Tier-2 cities witness surge in senior-level salaries, narrow compensation gap with metros: Report

New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) The Indian job market is witnessing a profound shift, with Tier-2 cities increasingly emerging as major talent hubs and seeing a remarkable surge in senior-level compensation, a report said on Tuesday.

According to the Randstad Annual Salary Trends Report 2025–26, Tier-2 cities such as Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Thane, Surat, Jaipur, and Indore have emerged as high-growth talent hubs and are witnessing a sharp surge in senior-level salaries, at par with Tier-1 pay.

Tier-2 cities are fast emerging as domain and industry-led Global Capability Centre (GCC) hubs, driving demand for leadership, niche domain expertise, and advanced technology skills, and compelling organisations to pay competitively.

The insights also point to the growing prominence of Kochi, Thiruvananthapuram, Thane, Surat, Jaipur, Vadodara, Bhopal, and Indore as future-ready Tier-2 locations, supported by infrastructure investments, progressive state policies, accelerated digital transformation, advanced manufacturing growth, and dedicated GCC and startup setups.

"Our report indicates that the decentralisation of growth is arguably the most significant aspect of India's employment landscape; we are seeing a remarkable surge in senior-level compensation across Tier-2 cities, with many regional hubs now standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Tier-1 metros.

"This democratisation of high-value opportunity, coupled with a steady salary performance across diverse sectors like energy & utilities, BFSI, telecom, media & entertainment, highlights a resilient and multi-industry economic engine," Viswanath P S, MD & CEO, Randstad India, a talent company, said.

As per the report, India's compensation landscape is entering a new phase of maturity, marked by salary stability, strong demand for niche skills, and the rapid rise of Tier-2 cities as credible, high-paying talent hubs.

Despite a year marked by economic and geopolitical volatility, Tier-1 salaries have shown notable resilience, stabilising at a national average of Rs 5.92 lakhs (junior), Rs 16.70 lakhs (middle), and Rs 32.40 lakhs (senior).

One of the most striking findings from this year's report is the significant surge in senior-level salaries in Tier-2 cities, where the average CTC has risen to Rs 28.38 lakh, with the top two Tier-2 locations now offering compensation comparable to Tier-1 cities.

From an industry perspective, IT commands the highest salaries across all levels, with average CTCs of Rs 6.65 lakh (junior), Rs 20.75 lakh (middle), and Rs 35.66 lakh (senior).

Demand for skills in AI/ML, cloud computing, cybersecurity, data, and DevOps continues to outpace talent supply, pushing organisations towards skills-based pay and performance-linked incentives.

Viswanath PS further noted that the emergence of high-impact 'hot jobs' — centred around software development, product management, and data engineering — reinforces that technology is the ultimate equalizer in our economy.

Other industries showing strong salary momentum include: energy & utilities (up to Rs 18.38 lakh (middle) and Rs 24 lakh (senior); IT-enabled services (ITES) (Rs 24.70 lakh at the senior level); infrastructure, real estate & construction (Rs 24.11 lakh at the senior level); and media & entertainment (competitive middle-level salaries at Rs 17.03 lakh, driven by digital and OTT growth).

According to the report, the top 10 high-paying jobs for middle-level professionals in India include software developer (Rs 17.27 lakh), PHP developer (Rs 16.86 lakh), JavaScript developer (Rs 16.72 lakh), product manager (Rs 16.25 lakh), Java professional (Rs 16.06 lakh), cloud architect/cloud computing (Rs 16.03 lakh), Net developer (Rs 15.81 lakh), C++ developer (Rs 15.70 lakh), python specialist (Rs 15.30 lakh), Big Data engineer (Rs 15.17 lakh). PTI DRR HVA