2.3× pay gap
The same role at the same level can cost more than twice as much in Bangalore as in Indore.
Talent mapping
Compare hiring cost and talent supply across 42 Indian cities.
Talent mapping for India: hiring cost, pay, talent supply and attrition by city, alongside RBI and EPFO data that signals where hiring is heading. Map your location strategy to economic reality.
Hiring growth by cityYear on year
Bangalore
+12%
₹24.5L · T1
Mumbai
+8%
₹22.8L · T1
Pune
+15%
₹19.1L · T1
Hyderabad
+18%
₹20.1L · T1
NCR
+6%
₹21.6L · T1
Chennai
+10%
₹18.4L · T1
Jaipur
+28%
₹12.5L · T2
Indore
+35%
₹10.8L · T2
Kochi
+22%
₹14.2L · T2
Coimbatore
+19%
₹11.5L · T2
Under 10%
15–25%
25%+
Tier 2 hub
What is talent mapping?
Talent mapping is the analysis of where the people you need are located, what they cost and how hard they are to hire and keep. For location strategy in India, it compares cities on talent supply, pay, attrition and competition for the same skills, so you can decide where to open or grow a team.
Choosing a Tier 2 city for tech hiringWorkforce planning template
- Indian cities tracked
- 42
- Monthly EPFO additions indexed
- 1.28M
- Economic indicators linked
- 18+
- Signal refresh
- Daily
Why location matters
India is 42 talent markets, not one
Pay, supply and attrition vary widely from city to city. Most location decisions are still made on instinct. Our guide to choosing a Tier 2 city for tech hiring sets out the factors.
42–56% lower cost
Tier 2 hubs are much cheaper for many roles, but pay is rising faster there than in the metros, so the gap is closing.
3–6 month lag
RBI rate changes take three to six months to show up in hiring budgets; funding shifts take two to four. Kynoa measures these lags so you can plan ahead.
Hiring cost by city: comparison
Cost of hiring, pay, attrition and talent supply across Indian tech hubs, side by side.
Scroll sideways to see all columns.
| City | Tier | Hiring growth | Attrition | SDE-II median | EPFO additions | Cost vs Bangalore |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bangalore | Tier 1 | +12% | 18.7% | ₹24.5L | 2.1M | 100% |
| Mumbai | Tier 1 | +8% | 14.2% | ₹22.8L | 3.4M | 93% |
| Pune | Tier 1 | +15% | 16.1% | ₹19.1L | 1.8M | 78% |
| Hyderabad | Tier 1 | +18% | 15.4% | ₹20.1L | 1.5M | 82% |
| NCR | Tier 1 | +6% | 22.1% | ₹21.6L | 4.2M | 88% |
| Chennai | Tier 1 | +10% | 13.8% | ₹18.4L | 1.9M | 75% |
| Jaipur | Tier 2 | +28% | 10.2% | ₹12.5L | 0.6M | 51% |
| Indore | Tier 2 | +35% | 8.7% | ₹10.8L | 0.4M | 44% |
| Kochi | Tier 2 | +22% | 11.5% | ₹14.2L | 0.5M | 58% |
| Coimbatore | Tier 2 | +19% | 9.8% | ₹11.5L | 0.3M | 47% |
Illustrative data · Sep 2026
Economic signals
The forces that move your talent market
Kynoa links hiring trends to the economic data that drives supply and demand, three to six months ahead.
RBI monetary policy
Repo rate changes affect startup funding and hiring budgets with a three-to-six-month lag. We model the effect for each sector.
ρ = −0.72 with tech hiringEPFO formal employment
Monthly net additions to EPFO are the most reliable near-real-time measure of formal hiring in India.
1.28M monthly additionsVenture funding
Funding by stage, sector and city, linked to hiring spikes that typically follow within 30–60 days.
$3.2B tracked a quarterIT parks and SEZs
New IT parks, SEZs and office announcements, with their expected effect on local supply, pay and attrition.
47 active developmentsGDP and industrial output
Sector GDP and IIP data as leading indicators for industry-specific hiring cycles.
12 sectors modelledGlobal capability centres
New GCC announcements, an early signal of demand spikes in specific cities and skills.
