Find out where your salary ranks in India. Uses log-normal income distribution with median individual income of Rs 30,000/month and 90th percentile at Rs 1,50,000/month.
Find out where your income ranks among all Indian earners.
Approximate income percentile
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Monthly income
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Annual income
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vs. India median
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Your breakdown
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How the percentile estimate is calculated
Income distributions in India, like most countries, follow a log-normal shape. This means that the logarithm of income is normally distributed. The calculator is calibrated so that the median individual monthly income is Rs 30,000 (log-mean) and uses a log-standard-deviation chosen so that the 90th percentile falls at approximately Rs 1,50,000 per month. Given these two anchor points, the cumulative normal distribution function (approximated numerically) gives the percentile for any input income. The estimate is indicative and based on wage-earner surveys; self-employed, agricultural, and informal sector incomes are harder to capture precisely.
The massive gap in Indian incomes
India is simultaneously home to some of the world’s poorest workers and some of the fastest-growing high-income earners. Agricultural labourers in states like Bihar or Odisha may earn Rs 8,000 to Rs 12,000 per month. Factory workers in the organised sector earn Rs 15,000 to Rs 25,000 per month. IT professionals in Bangalore earn Rs 50,000 to Rs 5,00,000 per month. Investment bankers and startup founders at the very top earn crores annually. This extreme spread means that even a salary that feels modest in a metro city puts you solidly in the upper half of Indian earners nationally.
Income vs wealth in India
A high income percentile does not necessarily translate to high wealth in India. Property ownership, gold holdings, and inherited assets are major components of wealth that income data does not capture. A high-income salaried professional in their 30s with a home loan and no other assets may be less wealthy than a small-town trader or farmer with owned property and gold. Conversely, many high-income tech professionals in their 40s who have saved and invested consistently over 15 years are among the wealthiest individuals in the country by assets, not just income.
Frequently asked questions
What is the median income in India?
Median individual monthly income in India is approximately Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000 as of recent surveys, though estimates vary significantly depending on the survey methodology and whether rural and informal sector workers are included. The median for urban formal sector employees is higher, around Rs 40,000 to Rs 60,000 per month. The vast majority of India earns under Rs 50,000 per month: data from various income surveys suggests that only about 10 to 15 percent of working adults earn more than Rs 1 lakh per month.
How accurate is this income percentile estimate?
This is an estimate, not an official government figure. India lacks a comprehensive, publicly available individual income database. This calculator uses a log-normal distribution calibrated to approximate benchmark points from income surveys, CMIE data, and income tax filing statistics. The actual distribution is more complex, with large differences between urban and rural, formal and informal, and between different states. The estimate should be treated as indicative rather than precise.
Why is income inequality in India so high?
India has among the highest income inequality in the world. The Gini coefficient is estimated at 0.5 to 0.6, reflecting a large informal sector where hundreds of millions earn very low incomes, concentrated formal sector employment in cities, and a small but extremely high-earning professional and business-owner class. The top 1 percent of income earners in India earn roughly 20 to 22 percent of national income. This extreme spread is why a salary of Rs 1 lakh per month places someone near the 90th percentile nationally.
Does being in the 90th percentile mean I am rich in India?
It depends on context. The 90th percentile nationally means you earn more than 90 percent of all Indian income earners. However, in high-cost cities like Mumbai or Bangalore, the cost of living for a middle-class urban lifestyle can consume a Rs 1.5 lakh monthly salary almost entirely. Wealth in India is often more about assets (property, gold, family business) than income. A farmer who earns Rs 20,000 per month but owns multiple acres of land near a city may be far wealthier than a Rs 1.5 lakh salaried professional with no assets.