X, Y and Z class cities: how your posting changes your pay
Which cities are X class, what HRA each class gets, and what it means for take-home pay.
The three classes
For House Rent Allowance, the central government sorts places into three classes by population.
| Class | HRA (of basic pay) | Places |
|---|---|---|
| X | 30% | Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Chennai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad and Pune |
| Y | 20% | About a hundred large cities, such as Lucknow, Jaipur, Nagpur, Nashik, Patna, Kochi and Indore |
| Z | 10% | All other towns and rural areas |
HRA cannot fall below a floor of ₹5,400, ₹3,600 and ₹1,800 a month for X, Y and Z class places.
Transport allowance follows a similar idea
Transport allowance is higher in a list of large cities than elsewhere, and DA is paid on it. The site treats X class cities as the higher-rate cities, which is slightly conservative: a few Y class cities also get the higher rate.
What it means in rupees
At Pay Level 7, moving from a Z class town to an X class city raises in-hand pay from about ₹71,826 to about ₹83,686 a month. Rent in a metro is usually far more than that gap, so a small-town posting often leaves you better off, especially if government quarters are available.
If you are allotted government accommodation, you do not receive HRA and pay a small licence fee instead.
Common questions
Do state government employees get the same HRA?+
Not necessarily. States set their own HRA rules. Some follow the central percentages, and others, such as Uttar Pradesh, pay fixed amounts by city and pay level.
Go further
More guides
- Government career options by field: clerk, peon, courts, doctors, nurses, municipal bodies and more
- Court jobs at every level: Supreme Court, High Courts and district courts
- How to become a government teacher: D.El.Ed, B.Ed, M.Ed, CTET, TET and the recruitment exams
- How government recruitment works, from notification to joining
HowIndiaEarns is an independent guide. Rules change through government orders, so confirm anything that affects your eligibility in the official notification. Pay figures use rates as of January 2026.