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Average Archeologist Salary in India for 2026

An archeologist in India earns about 467,100 INR a year. That's 22% above the national average of 384,200 INR.

Pay ranges widely from country to country and from role to role. The lowest reported salaries in India sit around 228,000 INR a year, while the very top stretches to 728,500 INR. Everything on this page is in Indian rupee (INR, symbol ₹), which lets you compare numbers like-for-like without worrying about exchange rates.

The numbers here are pulled together from official government wage data, large independent salary surveys, and aggregated worker-reported pay. Most reported salaries include the benefits that are common in India, such as housing or transport allowances, which is worth keeping in mind if you're comparing against a country where those are usually paid on top.

How much does an archeologist make in India?

Average salary
467,100 INR
38,925 INR per month
Lowest reported
228,000 INR
19,000 INR per month
Highest reported
728,500 INR
60,708 INR per month

A typical archeologist working in India brings home around 38,925 INR a month before tax. Entry-level pay starts near 228,000 INR, and the top of the ladder reaches roughly 728,500 INR for the most experienced and specialised people in the role.

The wide gap between low end and top end reflects how much pay can vary inside the same job title. A junior archeologist working at a small local employer earns very different money from a senior at a multinational. Skills, employer, city and years in the seat all push the number around.

How archeologist pay ranges in India

A good way to think about salary in India is to look at the distribution rather than the headline average. Half of all archeologists in India earn less than 478,100 INR a year, and the other half earn more. That middle number is the median, and it is usually more useful than the average for answering "is my pay normal here".

Looking at the quartiles fills in the picture. A quarter of earners take home less than 318,800 INR (the 25th percentile), and a quarter clear 615,700 INR (the 75th percentile). The middle 50% of archeologists sit somewhere inside that band, which is where the typical reader of this page probably lives.

The very lowest reported salaries sit around 228,000 INR. The highest stretch to 728,500 INR, though only a small fraction of earners ever reach that level. If you are deciding whether your own offer or current pay is reasonable, work out which of those four bands you would fall into and use that as your reference point.

228,000
Low
478,100
Median
728,500
High
318,800
25th
615,700
75th
The middle 50% sit between the 25th and 75th percentile Tails are the lowest and highest reported All figures in INR

Archeologist pay by experience in India

Years of experience is the single biggest lever on pay for an archeologist in India, ahead of education and almost any other single factor. The longer you have been in the role, the more your employer can trust you to handle complexity, mentor others and act independently, all of which command higher pay. The chart below shows how the typical archeologist salary changes as you move through the career ladder.

  • 0-2 Years
    272,800 INR
  • 2-5 Years
    +28% from previous
    348,300 INR
  • 5-10 Years
    +38% from previous
    480,300 INR
  • 10-15 Years
    +24% from previous
    595,300 INR
  • 15-20 Years
    +7% from previous
    639,900 INR
  • 20+ Years
    +7% from previous
    681,500 INR

The single largest jump on the ladder is from 2 - 5 Years to 5 - 10 Years, where pay rises by about 38%. That is the point at which a archeologist typically goes from "competent in the role" to "the person other people in the team learn from", and the market pays well for that step.

Archeologist pay by education in India

Education sits alongside experience as one of the biggest factors driving archeologist pay in India. Higher qualifications consistently pull higher salaries, but the size of the gap tends to be smallest at junior levels and widens as people move up. Two people in the same role with the same years of experience but different degrees can end up earning very different money once they reach mid-career.

Below is the average archeologist salary in India broken down by the highest level of education a worker has completed.

  • Bachelor's Degree
    317,700 INR
  • Master's Degree
    +38% from previous
    437,900 INR
  • PhD
    +64% from previous
    719,100 INR

Archeologist gender pay gap in India

The gender pay gap is a stubborn feature of almost every labour market, and India is no exception. Male archeologists in India earn an average of 489,600 INR a year, while female archeologists earn around 433,800 INR. That works out to a 13% gap in favour of men, even when comparing people doing the same work.

A pay gap of this size has a real long-term cost. Over a typical thirty-year career it can add up to several years of pay, and it compounds through pensions, retirement contributions and bonus-linked stock. Some of the gap is explained by women being more likely to work part-time, take career breaks, or be steered toward lower-paying specialisations. Some of it is straightforward unequal pay for the same job, which is harder to defend.