120+ GCCs trackedCause and effect
How economic shifts reach your hiring plan
Kynoa traces the chain from an economic change to a talent-market outcome, with the typical delay at each step.
RBI rate rise → slower venture funding → startup hiring freeze → more metro talent available
Lag 3–6 monthsConfidence 87%
GCC announcement → local demand spike → pay inflation → smaller firms lose staff
Lag 2–4 monthsConfidence 82%
EPFO additions fall → formal hiring slows → attrition drops → pay growth stalls
Lag 1–3 monthsConfidence 91%
RBI repo rate, last 12 monthsρ = −0.72
Tier 2 cities
Tier 2 cities for tech hiring: the cost advantage is shrinking
Emerging hubs still offer big savings and lower attrition, but pay is rising faster there than in the metros.
+28% hiring
Jaipur
- SDE-II median
- ₹12.5L
- Attrition
- 10.2%
- Cheaper than BLR
- 49%
Mahindra World City SEZ · 42K tech professionals
+35% hiring
Indore
- SDE-II median
- ₹10.8L
- Attrition
- 8.7%
- Cheaper than BLR
- 56%
IT park expansion, Pithampur · 28K tech professionals
+22% hiring
Kochi
- SDE-II median
- ₹14.2L
- Attrition
- 11.5%
- Cheaper than BLR
- 42%
Infopark, SmartCity Kochi · 65K tech professionals
+19% hiring
Coimbatore
- SDE-II median
- ₹11.5L
- Attrition
- 9.8%
- Cheaper than BLR
- 53%
TIDEL Park, IT corridor · 35K tech professionals
Illustrative data · Sep 2026
Location decisions, backed by data
COO / operations
Site selection
- Data-led choice of new offices and GCCs
- Talent cost modelling across 42 cities
- How many companies compete for the same roles in each city
- Infrastructure readiness for Tier 2 expansion
CHRO / talent strategy
Workforce distribution
- Balance your talent footprint across cities
- City-level attrition forecasts and retention plans
- Emerging talent markets before competitors arrive
- Remote-first vs hub-and-spoke scenarios
CFO / FP&A
Cost optimisation
- Total employment cost by city, including real estate and benefits
- Scenarios: "What if we move 200 engineers from Bangalore to Jaipur?"
- Multi-city budgeting
- Attrition cost variance by city
Worked example
Rebalancing a 1,000-person engineering team
What moving part of a Bangalore-only team to Pune and Jaipur does to annual cost, including pay and attrition-driven replacement.
Before
All in Bangalore
1000 engineers at 18.7% attrition.
₹202Cr / year
The shift
50 / 30 / 20 split
500 stay in Bangalore. 300 mid-senior roles move to Pune and 200 junior roles to Jaipur.
After
Three-city footprint
Lower pay and lower attrition in Pune and Jaipur.
₹168Cr / year · saves ₹34.5Cr
Calculated with the same model as our CFO simulator. Excludes office, relocation and management costs. Not a customer result.
Frequently asked questions
Which cities do you cover?
42 Indian cities: the six major metros (Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Hyderabad, NCR, Chennai), 12 Tier 2 tech cities and 24 emerging hubs. We add cities quarterly as EPFO data becomes dense enough.
Where does the economic data come from?
RBI, EPFO, the Ministry of Statistics, SEBI and NASSCOM via official publications and APIs, plus licensed private sources for venture funding data.
Can I get city data for specific roles?
Yes. Data is available by city, role, level and industry: for example, pay, attrition and hiring growth for a senior data scientist in Hyderabad fintech.
How often is it refreshed?
EPFO data monthly, job postings daily, RBI policy as announced and funding quarterly. The combined city scores refresh weekly.
Do you cover cities outside India?
Geographic intelligence covers India only. For cross-border pay comparisons, the compensation module covers 12 countries with large Indian talent links.
Design partner programme
Shape Kynoa with us
We're onboarding a small group of Indian enterprises as design partners. You get early access and direct input into the roadmap. We get feedback grounded in real location decisions.
- Early access to new modules as they ship
- Regular working sessions with the product team
- A direct say in what we build next
Plan your next location with data
Get a city-by-city comparison for the roles you are hiring, with cost, supply and attrition.
Covers 42 cities · Updated weekly