Local business in Chennai, by the numbers
Updated
What Chennai's local businesses are, how the city differs from the rest of India, and how many of its businesses can be found online.
The short answer
Sunaam's directory lists 49,153 businesses in Chennai, the 5th most of any Indian city. The largest groups are shops (20.2%) and business services (16.8%). Compared with India as a whole, Chennai has more clinics and hospitals (16.1% of its businesses, against 11.5%) and fewer fuel stations and garages (3.8% against 6.9%). 81.1% of its businesses with an online footprint list a website, against 72.1% across India.
- 49,153 businesses listed, the 5th most of any Indian city
- The 7th most restaurants of any Indian city (4,145)
- The 5th most clinics and hospitals of any Indian city (7,903)
- 81.1% list a website, ranking 2nd of India's 25 biggest cities
What kinds of business are in Chennai?
Clinics and hospitals make up 16.1% of Chennai's listed businesses, against 11.5% across India: the clearest way the city's high street differs from the country's.
Chennai's businesses by kind
Share of the city's listed businesses.
- Shops20.2%
- Business services16.8%
- Clinics and hospitals16.1%
- Banks and finance13.3%
- Schools and education10.2%
- Restaurants and cafés8.4%
- Hotels and stays4.8%
- Fuel stations and garages3.8%
- Salons and spas2.9%
- Gyms and sports centres2.7%
- Cinemas and entertainment venues0.8%
| Kind of business | Chennai | Share in Chennai | Share in India |
|---|---|---|---|
| Shops | 9,939 | 20.2% | 18.6% |
| Business services | 8,265 | 16.8% | 13.9% |
| Clinics and hospitals | 7,903 | 16.1% | 11.5% |
| Banks and finance | 6,521 | 13.3% | 16.6% |
| Schools and education | 5,004 | 10.2% | 11.5% |
| Restaurants and cafés | 4,145 | 8.4% | 8.3% |
| Hotels and stays | 2,337 | 4.8% | 7.7% |
| Fuel stations and garages | 1,855 | 3.8% | 6.9% |
| Salons and spas | 1,443 | 2.9% | 2.3% |
| Gyms and sports centres | 1,330 | 2.7% | 2.1% |
| Cinemas and entertainment venues | 411 | 0.8% | 0.7% |
The most common businesses in Chennai
Banks are the single most common category, with 3,563 listed.
Top categories
Listings in each directory category.
- Banks3,563
- Schools2,791
- Restaurants2,762
- Clothing stores2,622
- Clinics2,474
- Companies1,868
- Hospitals1,610
- Atms1,488
- Financial services1,476
- Hardware stores1,223
- Hotels1,119
- Beauty salons1,111
How Chennai ranks among Indian cities
| Kind of business | In Chennai | Rank in India |
|---|---|---|
| Restaurants | 4,145 | 7th |
| Clinics and hospitals | 7,903 | 5th |
| Salons | 1,443 | 6th |
| Gyms | 1,330 | 5th |
| Shops | 9,939 | 5th |
How many Chennai businesses have a website?
81.1% of Chennai's businesses with an online footprint list a website and 92.4% a phone number, against 72.1% and 87.9% across India. That puts Chennai 2nd of the 25 biggest cities for websites. Every city compared.
How we counted
Every figure is a direct count of the businesses in Sunaam's public directory, built from two open sources: Overture Maps (which draws on Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare and others; places with confidence 0.7 or higher, closed places and non-businesses left out) and OpenStreetMap. A business both sources hold is counted once. It is a count of listed businesses, not a census: a shop no map has recorded is not in it.
Website and phone shares are counted over the Overture listings only. Overture is built from businesses' own web presence (Facebook pages, search listings), so these shares answer “of the businesses with an online footprint, how many list a website?”. Businesses mapped on the ground list far fewer; the State of Local Business report shows both.
A city is the area around its centre: a square about 45 to 50 km across for Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Chennai, Kolkata, Pune and Ahmedabad, and about 25 km across for other large cities, so “Delhi” includes parts of Noida, Gurugram and Ghaziabad. Anywhere else, a business belongs to the nearest town of 15,000 or more people (GeoNames).
Cite this study
Sunaam Research. "Local business in Chennai, by the numbers." Teknesya Networks Pvt Ltd, 2026. https://sunaam.io/research/local-business-in/chennai
You are welcome to quote any figure on this page with a link back to it.
Business data: OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL); Overture Maps Foundation (CDLA-Permissive-2.0), from Meta, Microsoft, Foursquare (Foursquare data under Apache-2.0). Towns: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0).
More from Sunaam Research
- The State of Local Business in India
- How many Indian businesses have a website?
- Which Indian cities have the most restaurants?
- Which Indian cities have the most clinics and hospitals?
- Which Indian cities have the most salons?
- Which Indian cities have the most gyms?
- Which Indian cities have the most shops?
City by city: Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru, Hyderabad, Kolkata, Chennai, Pune, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow.
Is your business listed?
Most of India's high street is barely online, so being easy to find is an advantage. Claim your free listing on Sunaam and reply to your Google reviews in your language.