| Rajapalayam | |
| Nickname: | Cotton City |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Image Alt: | Rajapalayam from the southeast |
| Pushpin Map: | India Tamil Nadu#India3 |
| Pushpin Label Position: | right |
| Pushpin Map Caption: | Rajapalayam (Tamil Nadu) |
| Coordinates: | 9.4515°N 77.5543°W |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: |  India |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Tamil Nadu |
| Subdivision Type2: | District |
| Subdivision Name2: | Virudhunagar district |
| Subdivision Type3: | Revenue Division |
| Subdivision Name3: | Sattur |
| Subdivision Type4: | Taluk |
| Subdivision Name4: | Rajapalayam |
| Government Type: | Special Grade Municipality |
| Governing Body: | Rajapalayam Special grade municipality |
| Leader Title1: | Municipality Chairman |
| Leader Title2: | MLA |
| Leader Name2: | Thangappandian.S (2019–Current) |
| Unit Pref: | Metric |
| Area Rank: | 1 in district |
| Area Total Km2: | 11.36 |
| Elevation M: | 187 |
| Population Total: | 130,442 |
| Population As Of: | 2011 |
| Population Rank: | 34 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Population Demonym: | Rajapalayathaan |
| Demographics Type1: | Languages |
| Demographics1 Title1: | Official |
| Demographics1 Info1: | Tamil |
| Demographics1 Info2: | Telugu |
| Timezone1: | IST |
| Utc Offset1: | +5:30 |
| Postal Code Type: | Pincode(s) |
| Postal Code: | 626117,626108,626110 |
| Registration Plate: | TN 67, TN 84 |
| Area Code: | +91-4563 |
Rajapalayam (in Tamil ɾaːdʑabaːɭaɪjam/) is a town in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the largest municipality in the Virudhunagar district. Rajapalayam is located on the Madurai to Quilon National Highway at a distance of 562 km south of the state capital Chennai. The economy is primarily industrial with several mills for spinning and weaving. The town is known for its mango and the Rajapalayam breed of dogs.
The climate of the region is of the semi-arid tropical monsoon type. The average temperature range is 20 °C to 37 °C.
According to the 2011 census, Rajapalayam had a population of 130,442 with 1,014 females for every 1,000 males, far above the national average of 929.[1] A total of 11,604 individuals (5,927 males and 5,677 females) were under the age of six. Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes accounted for 13.51% and 0.09% of the population respectively. The average literacy of the town was 77.87%; the national average was 72.99%.[1] The town has a total of 37,797 households. There are 53,913 workers, comprising 380 cultivators, 3,676 main agricultural labourers, 1,375 in household industries, 45,223 other workers, 3,259 marginal workers, 34 marginal cultivators, 326 marginal agricultural labourers, 286 marginal workers in household industries and 2,613 other marginal workers.[2] According to the religious census of 2011, the population is 94.53% Hindu, 3.48% Muslim, 1.75% Christian, 0.02% Sikh and 0.21% other.[3]
The mountains of the Western ghats are to the west of the town (12 km from the town), and the Sanjeevi hills are to the east. These moderate the climate, and several water catchment areas in the hills provide water for the town. Water is stored in the 6th mile water reservoir. There are several major lakes around the town, including Kondaneri, Karungulam, Pirandaikulam, and Sengulam. The soil in the area is classified by the government as red loam.[4] The area of the municipality[5] is about 11.36 sq.kms which makes the town the biggest municipality in Virudunagar district.[6]
The principal industry was initially agriculture. In 1936, Thiru P. A. C. Ramasamy Raja started the first cotton spinning mill, called Rajapalayam Mills Ltd. Later, more textile mills were started. Today, Rajapalayam is a major hub of the textile industry, famous for bandages, woven fabric, nightwear, and other products. The neighboring town of Chatrapatti (Virudhunagar Dist.) is a large player in producing surgical cotton gauze, and nearby Dhalavaipuram and Muhavoor manufacture women's nightwear.
