Zaria's economy is primarily based on agriculture. Staples are guinea corn and millet, and cash crops include cotton, groundnuts and tobacco. The city is considered by some to be a main center of Hausa agriculture. Not only is Zaria a market town for the surrounding area, it is the home of numerous artisans, from traditional crafts like leather work, dyeing and cap making, to tinkers, print shops and furniture makers. Zaria is also the center of a textile industry that for over 200 years has made elaborately hand-embroidered robes that are worn by men throughout Nigeria and West Africa.
Because Zaria is north of the rail junction at Kaduna, it has equal rail access to the seaports at Lagos and Port Harcourt.
From 1914 to 1927, Zaria was the break-of-gauge junction station for the Bauchi Light Railway to the tin mines at Jos
