Karnataka has 2,605,682 registered MSMEs, the sixth most of any Indian state. That is about 26 lakh enterprises, or 5.53 percent of the national total of 4.72 crore. What sets Karnataka apart is not the headline number but how lopsided it is: a single district, Bengaluru, accounts for a quarter of the entire state.
This page breaks those registrations down across all 31 districts of Karnataka. It covers how heavily the state leans on Bengaluru, the micro, small and medium split, which districts are almost entirely micro, and where Karnataka sits among its southern and western neighbours. Every figure comes from the Udyam registration data published on the Government of India open data portal.
Karnataka MSME statistics at a glance
- Total registered MSMEs: 2,605,682 (about 26 lakh)
- Rank among states and union territories: sixth
- Share of India’s MSME registrations: 5.53 percent
- Districts covered: 31
- Enterprise size split: 98.7 percent micro, 1.2 percent small, 0.09 percent medium
Karnataka sits sixth in India’s state-wise MSME table, behind larger states such as Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, while leading the rest of southern India.
Bengaluru is a quarter of the state
No state in this series leans on a single district the way Karnataka leans on Bengaluru. Bengaluru (Urban) has 664,069 registered MSMEs, which is 25.5 percent of the entire state, a full quarter from one district. It is 3.7 times the size of the next district, Belagavi (177,837). Add neighbouring Bengaluru (Rural) and the Bengaluru metro accounts for just over 30 percent of all registrations in Karnataka.
The five largest districts hold 46.4 percent of all registrations, and the top ten hold just under 62 percent. That is the most concentrated top five of any state we have mapped:
- Bengaluru (Urban), 664,069 (25.5 percent)
- Belagavi, 177,837 (6.8 percent)
- Mysuru, 147,732 (5.7 percent)
- Bengaluru (Rural), 119,152 (4.6 percent)
- Tumakuru, 100,999 (3.9 percent)
Every district, sized and shaded by registrations (heatmap)
Top 15 districts by registered MSMEs
| # | District | Micro | Small | Medium | Total | Share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bengaluru (Urban) | 648,602 | 14,123 | 1,344 | 664,069 | 25.5 |
| 2 | Belagavi | 176,625 | 1,148 | 64 | 177,837 | 6.8 |
| 3 | Mysuru | 146,369 | 1,301 | 62 | 147,732 | 5.7 |
| 4 | Bengaluru (Rural) | 117,492 | 1,518 | 142 | 119,152 | 4.6 |
| 5 | Tumakuru | 100,096 | 873 | 30 | 100,999 | 3.9 |
| 6 | Dakshina Kannada | 98,559 | 1,215 | 80 | 99,854 | 3.8 |
| 7 | Dharwad | 93,092 | 950 | 72 | 94,114 | 3.6 |
| 8 | Shivamogga | 71,261 | 619 | 28 | 71,908 | 2.8 |
| 9 | Hassan | 67,451 | 666 | 26 | 68,143 | 2.6 |
| 10 | Davangere | 67,290 | 570 | 23 | 67,883 | 2.6 |
| 11 | Vijayapura | 65,626 | 580 | 37 | 66,243 | 2.5 |
| 12 | Kalaburagi | 64,859 | 639 | 31 | 65,529 | 2.5 |
| 13 | Bagalkot | 60,471 | 350 | 13 | 60,834 | 2.3 |
| 14 | Mandya | 59,910 | 418 | 7 | 60,335 | 2.3 |
| 15 | Ballari | 58,852 | 929 | 63 | 59,844 | 2.3 |
Search and sort all 31 districts
| District | Micro | Small | Medium | Total ▼ | Share % |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bengaluru (Urban) | 648,602 | 14,123 | 1,344 | 664,069 | 25.5 |
| Belagavi | 176,625 | 1,148 | 64 | 177,837 | 6.8 |
| Mysuru | 146,369 | 1,301 | 62 | 147,732 | 5.7 |
| Bengaluru (Rural) | 117,492 | 1,518 | 142 | 119,152 | 4.6 |
| Tumakuru | 100,096 | 873 | 30 | 100,999 | 3.9 |
| Dakshina Kannada | 98,559 | 1,215 | 80 | 99,854 | 3.8 |
| Dharwad | 93,092 | 950 | 72 | 94,114 | 3.6 |
| Shivamogga | 71,261 | 619 | 28 | 71,908 | 2.8 |
| Hassan | 67,451 | 666 | 26 | 68,143 | 2.6 |
| Davangere | 67,290 | 570 | 23 | 67,883 | 2.6 |
| Vijayapura | 65,626 | 580 | 37 | 66,243 | 2.5 |
| Kalaburagi | 64,859 | 639 | 31 | 65,529 | 2.5 |
| Bagalkot | 60,471 | 350 | 13 | 60,834 | 2.3 |
| Mandya | 59,910 | 418 | 7 | 60,335 | 2.3 |
| Ballari | 58,852 | 929 | 63 | 59,844 | 2.3 |
| Udupi | 58,216 | 609 | 48 | 58,873 | 2.3 |
| Kolar | 54,861 | 497 | 32 | 55,390 | 2.1 |
| Uttara Kannada | 54,651 | 311 | 2 | 54,964 | 2.1 |
| Haveri | 54,072 | 401 | 17 | 54,490 | 2.1 |
| Bidar | 49,486 | 323 | 18 | 49,827 | 1.9 |
| Chitradurga | 49,064 | 368 | 19 | 49,451 | 1.9 |
| Raichur | 47,767 | 720 | 37 | 48,524 | 1.9 |
| Chikballapur | 46,305 | 316 | 12 | 46,633 | 1.8 |
| Ramanagara | 46,031 | 340 | 20 | 46,391 | 1.8 |
| Chikkamagaluru | 40,293 | 382 | 18 | 40,693 | 1.6 |
| Koppal | 37,083 | 486 | 10 | 37,579 | 1.4 |
| Gadag | 34,265 | 233 | 2 | 34,500 | 1.3 |
| Chamarajanagar | 28,125 | 168 | 5 | 28,298 | 1.1 |
| Yadgir | 27,892 | 226 | 14 | 28,132 | 1.1 |
| Vijayanagara | 25,848 | 136 | 2 | 25,986 | 1.0 |
| Kodagu | 21,203 | 248 | 24 | 21,475 | 0.8 |
A state of micro enterprises
Like every state in this series, Karnataka's MSME base is overwhelmingly micro, though it carries a slightly thicker layer of small firms than most. Of the 2.61 million registrations, about 2.57 million are micro enterprises (98.7 percent), roughly 31,700 are small (1.2 percent), and only about 2,300 are medium (0.09 percent). Fewer than 2,400 registered firms in the whole state have reached medium scale. That is the missing middle again, and in Karnataka it is almost entirely a Bengaluru story.
