Ridhima Gupta, 23, received a job offer from a company in Lower Parel with a monthly salary of Rs 60,000. She declined it after she checked the rents near the office. “When I got the offer in Mumbai, I was over the moon,” she says. “A basic 1BHK near the office was going for Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 a month.

Even a shared flat would have taken a big part of my salary, and that was before food, travel and bills. Someone looking at the offer letter would say I walked away from a dream job, but the offer letter didn’t show what Mumbai would actually cost me.” Listings on property portals put one-bedroom flats in Lower Parel at Rs 42,000 to Rs 65,000 a month, in line with her figures.

Salary after rent

HR heads say candidates now compare offers on the money left after rent and travel. Shivaprasad Mundakana, CHRO at AscentHR Technologies, sees this in recruitment. “For Gen Z and millennials, the offer letter now has to be read alongside the rent receipt,” he says. “A salary is only as good as what’s left after rent, deposit and commute, and Mumbai is where that gap shows up first. In talent acquisition, we see candidates weigh net take-home against location more than ever, and some decline offers that look strong on paper but weaken once housing and travel are counted.”

Sonica Aron, Founder and Managing Partner of Marching Sheep, says the picture changes once a candidate does the maths. “A job offer that seems attractive on paper suddenly looks very different once you calculate how much of your paycheck goes to rent, commute, and all those other living expenses,” she says.

Two years in Mumbai

Mansi Tyagi moved to Mumbai from Bareilly two years ago. Rent takes a large share of her salary every month. “The day my salary comes in, a big part of it is already gone in rent. Then there’s the electricity bill, the maid, groceries, and the local train or the auto when I’m running late. By the third week I’m counting every rupee,” she says.

Her parents want her to return to Bareilly, and some months she considers it. “Then the next morning I get on the train, reach office, and remember why I came here in the first place,” she says. “

Mumbai against other cities

Knight Frank India’s Affordability Index tracks the share of household income that goes towards home loan EMIs. In the first half of 2026, six of the eight largest housing markets in India stayed below 50 per cent. Ahmedabad recorded 23 per cent, Kolkata 25 per cent and Pune 28 per cent. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region and NCR stayed above 50 per cent, a level generally considered unaffordable because lenders rarely approve loans beyond it.

Rents have risen as well. ANAROCK Research data shows that rental values in key micro-markets of the top seven cities rose by up to 72 per cent between the end of 2021 and the first half of 2024.

Dipal Dutta, CEO of RedoQ, says the difference in costs draws young professionals towards cities such as Kolkata. “It is among the most affordable housing markets in India, with households requiring only around 22-25 per cent of their income to service a home loan, compared with nearly 50 per cent in markets such as Mumbai,” he says. “This means that young professionals and families can allocate more income towards savings, investments, and personal development.”

Within a city, professionals now pick a home based on how well it connects to their office. Vikas Garg, Joint Managing Director of Ganga Realty, says, “Professionals are exploring locations that offer a more balanced combination of housing options, connectivity and access to employment hubs. As infrastructure improves and new residential destinations develop, the choice of where to live is becoming closely linked to where people work.”

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