Is Rs 1 Crore Salary In Mumbai 'Brag-Worthy? IIM Ahmedabad Alumnus Gives Numerical Analysis
While Rs 1 crore annual salary appears as a symbol of success to many, the situation is a bit different when it comes to surviving in India's financial capital, Mumbai.
For many in India, earning Rs 1 crore annually is a distant dream. Candidates from prestigious institutes, such as IITs and IIMs, often come into the spotlight whenever a handful of them are offered such a whopping annual package by top recruiters, leaving many young ones dreaming about achieving this feat.
While Rs 1 crore annual salary appears as a symbol of success to many, the situation is a bit different when it comes to surviving in India's financial capital, Mumbai.
In a viral post on LinkedIn, Anurag Singal, an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, has provided significant insights into how a Rs 1 crore salary holds different meaning, depending upon your lifestyle and where to stay in the city, known for its exorbitant real estate prices.
'Numerical Analysis' Of Rs 1 Crore Annual Salary
Citing a 2023 news report, Singal highlighted in his post that this magical number puts people among the top 0.1% of earners in the country and well above the Rs 50 lakh mark, which includes the top 1% with such high earnings.
"In Mumbai, where the median household income hovers around ₹6-8 lakh per year (per a 2024 IIM study), earning ₹1 crore is 12-15 times the norm. That’s serious money for most," he wrote.
He also outlined that for those surviving in the city, "context is everything" as it all depends on which table you are sitting on. He said that the challenge here is the high cost of living in Mumbai.
In high-scale neighbourhoods like Bandra or Worli, people are required to pay anywhere between Rs 1.5 lakh and Rs 3 lakh per month as rent for a 2-3 BHK apartment.
In addition to this, you are required to pay over Rs 38 lakh as taxes under the new tax regime for a Rs 1 crore salary. This "can be optimised using HRA, etc. in Old Regime," he added.
Moreover, dining out can cost you Rs 5,000 to Rs 10,000, while you have to pay Rs 5 lakh for a family vacation.
"Your Rs 1 crore starts feeling more like Rs 65 lakh post-tax, with savings of maybe Rs 10-20 lakh a year. Solid, but not 'buy a yacht' money," Singal wrote.
He added, "With over 20,000 ultra-high-net-worth folks in Mumbai (Knight Frank, 2023) and C-suite execs in finance, tech, or consulting pulling Rs 1-5 crore (Glassdoor, 2024), a Rs 1 crore salary won’t turn heads in those rooms. Wealth, not income, is the real flex there."
Concluding the post, Singal said that earning a Rs 1 crore annual salary can be a "status symbol" for those living in Borivali or Thane, but if you are living in the high-class localities, then it is more of “nice, but keep grinding”.
He has mainly highlighted how the value of a Rs 1 crore annual package in a city like Mumbai depends on the choice of location as well as the lifestyle for you to remain wealthy.
