The city has a large steel industry due to which it is also known as "The City of Steel". As of June 2012, Hisar is India's largestgalvanized iron manufacturing city, beginning with Pipe Unit Jindal India Limited in 1964 and followed by Jindal Strips Limited in 1969. Other prominent steel and pipe manufacturing companies are Quality Foils Private Limited, Hisar Metal Industries Limited, Haryana Concast Limited, Haryana Tube Manufacturing Private Limited, Ravindra Tube Limited and Janak Steel Tubes Private Limited.
Additionally, a large textile industry is based in the city. Major textile companies are Hisar Textile Mills, Hansi Cooperative Spinning Mills and H.P. Cotton Textile Mills Limited. The Oxygen manufacturing unit Haryana Oxygen is also present.
Hisar has Asia's largest automobile repair and spare parts market in terms of radius and area. It also has a large number of livestock farms.Asia's largest and world's second largest cattle farm, Central Livestock Farm, formed there in 1809. Another major farm is the Central Sheep Breeding Farm.
Eminent business persons from Hisar are Subhash Chandra, Chairman of Essel Group; O. P. Jindal, founder of Jindal Steel and Power; Prithviraj Jindal, VC of Jindal Saw Limited; Sajjan Jindal, CMD of JSW Steel; Ratan Jindal, VC and CEO of Jindal Steel and Power; Naveen Jindal, CMD ofJindal Steel and Power; Mange Ram Agarwal, Founder of Action Group; B K Goenka, Vice Chairman and Managing Director of Welspun Group and Kuldip Bhargava, Managing Director of Quality Group. Savitri Jindal, non-executive chairperson of Jindal Group and a resident of Hisar is the wealthiest woman in India and the 10th wealthiest woman in the world.
The city has been identified as a counter-magnet city for the National Capital Region to attract migrants and develop as an alternative centre of growth to Delhi. The liberalization of the economy has encouraged many international brands to open retail outlets in the city. The
