Bangalore continues to be way ahead of other cities in India when it comes to paying IT professionals. The average annual pay of the IT professionals in the South Indian city, known as the “Silicon Valley” of the East, stands at $13,500, finds an IT salary survey commissioned by technology-focused job board, Cyber Media Dice, and conducted by TNS India, a market research agency. Bangalore is ahead of the other two locations — Hyderabad and Pune — considered the second most paying, by 28%. Each of these locations has an average IT professional pay packet of $10,500 per annum. Mumbai follows with an average of $10,340 per annum. Delhi is the lowest-paying destination among the top locations in the country with an average annual pay of $9700.

The average remuneration offered by Indian multinational companies and non-Indian multinational companies differ significantly, with the non-Indian firms offering 37% more than the Indian companies.

The research, though termed as a “salary survey” gives important insights into different aspects of employment, especially related to career planning by the employees. For example, only 24% of the respondents said remuneration would be the primary reason for leaving the current employer. More than double that number, 54% said the primary reason to move would be better growth prospects. In other words, offering a better career growth path could be a better way of retaining the employees rather than waging a war of pay packets.

Though Indian IT professionals may seem to top the attrition charts with only about 8% of the respondents saying that they would continue with the current employer for more than three years, they are known to be the hard-working lot. Eighty-two percent of them work for more than eight hours a day.

Some of the other interesting findings include: