The IT and IT-enabled services (ITeS) sector continues to dominate salary rankings across experience levels, with freshers in tech roles earning up to Rs 28,600 per month and professionals with five to seven years of experience drawing Rs 68,900, according to global hiring platform Indeed’s latest PayMap survey. The high compensation is being driven largely by strong demand for digital and AI-linked roles.Manufacturing and telecom are also seeing robust salary expansion. Entry-level pay in these sectors ranges from Rs 28,100 to Rs 28,300, while those with five to eight years’ experience earn between Rs 67,700 and Rs 68,200, the survey showed, ET reported.The report, based on responses from 1,311 employers and 2,531 employees, found that monthly salaries for entry-level jobs across roles like software development and HR engineering typically fall in the Rs 25,000–Rs 30,500 range.Product and project management roles offer the highest average pay, with those in the 5–8 year experience bracket taking home up to Rs 85,500 per month. Notably, UI/UX designers are closing the gap with software developers in terms of compensation, with senior-level designers earning up to Rs 65,000 a month.Smaller cities offer better valueIndeed’s city-wise analysis suggests a shift in India’s compensation geography, with Hyderabad, Chennai, and Ahmedabad emerging as new hotspots for salary growth—outpacing India’s average annual increase of 15%. These Tier-2 cities are now offering competitive pay while also delivering better cost-of-living value.“Salary dynamics are shifting, and employees are increasingly prioritising cities where compensation aligns with both cost of living and career potential,” said Sashi Kumar, head of sales at Indeed India. “Our data shows that growth is no longer confined to just the biggest metros, opportunity is becoming more distributed.”Despite rising pay levels, affordability remains a concern for many. The survey found that 69% of employees feel their income isn’t keeping pace with their city’s cost of living. This sentiment was particularly strong in expensive metros like Delhi (96%), Mumbai (95%), Pune (94%), and Bengaluru (93%).By contrast, cities such as Chennai, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Kolkata were perceived to offer a better earnings-to-expense balance, making them attractive for career moves.