Archeologist gender pay gap

11%

Men earn this much more than women on average in India.

Men 489,600 INR
Women 433,800 INR

Pay raises for an archeologist in India

Most countries hand out at least some kind of pay raise every year, typically when an employee's contract is reviewed or as a cost-of-living adjustment to keep wages roughly in step with inflation. The rhythm and size of those raises varies hugely between industries.

A typical worker doing this role in India sees a raise of about 12% every 16 months, which works out to roughly 9% on an annual basis. That figure is the typical underlying rate; in years where inflation runs high you can usually expect a bit more, and in flat-economy years a bit less.

Across all jobs in India, the national average raise is around 9% every 16 months.

By industry

Industries with the highest pay raises in India:

  • Banking
    1%
  • Energy
    2%
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Travel
  • Construction
  • Education

By experience level

Experienced workers tend to see larger raises. Retaining a senior is cheaper than replacing them, so employers fight harder for them.

  • Junior Level
    3% - 5%
  • Mid-Career
  • Senior Level
  • Top Management

Archeologist bonus rates in India

Bonuses are the other half of total compensation, and they vary a lot between jobs and industries. Some roles are paid almost entirely in base salary; others lean heavily on bonus structures tied to revenue, project completion or company performance. Whether a job pays a bonus, how big it is, and how often it lands all factor into whether the headline salary is actually a good offer.

57%

57% of archeologists in India reported a bonus of some kind in the past twelve months. That makes an archeologist a moderate-bonus role overall, which is useful context when you're weighing up a job offer where the base is below market.

Among those who did receive a bonus, the size of the payment varied substantially. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary. The remaining 43% of archeologists reported no bonus at all over the same period.

Which careers pay bonuses in India

Revenue-facing roles tend to pay the biggest bonuses. Operational and support roles tend toward smaller, more predictable ones.

  • Finance
  • Architecture
  • Sales
  • Business Development
  • Marketing / Advertising
  • Information Technology
  • Healthcare
  • Insurance
  • Customer Service
  • Human Resources
  • Construction
  • Transport
  • Hospitality

Archeologist: public vs private sector pay

Public-sector pay in India is about 6% more than private-sector pay for similar work. The private sector typically offers stronger upside and bigger bonuses; the public sector typically offers better benefits and stability.

Public vs private pay gap

5%

Public-sector workers earn this much more than private-sector workers in India on average.

Public sector 392,300 INR
Private sector 371,100 INR

Archeologist salary by city and region in India

Archeologist pay is not even across India. The chart below shows the highest-paying cities and regions in the dataset, followed by the full location table.

