salaries increase with increasing work experience:
| Number of Years of Experience | Average Progress in Salary |
| 2-5 years | +32% |
| 5-10 years | +36% |
| 10-15 years | +21% |
| 15-20 years | +14% |
| 20+ years | +9% |
Source: salaryexplorer.com
Note: All these salary figures are only guidelines. Individual salaries may differ significantly.
D. Salary comparison by location
An Indian employee’s salary may vary based on their job location.
Let’s take a look at the average salaries in key locations (cities and states) across the country:
| Location | Average Indian Salary (per month) |
| Bangalore | 34,700 INR (414 USD) |
| Pune | 34,100 INR (407 USD) |
| Mumbai | 36,700 INR (438 USD) |
| Vadodara | 30,400 INR (362 USD) |
| New Delhi | 36,600 INR (436 USD) |
| Bhopal | 31,700 INR (378 USD) |
| Kolkata | 35,100 INR (419 USD) |
| Chennai | 33,900 INR (404 USD) |
| Madurai | 28,100 INR (335 USD) |
| Kanpur | 32,800 INR (391 USD) |
Source: payscale.com
If you’re planning to hire a workforce in India, this salary data should help you plan a salary structure and decide on your employees’ gross salary and the company’s compensation budgets.
Now that we’ve looked at the different factors that determine the national average salary in India, let’s discuss salary increments in the country.
The minimum wage in India
Minimum wage refers to the minimum base salary you have to pay an employee per day.
Unlike most countries, India doesn’t have a fixed national minimum wage. It’s set under the Minimum Wages Act of 1948 by both the Central and the State governments. That’s why the average wage varies across the different Indian states.
For instance, the minimum wage for an unskilled worker in New Delhi is 612 INR (7.31 USD) per day. But in Bihar, the minimum wage is set much lower at 304 INR (3.63 USD) per day.
So the average hourly wage or daily wage you pay your employees will depend on the state you’re operating in.
Average salary in India Vs. the world
The World Economic Situation and Prospects (WESP) 2021 report by the United Nations classifies all countries of the world into one of three economic categories:
- Developed economies
- Economies in transition
- Developing economies
Let’s take a look at the average salaries in countries that belong to these categories and how it compares to India:
A. Average salaries in developed economies
| Country | Average Salary Per Month | Comparison to Average Salary in India (in %) |
| United Kingdom | 8,092 USD | 180% |
| United States | 7,900 USD | 179% |
| Norway | 5,696 USD | 172% |
| Germany | 4,493 USD | 165% |
| Austria | 4,470 USD | 165% |
Source: salaryexplorer.com
B. Average salaries in economies in transition
| Country | Average Salary Per Month | Comparison to Average Salary in India |
| Georgia | 2,191 USD | 134% |
| Russia | 1,392 USD | 106% |
| Albania | 923 USD | 73% |
| Kazakhstan | 903 USD | 71% |
| Ukraine | 845 USD | 66% |
Source: salaryexplorer.com
C. Average salaries in developing countries
| Country | Average Salary Per Month | Comparison to Average Salary in India |
| Thailand | 2,949 USD | 149% |
| Philippines | 875 USD | 69% |
| Vietnam | 748 USD | 54% |
| Egypt | 587 USD | 31% |
| Pakistan | 508 USD | 17% |
Source: salaryexplorer.com
These salary trends are mainly because of the low cost of living in India. On average, the cost of living in India is 65.24% lower than in the United States.
The abundance of skilled labor is another aspect that has led to low average salaries in India.
For example, India produces about 1.5 million engineers every year from 4,000 institutes — more engineers than the USA and China combined. This scenario has led to a situation where demand for engineers falls while the supply increases every year.
India offers a qualified talent pool at a lower cost than most developing economies. That’s why India has emerged as a preferred destination for outsourcing.
With these figures in mind, let’s look at the top industries that are outsourcing to India.
For more information, read our complete guide on outsourcing to India.
Top 3 industries commonly outsourced to India
While you can outsource almost any non-core task to India, here’s a closer look at some of the most popular ones:
1. Information and technology (IT) services
The total market size of the Indian IT market is over 235 billion USD. Additionally, the IT outsourcing industry is the fifth-largest industry in India.
India boasts of expertise in the industry and advanced infrastructure. You can leverage this expertise cost-effectively because of India’s low average salary.
For instance, the average monthly salary for an IT services manager in India is 1,365 USD. Hiring the same manager could cost you 3,466 USD per month in China and 5,440 USD per month in Canada.
IT services you can outsource to India are technical support, software development, and website and mobile app development.
2. Business process outsourcing (BPO)
India has been a reliable BPO service provider for reputed companies in the past. India’s global IT and BPO services market will likely grow at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 8% between 2021 and 2024.
Among a wide range of BPO services, India is a popular outsourcing destination for customer care services. This popularity is because of the low average salary for BPO services in India.
For example, the average pay for a call center agent in India is 201 USD per month. The same hire can cost you 318 USD per month in the Philippines and 397 USD per month in Mexico.
3. Knowledge process outsourcing (KPO)
KPO involves outsourcing information processing in large volumes. Some of the business activities that use KPO are:
- Financial and Investment research
- Research and Development
- Data Analysis and Interpretation
Handling data in large volumes requires a large number of resources and a specialized workforce. And because India has low average salaries, you can access these KPO services at nominal costs by outsourcing to the country.
The average monthly salary for a data analyst in India is 666 USD. You’d have to pay much more for a data analyst from other popular outsourcing destinations, such as Romania (718 USD per month) and Poland (1,293 USD per month).
Outsourcing these services to a country like India can significantly lower your overall costs.
However, there are certain challenges of outsourcing.
Outsourcing to India or any other offshore destination can lead to difficulties in ensuring your outsourced team is productive.
Fortunately, you can keep track of your outsourced employee’s productivity and performance by introducing employee productivity management software like Time Doctor.
With Time Doctor, you can track your employees’ time, attendance, schedules, and productivity effortlessly, even while working remotely.
Additionally, Time Doctor’s payroll features make managing salaries very simple. You can pay your Indian employees in any currency, including INR, USD, etc., and set up customizable payroll for salary or hourly wage employees.
Wrapping up
Although the average salary in India is steadily increasing, it is still lower than most countries worldwide.
That’s why you can get access to a qualified talent pool at affordable costs, making India a popular choice for outsourcing.
Use the information we covered here to understand the average salary in India and determine if outsourcing is the right move for your business.
