Per Capita Income: Rayalaseema Districts Lag Behind, Visakhapatnam Records Highest Earnings

Kurnool:The per capita income trends in Andhra Pradesh continue to reflect a clear regional imbalance, with the Rayalaseema districts trailing behind the rest of the state.

According to advance estimates for the financial year 2025 -26, the state’s average per capita income has risen to Rs 2,94,507 from the Rs 2,66,699 the previous year, marking a 10.43 per cent growth. However, none of the Rayalaseema districts could reach the state average.

Kurnool, one of the largest districts in the region, has slipped to the bottom in terms of per capita income this year, highlighting the depth of the disparity. Districts such as Anantapur, Sri Sathya Sai and YSR Kadapa have also remained below the state average, indicating limited economic progress.

Chittoor district has shown some improvement, registering a growth of 15.86 per cent and moving closer to the higher income group districts.

In contrast, Prakasam and Nandyal districts continue to remain below the Rs 2.3 lakh per annum mark. Markapur has recorded only marginal growth. The Annamaiah district has reported a negative growth --minus 1.80 per cent.

“Despite decent agricultural output this year, farmers are not getting remunerative prices. This has a bearing on their low per capita income,” noted an analyst from Kurnool. “In addition, limited industrial presence and lack of employment opportunities are slowing down the overall income growth in Rayalaseema.”

Farmers in the region echoed similar concerns. “We had good yields in banana, onion and vegetables this season, but the market prices were low. We could not earn a decent sum,” said Singala Narasimhulu, a farmer from Nandyal district. “Without proper prices, our incomes remain stagnant.”

At the state level, stronger growth has been driven by the services sector, industrial expansion and urbanisation.

Visakhapatnam has once again emerged as the top district with a per capita income of Rs 6,58,964, followed by Krishna district with a growth of 17.85 per cent. The NTR district secured the third position, while Eluru and Tirupati also feature among the top five.

West Godavari, Guntur and Bapatla districts continue to perform well with better per capita incomes -- above `3 lakh. Bapatla in particular recorded a robust growth of 18.75 per cent, making it one of the fastest growing districts in the state.