The National Highway NH-744 from Madurai to Kollam passes through the town. State highway SH-41 (Rajapalayam-Sankarankovil-Tirunelveli) links the major parts of the extreme south of Tamil Nadu, including Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanyakumari. The road also offers good freight connectivity to Tamil Nadu's second largest seaport, Tuticorin. State highway SH-186 (Rajapalayam-Vembakottai) connects the town to the east part of Virudhunagar district and passes through the fast-growing industrial towns of Chatrapatti and Alangulam.
Rajapalayam's long-distance bus station, located on Sankarankovil Road, is served by buses from the government of Tamil Nadu's TNSTC (Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation) and private transport companies. Several private and government operated services connect to Chennai, Bangalore, Coimbatore, Hosur, Pondicherry, Salem, Tiruppur, Trichy and other major cities.
Rajapalayam old bus station is the boarding point for buses connecting nearby villages. It is also called Old bus stand or Town bus stand. Sankarankovil Mukku road connects the new bus stand.
See main article: Rajapalayam railway station. The Rajapalayam railway station is in the Southern Railways zone/Madurai division of Indian Railways and falls on the Virudhunagar to Kollam line. The station code is RJPM.[7]
Passenger Trains running daily via Rajapalayam:
| 16848/Sengottai - Mayiladuthurai Express (Unreserved) | Sengottai | Madurai | 08:21am | |
| 06504/Madurai - Sengottai Express Special (Unreserved) | Madurai | Sengottai | 08:38am | |
| 06664/Sengottai - Madurai Express Special (Unreserved) | Sengottai | Madurai | 01:10pm | |
| 06663/Madurai - Sengottai Express Special (Unreserved) | Madurai | Sengottai | 01:13pm | |
| 06503/Sengottai - Madurai Express Special (Unreserved) | Sengottai | Madurai | 04;58pm | |
| 16847/Mayiladuthurai - Sengottai Express (Unreserved) | Madurai | Sengottai | 07:03pm |
| 12661/Pothigai Superfast Express | Chennai Egmore | Sengottai | 06:05am | Daily | LHB | |
| 12662/Pothigai Superfast Express | Sengottai | Chennai Egmore | 07:40pm | Daily | LHB | |
| 16101/Chennai-Kollam Express | Chennai Egmore | Kollam | 02:23am | Daily | ICF | |
| 16102/Kollam-Chennai Express | Kollam | Chennai Egmore | 04:23pm | Daily | ICF | |
| 20681/Silambu Super Fast Express | Chennai Egmore | Sengottai | 06:28am | Wednesday, Friday, Saturday | ICF | |
| 20682/Silambu Super Fast Express | Sengottai | Chennai Egmore | 06:08pm | Thursday, Saturday, Sunday | ICF | |
| 06036/Velankanni - Ernakulam Special Fare Special (Via Pattukottai) | Velankanni | Ernakulam Jn | 02:47am | Sunday(From Velankanni) | ICF | |
| 06035/Ernakulam - Velankanni Special Fare Special (Via Pattukottai) | Ernakulam Jn | Velankanni | 09:25pm | Saturday | ICF | |
| 06029/Mettupalayam - Tirunelveli Special Fare Special (PT) | Mettupalayam | Tirunelveli | 03:55am | Friday(From Mettupalayam) | LHB | |
| 06030/Tirunelveli - Mettupalayam Special Fare Special | Tirunelveli | Mettupalayam | 09:43pm | Thursday | LHB | |
| 06003/Tambaram - Tirunelveli Special Fare Special | Tambaram | Tirunelveli | 07:03am | Monday(From Tambaram) | LHB | |
| 06004/Tirunelveli - Tambaram Special Fare Special | Tirunelveli | Tambaram | 10:18pm | Sunday | LHB |
The nearest international airport is Madurai Airport (~80 km).