India’s richest cities are not necessarily the ones where households spend, save or borrow the most, according to a new 100-city study by Tata titled The Many Urban Indias.The study examines how households across urban India earn, spend, save and borrow, revealing sharp differences in prosperity and financial behaviour between cities.Bengaluru leads in household incomeBengaluru tops the Big Six metros in average annual household income, with households earning 1.7 times more than those in Kolkata.The income rankings among the Big Six may not be surprising, but the study highlights the significant gap between cities. It also shows that several cities outside the major metros perform strongly.Chandigarh ranks just behind Bengaluru in annual household income, while Vadodara is placed alongside Delhi.However, average income does not tell the entire story. The distribution of households across income categories provides a different picture.The study classifies households earning below Rs 1.5 lakh annually as low-income, those earning Rs 1.5 lakh to Rs 6 lakh as aspirant, Rs 6 lakh to Rs 36 lakh as middle-income and Rs 36 lakh or more as high-income.Mumbai and Delhi-NCR have the largest numbers of high-income households. Bengaluru, despite having the highest average household income among the Big Six, has the lowest share of high-income households in the group, with a sizeable proportion of households falling in the aspirant-income category.Hyderabad has the highest proportion of middle-income households. Low-income households form only a small share across the Big Six, ranging from 0.2 per cent in Delhi-NCR to 1.1 per cent in Kolkata.Chandigarh households spend the mostIncome does not necessarily determine how much of it households spend.Across the 100 cities studied, households spend around 75 per cent of their income, compared with about 58 per cent in the Big Six metros.Among the Big Six, Bengaluru households have the highest annual spending in absolute terms. Delhi-NCR follows, with annual household spending of nearly Rs 14.5 lakh, followed by Mumbai.Chennai, however, records the highest spending as a share of income among the Big Six. Its households spend around Rs 12.7 lakh annually.The study points to a shift in urban consumption patterns, with spending moving beyond basic goods towards housing, healthcare, mobility and education. Households are also allocating more money to convenience, experiences and human capital.Regional differences are visible too. Northern households tend to spend more on housing, clothing and education, while southern households allocate a larger share to healthcare.Delhi-NCR is India’s biggest consumption marketDelhi-NCR’s strength lies not only in household spending but also in the sheer number of households.The region has around 7.5 million households, with annual household spending of nearly Rs 15 lakh per household. Taken together, this makes Delhi-NCR India’s largest consumption market, almost as large as Mumbai and Bengaluru combined.The picture changes when spending is measured per household.Chandigarh occupies the top spot, while households in Vadodara and Surat also spend more on average than those in Bengaluru.Thus, while Delhi-NCR leads in overall consumption because of its scale, smaller cities can outpace the metros in per-household spending.Bengaluru leads the Big Six in savingsThe savings pattern provides another contrast.Households in the Big Six save around 42 per cent of their income, significantly higher than the 25 per cent average across all 100 cities.Bengaluru leads both in earnings and savings. Mumbai and Delhi-NCR together account for around one-fifth of urban India’s household savings, underlining the financial weight of the two major metros.Savings in the Big Six are also more structured, with bank accounts widely used and life insurance and gold continuing to form important parts of household portfolios.The study found that urban households are increasingly saving with specific long-term goals. Around 46.2 per cent set aside money for old age, with retirement savings particularly prominent in Mumbai and Bengaluru.Delhi-NCR has a more evenly distributed savings pattern, with households saving for wealth creation, education and emergencies.Chennai has highest debt-to-income ratioBorrowing presents another sharp contrast among the Big Six.The group has a debt-to-income ratio of 18.5 per cent, the highest among the different categories of cities covered by the study.The study, however, cautions against automatically treating higher borrowing as a sign of financial distress. The purpose of borrowing and the household’s income level are equally important.Chennai has the highest debt-to-income ratio among the Big Six, at 27.7 per cent, with housing and vehicle purchases driving much of the borrowing.Hyderabad and Bengaluru have considerably lower ratios of around 15 per cent.Chennai also records the highest absolute borrowing among the Big Six, while Hyderabad has the lowest borrowing ratio and the lowest absolute amount, at around Rs 3 lakh.Bengaluru presents a different picture. Its debt-to-income ratio is relatively low, but its absolute borrowing is considerably higher because household incomes are also much higher.The study therefore suggests that a higher rupee value of household debt does not necessarily indicate greater financial stress.