The major cities/towns in the district are Chittoor, Punganur, Nagari, Palamaner, and Kuppam.

[9] After the Indian independence in 1947, Chittoor region became a part of the erstwhile Madras state.

As a result of Pataskar Award consequent on the re-organisation of the state on a linguistic basis on 1 April 1960, a major portion of Tiruthani taluk was transferred to Chengalpattu district of Tamilnadu in exchange for one taluk known as Sathyavedu comprising 186 villages from Tamilnadu.

[12] This has resulted in the district becoming primarily rural and losing central educational institutes and health infrastructure.

[15] The district has a population density of 275 inhabitants per square kilometre (710/sq mi).

[15] The Gross District Domestic Product (GDDP) of the undivided district for FY 2013-14 is ₹34,742 crore (US$4.0 billion) and it contributes 6.6% to the Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP).

[18] The major products contributing to the GVA of the district from agriculture and allied services are, sugarcane, groundnut, tomato, mango, milk, meat and fisheries.

The GVA to the industrial and service sector is contributed from construction, electricity, manufacturing, education and ownership of dwellings.

[18] The important rivers in the district before restructuring were Ponnai and Swarnamukhi, which originate in the Eastern Ghats.

Other rivers include Araniyar, Bahuda, Beema, Cheyyeru, Kalangi, Kalyani, Koundinya, Kusasthali, Neeva, Papaghni, Pileru, Pincha, and Pedderu.

[21] The district occupies an area of 6,855 square kilometres (2,647 sq mi).

[27] The district is divided into four revenue divisions: Chittoor, Kuppam, Nagari and Palamaner, which are further subdivided into a total of 32 mandals, each headed by a sub-collector.

He was a pioneering Indian actor, singer, music composer, and director in the Telugu and Tamil film industry.