Bengaluru (Urban) holds 1,344 medium enterprises, about 58 percent of every medium firm in the state, from one district. Add Bengaluru (Rural) and the metro accounts for close to two-thirds of Karnataka's medium enterprises. It also has the most small enterprises by a wide margin, at 14,123. So unlike states where volume and scale sit in different places, in Karnataka both are concentrated in the same city. Outside Bengaluru, the larger firms thin out quickly.
Districts with the most medium enterprises:
- Bengaluru (Urban), 1,344
- Bengaluru (Rural), 142
- Dakshina Kannada, 80
- Dharwad, 72
- Belagavi, 64
At the other end, several districts are almost entirely micro. In Vijayanagara, 99.47 percent of registrations are micro, followed by Uttara Kannada (99.43 percent), Bagalkot (99.40 percent), Chamarajanagar (99.39 percent) and Bidar (99.32 percent).
Beyond Bengaluru
Strip out Bengaluru and Karnataka looks like a far flatter state. Belagavi in the north, Mysuru in the south, the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, and the Hubli-Dharwad belt all sit in a similar mid-sized range, none of them close to the capital. The Kalyana-Karnataka districts in the north-east, such as Kalaburagi, Bidar, Yadgir, Raichur and Koppal, trail further back.
This is the opposite shape to a state like Uttar Pradesh, where the top five hold just 21 percent and the base is spread wide. Karnataka's top five hold 46.4 percent, and almost all of that is the gravitational pull of one city.
The five smallest districts by registration are:
- Kodagu, 21,475 (0.8 percent)
- Vijayanagara, 25,986 (1.0 percent)
- Yadgir, 28,132 (1.1 percent)
- Chamarajanagar, 28,298 (1.1 percent)
- Gadag, 34,500 (1.3 percent)
Kodagu, the small hill district known for its coffee estates, has the fewest registered MSMEs in the state, barely a thirtieth of Bengaluru's count. Vijayanagara, carved out of Ballari in 2021, is the newest district and the second smallest.
Karnataka compared with its neighbours
Karnataka is large, but unlike Maharashtra or Uttar Pradesh, it does not lead its own neighbourhood. Two of the states on its borders register more.
| State | Registered MSMEs |
|---|---|
| Maharashtra | 7,336,363 |
| Tamil Nadu | 4,155,776 |
| Karnataka | 2,605,682 |
| Andhra Pradesh | 2,084,658 |
| Telangana | 1,879,803 |
| Kerala | 1,104,301 |
| Goa | 90,239 |
Maharashtra has nearly three times Karnataka's count, and Tamil Nadu about 1.6 times. Below Karnataka the gap widens again: it registers more than Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Goa, which makes it the largest MSME base in the south after Tamil Nadu. Karnataka sits in the middle of a strong southern and western cluster, behind the two giants and ahead of everyone else.
Methodology and source
The figures come from the district-wise count of MSMEs registered on the Udyam portal, published on the Government of India open data portal at data.gov.in. Each number is a count of Udyam registrations rather than a survey of active businesses, so it reflects formal registration, not total economic activity. Enterprises are classified as micro, small or medium under the MSME definition, which is based on investment and turnover and was revised upward with effect from 1 April 2025.
The source data labels a few districts with shortened or older spellings. We have used the standard names: Dakshina Kannada and Uttara Kannada for the two coastal districts, Chamarajanagar, and Vijayanagara, the district created from Ballari in 2021. Several districts also carry post-rename names that are now standard, including Bengaluru, Mysuru, Belagavi, Kalaburagi, Vijayapura and Ballari. Every figure is exactly as it appears in the source.
Frequently asked questions
How many MSMEs are registered in Karnataka?
Karnataka has 2,605,682 registered MSMEs, about 26 lakh, on the Udyam portal. That is the sixth-highest of any Indian state and around 5.53 percent of the national total.
Which district in Karnataka has the most MSMEs?
Bengaluru (Urban), by a wide margin, with 664,069 registrations, or 25.5 percent of the entire state. It has about 3.7 times as many as the next district, Belagavi.
What share of Karnataka's MSMEs are micro enterprises?
About 98.7 percent are micro, 1.2 percent are small, and only 0.09 percent, roughly 2,300 firms, are medium enterprises.
How does Karnataka compare with neighbouring states?
Karnataka is the sixth-largest in India but only the third-largest among its neighbours. Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu both register more, while Karnataka is ahead of Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Goa.
Where are Karnataka's medium-sized enterprises concentrated?
Overwhelmingly in Bengaluru. Bengaluru (Urban) alone has 1,344 medium enterprises, about 58 percent of the state total, and the Bengaluru metro accounts for close to two-thirds.
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