There are hundreds of cities and towns in India. India is a developing nation and about 40% people living in urban areas including towns and cities. Mumbai is the largest city in India and one of the populous in the World with a population about 18 million (2011). Delhi is the second most populous city with 16.34 million inhabitants increased higher compared to 2001 census. The population of India increasing highly and could stand after China. Bangalore was a small city a few decades ago, however today it is the third largest city in India. The largest cities in India are ranked by the total population of the metropolitan area.
| Rank | Name | Population | State | Area (km²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mumbai | 18,394,912 | Maharashtra | 1,135 |
| 2 | Delhi | 16,349,831 | Delhi | 782 |
| 3 | Kolkata | 14,057,991 | West Bengal | 1,027 |
| 4 | Chennai | 8,653,521 | Tamil Nadu | 788 |
| 5 | Bengaluru [Bangalore] | 8,520,435 | Karnataka | 539 |
| 6 | Hyderabad | 7,677,018 | Telangana | 650 |
| 7 | Ahmadabad | 6,357,693 | Gujarat | 471 |
| 8 | Pune | 5,057,709 | Maharashtra | 669 |
| 9 | Surat | 4,591,246 | Gujarat | 278 |
| 10 | Jaipur | 3,046,163 | Rajastha | 484 |
| 11 | Kanpur | 2,920,496 | Uttar Pradesh | 300 |
| 12 | Lucknow | 2,902,920 | Uttar Pradesh | 337 |
| 13 | Nagpur | 2,497,870 | Maharashtra | 229 |
| 14 | Ghaziabad | 2,375,820 | Uttar Pradesh | 1,933 |
| 15 | Indore | 2,170,295 | Madhya Pradesh | 165 |
| 16 | Coimbatore | 2,136,916 | Tamil Nadu | 642 |
| 17 | Kochi | 2,119,724 | Kerala | 94 |
| 18 | Patna | 2,049,156 | Bihar | 135 |
| 19 | Kozhikode | 2,028,399 | Kerala | 128 |
| 20 | Bhopal | 1,886,100 | Madhya Pradesh | 298 |
| 21 | Thrissur | 1,861,269 | Kerala | 101 |
| 22 | Vadodara (Baroda) | 1,822,221 | Gujarat | 153 |
| 23 | Agra | 1,760,285 | Uttar Pradesh | 149 |
| 24 | Visakhapatnam | 1,728,128 | Andhra Pradesh | 318 |
| 25 | Thiruvananthapuram [Trivandrum] | 1,679,754 | Kerala | 214 |
Data: Office of the Registrar General and Census Commissioner (Web)