  • Uttar Pradesh
  • Bihar
  • Rajasthan
  • Gujarat
  • Delhi (city)
  • Maharashtra
  • Bangalore
  • Madhya Pradesh
  • Tamil Nadu
  • West Bengal
LocationTypeAverageMedianRange
Uttar PradeshRegion566,900 INR543,200 INR294,700-868,400 INR
BiharRegion563,300 INR608,500 INR259,100-899,100 INR
RajasthanRegion563,000 INR606,400 INR259,100-895,900 INR
GujaratRegion556,000 INR566,900 INR275,200-869,400 INR
Delhi (city)City555,800 INR565,100 INR273,300-864,700 INR
MaharashtraRegion553,800 INR562,600 INR272,800-862,200 INR
BangaloreCity551,200 INR562,200 INR271,300-860,300 INR
Madhya PradeshRegion548,800 INR590,200 INR253,400-869,400 INR
Tamil NaduRegion547,800 INR528,500 INR283,700-840,100 INR
West BengalRegion547,800 INR592,200 INR252,300-875,000 INR
KarnatakaRegion544,800 INR588,500 INR251,500-864,900 INR
HyderabadCity539,700 INR518,900 INR281,500-825,900 INR
Andhra PradeshRegion537,300 INR581,300 INR246,500-852,600 INR
AhmadabadCity535,900 INR548,500 INR263,100-839,500 INR
JharkhandRegion528,500 INR504,500 INR273,000-808,000 INR
MumbaiCity524,700 INR565,100 INR239,300-836,800 INR
PunjabRegion522,700 INR498,000 INR272,800-795,700 INR
SuratCity519,300 INR499,300 INR271,300-791,600 INR
ChennaiCity518,300 INR528,500 INR252,300-807,900 INR
KeralaRegion516,100 INR524,300 INR253,400-805,900 INR
AssamRegion510,000 INR489,600 INR265,000-778,900 INR
HaryanaRegion507,300 INR487,600 INR263,900-778,200 INR
KolkataCity507,300 INR548,500 INR233,600-808,000 INR
LucknowCity502,200 INR539,700 INR231,000-795,700 INR
KanpurCity498,000 INR480,600 INR261,300-765,100 INR
OrissaRegion496,100 INR535,800 INR227,600-786,600 INR
JaipurCity493,000 INR531,700 INR228,500-782,500 INR
BhopalCity492,700 INR504,400 INR240,500-772,700 INR
Jammu & KashmirRegion491,000 INR500,100 INR239,000-767,000 INR
ChhatisgarhRegion489,600 INR467,700 INR254,700-746,600 INR
Himachal PradeshRegion483,800 INR520,900 INR222,300-768,900 INR
PuneCity483,800 INR493,000 INR237,400-752,600 INR
Pimpri-ChinchwadCity480,600 INR519,300 INR218,900-765,100 INR
VisakhapatnamCity478,100 INR485,200 INR232,400-743,100 INR
UttaranchalRegion472,000 INR483,400 INR232,900-737,000 INR
TripuraRegion466,900 INR504,400 INR214,000-743,300 INR
Delhi (region)Region466,300 INR444,300 INR239,300-710,500 INR
NagpurCity460,500 INR442,300 INR239,000-706,200 INR
IndoreCity455,400 INR492,400 INR209,700-724,300 INR
CoimbatoreCity455,400 INR437,300 INR237,400-694,700 INR
PondicherryRegion453,200 INR460,500 INR222,300-706,200 INR
ManipurRegion448,500 INR431,100 INR232,400-683,800 INR
Arunachal PradeshRegion448,500 INR457,300 INR221,500-698,200 INR
PatnaCity445,100 INR454,300 INR216,800-693,100 INR
VadodaraCity444,300 INR480,600 INR204,000-707,600 INR
GhaziabadCity444,300 INR428,400 INR232,900-681,500 INR
MeghalayaRegion442,200 INR475,700 INR204,700-698,200 INR
agraCity436,200 INR447,300 INR214,000-684,900 INR
LudhianaCity433,400 INR442,300 INR210,500-677,100 INR
SikkimRegion426,700 INR437,300 INR209,700-665,300 INR
NagalandRegion426,700 INR412,000 INR221,500-658,300 INR
MaduraiCity420,800 INR454,900 INR194,600-671,000 INR
Andaman & Nicobar IslandsRegion417,100 INR401,300 INR217,900-641,900 INR
ChandigarhRegion417,100 INR428,400 INR204,000-653,200 INR
GoaRegion417,100 INR453,200 INR192,600-667,400 INR
MizoramRegion414,000 INR420,100 INR204,700-643,800 INR
Dadra & Nagar HaveliRegion403,100 INR433,800 INR187,500-643,400 INR
LakshadweepRegion398,300 INR384,200 INR207,700-608,500 INR
Daman & DiuRegion390,000 INR397,900 INR192,600-612,500 INR

Archeologist in India: FAQs

  • How much does an archeologist make per month in India?

    An archeologist in India earns about 38,925 INR a month before tax, based on an annual average of 467,100 INR.

  • What's the salary range for an archeologist in India?

    Entry-level archeologists in India start near 228,000 INR. Top-end pay reaches around 728,500 INR. The middle 50% of earners sit between 318,800 and 615,700 INR.

  • Is the median archeologist salary in India higher or lower than the average?

    The median is 478,100 INR, higher than the average of 467,100 INR. Half of archeologists in India earn below the median, half earn above it.

  • What's the gender pay gap for archeologists in India?

    Men working as an archeologist in India earn around 13% more than women on average (489,600 vs 433,800 INR a year).

  • Do archeologists in India get bonuses?

    About 57% of archeologists in India reported a bonus in the past 12 months. Reported bonuses ranged from 3% to 6% of base salary.

  • Do archeologists earn more in the public or private sector in India?

    In India, the public sector pays an archeologist about 6% more on average. Public-sector pay tends to be steadier; private-sector pay tends to offer bigger upside.

  • How often do archeologists in India get a pay raise?

    An archeologist in India sees a raise of around 12% every 16 months, equivalent to roughly 9% a year.