India Consumer Spending Report 2026: How India Spends, State by State

Key findings

1. Uttar Pradesh is India’s largest consumer market, with an estimated ₹11.4 lakh crore of household spending a year, even though its urban residents spend less per person than almost anywhere else.
2. Urban Indians spend 1.7 times as much as rural Indians: ₹6,996 against ₹4,122 per person a month.
3. Food still takes 47% of rural budgets but under 40% of urban budgets.
4. The richest 5% of urban Indians spend 8.5 times as much as the poorest 5%.
5. Five states account for 44% of all household spending, and spending tracks income per person closely across states.
6. Women’s internet use rose from a 43% average to nearly 70% across states between the last two national health surveys.

This India consumer spending report brings together the latest official survey data on what Indian households spend, where and on what. Advanton analysed the Household Consumption Expenditure Survey (HCES) 2023-24 for all 36 states and union territories, combined it with population projections, income data and the National Family Health Survey, and calculated market sizes, rankings and gaps that the source tables do not show directly.

Published November 2026. All figures come from official sources or Advanton calculations from them; estimates are labelled. See the methodology.

How much India spends

Indian households spend an estimated ₹87 lakh crore a year on goods and services, based on spending per person in HCES 2023-24 multiplied by projected 2025 population. The average person spends ₹6,996 a month in urban India and ₹4,122 in rural India, a gap of 1.7 times.

The middle of the distribution is lower than the average, because a minority spends a lot: the 50th to 60th percentile spends ₹6,334 a month in urban areas and ₹3,866 in rural areas.

Finding 1: the biggest markets are not the richest states

Rank states by total household spending and the list looks very different from a ranking by spending per person. These are India’s ten largest consumer markets:

Advanton estimate: urban and rural spending per person × projected 2025 urban and rural population × 12.

Uttar Pradesh and Bihar are among India’s lowest-spending states per person, yet both are top-five markets because of their populations. For businesses selling everyday goods at accessible prices, India’s largest opportunities are in its most populous states, not only its richest ones. Together the top five states account for 44.0% of household spending, slightly below their 48.0% share of population.

Finding 2: spending per person varies almost threefold

Urban spending per person ranges from ₹13,927 a month in Sikkim and ₹13,425 in Chandigarh to ₹5,080 in Bihar and ₹4,927 in Chhattisgarh, a gap of about 2.8 times. Among large states (more than 2 crore people), urban spending is highest in Telangana (₹8,978), Delhi (₹8,534) and Haryana (₹8,428), and lowest in Chhattisgarh, Bihar and Jharkhand.

In rural India, spending is highest in Sikkim (₹9,377), Chandigarh and Goa, and among large states in Delhi (₹7,400), Kerala (₹6,611) and Punjab (₹5,817). It is lowest in Chhattisgarh (₹2,739) and Jharkhand (₹2,946).

What it means: premium products, services and higher price points have the strongest base in the southern and northern high-spending states and union territories; value products and volume strategies fit central and eastern India.

Finding 3: Kerala’s villages spend almost like its towns

The gap between urban and rural spending tells you how different two markets within one state are. Across India, urban residents spend 1.7 times as much as rural residents. But the gap varies widely:

In Kerala, rural residents spend ₹6,611 a month against ₹7,783 in towns, so a rural Kerala customer spends more than an urban customer in most of India. In Maharashtra, the gap is among the widest: Mumbai, Pune and other cities spend ₹7,363 per person, but rural Maharashtra spends ₹4,145. Businesses that plan a single state-wide price or product range should check this gap first.

Finding 4: what Indians spend on

The largest single category, in both urban and rural India, is beverages, refreshments and processed food, including cooked meals bought: 11.1% of urban spending and 9.8% of rural spending. It reflects how much eating out, snacks, packaged food and delivered meals have grown.

Where urban and rural spending differ most: urban residents spend 20 times as much on rent (₹460 against ₹23 a month, because most rural households own their homes), 3.1 times as much on education, and about 1.9 times as much on processed food and on transport. The gap is smallest for staples: urban and rural spending on sugar and salt, edible oil and vegetables differs by less than 20%.

What it means: education, rental housing, transport and convenience food are distinctly urban markets; staples, milk, medical care and clothing are large in both.

Finding 5: spending follows income, but not perfectly

Across 33 states and union territories with income data, average spending per person tracks income per person (net state domestic product) closely, with a correlation of 0.80. States with higher incomes almost always spend more per person.

The exceptions matter. States where spending is high relative to income often have large remittance inflows or strong social spending; states where spending is low relative to income may have income concentrated in industry or a few cities. Businesses should use spending data, not just income, to judge consumer demand.

Finding 6: inequality is higher in cities

Spending is more unequal in urban India (Gini coefficient 0.284) than rural India (0.237). The richest 5% of urban residents spend ₹20,310 a month per person, 8.5 times the poorest 5% (₹2,376). In rural India the ratio is 6.0 times (₹10,137 against ₹1,677).

Among states with more than 1 crore people, urban inequality is highest in Jharkhand (0.306), Haryana and Karnataka, and lowest in Punjab (0.218), Bihar and Gujarat.

What it means: in high-inequality cities, a premium segment and a mass segment can both be large at once. Segment your market instead of relying on the average.

Finding 7: who spends more in urban India

Spending also differs by how a household earns its living. In urban India, households with regular wage or salaried jobs spend ₹7,606 per person a month, self-employed households ₹6,595 and casual labour households ₹4,964. The salaried urban household is the core of India’s consumer market for branded goods, services and credit.

Finding 8: the digital consumer has arrived

The National Family Health Survey shows a rapid rise in internet use among women aged 15 to 49. Averaged across 35 states and union territories, the share who had ever used the internet rose from 43.3% in NFHS-5 to 69.5% in NFHS-6 (2023-24).

The fastest growth came in Andhra Pradesh (21.0% to 63.6%), Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (36.7% to 78.4%), Uttar Pradesh (30.6% to 70.0%) and Telangana (26.5% to 64.8%). Use is highest in Goa (94.0%), Sikkim (90.3%) and Kerala (87.3%), and lowest in Tripura (48.8%), Odisha (51.8%) and Assam (53.5%).

What it means: online marketing, digital payments and app-based ordering now reach most households in most states, including large markets such as Uttar Pradesh that were far behind only a few years ago.

What this means for businesses

1. Size by population and spending together. The biggest markets combine many people with moderate spending; do not chase only the richest states.
2. Treat urban and rural as separate markets, especially in states with wide gaps such as Meghalaya, Jharkhand and Maharashtra.
3. Follow the convenience economy. Processed food and meals bought are the largest category everywhere, and are almost twice as large per person in cities.
4. Segment in cities. High urban inequality means both premium and value offers can find large audiences.
5. Go digital in every state. Internet use has spread fast, including in large, lower-spending states.

Explore the data

• Spending per person by state and every state’s spending page
• India’s household spending markets by category
• Market size estimates for 200 business types
• The free India Market Report Builder for any business and state
• Ask Advanton a question in plain words

Methodology

• Spending per person (monthly per capita consumption expenditure) comes from MoSPI’s HCES 2023-24, for urban and rural areas of each state and union territory, and nationally by category, household type and spending class.
• Total household spending by state is an Advanton estimate: urban and rural spending per person × projected 2025 urban and rural population × 12. Summed across states it comes to about ₹86.5 lakh crore; the national estimate (₹87.2 lakh crore) uses national averages.
• Correlation compares income per person (net state domestic product, 2023-24 or the latest year available) with population-weighted average spending per person, across the 33 states and union territories with both figures.
• Women’s internet use compares NFHS-5 and NFHS-6 state figures, as tabulated in published research; averages are simple averages of states and union territories.
• Household surveys capture less spending than national accounts, so totals are conservative.

How to cite this report

Advanton. (2026). India Consumer Spending Report 2026: How India Spends, State by State. https://advanton.com/india-consumer-spending-report-2026/

Journalists and researchers may quote the findings and charts with a link to this page. See how to cite Advanton.

Sources

• Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), Household Consumption Expenditure Survey 2023-24.
• Population projections for 2025 (Technical Group on Population Projections).
• State income per person: net state domestic product, MoSPI and state sources.
• National Family Health Survey (NFHS-5 and NFHS-6).

Last reviewed November 11, 2026. Startup costs are estimates; check local prices, licensing and tax rules before you commit money.