Area managers have their own territory to take care of within a business. Usually, area managers are in charge of a defined region. That means so much more than just being a boss over team members.
Area managers spend a lot of their time setting sales goals for the team to meet (or even exceed) and defining certain financial goals. They work alongside other area managers to ensure the company is headed in the right direction together.
As an area manager, it's no secret that you have a lot of responsibilities on your shoulders. This is why this is definitely not a job for a newbie. You'll want a bit of experience before breaking into this career.
How to Become an Area Manager
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being an area manager. For example, did you know that they make an average of $31.77 an hour? That's $66,085 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 150,600 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does an Area Manager Do
There are certain skills that many area managers have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed communication skills, leadership skills and management skills.
How To Become an Area Manager
If you're interested in becoming an area manager, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 62.9% of area managers have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 8.2% of area managers have master's degrees. Even though most area managers have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become an area manager. When we researched the most common majors for an area manager, we found that they most commonly earn bachelor's degree degrees or associate degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on area manager resumes include master's degree degrees or high school diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become an area manager. In fact, many area manager jobs require experience in a role such as store manager. Meanwhile, many area managers also have previous career experience in roles such as general manager or manager.
Area Manager Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of general manager you might progress to a role such as director of food and beverage eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title director of food and beverage.
Area Manager
Director Of Food And Beverage
9 Years
Regional General Manager
8 Years
Vice President & General Manager
12 Years
Terminal Manager
9 Years
Store Director
7 Years
Manufacturing Director
14 Years
Show More
Average Salary for an Area Manager
Area Managers in America make an average salary of $66,085 per year or $32 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $96,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $45,000 per year.
Average Area Manager Salary
$66,085Â Yearly$31.77 hourly
$45,000
10 %
$66,000
Median
$96,000
90 %
What Am I Worth?
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Top Colleges for Area Managers
1. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
2. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
3. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
4. New York University
New York, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,828
Enrollment
26,339
5. Pennsylvania State University
University Park, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$18,454
Enrollment
40,108
6. University of Texas at Austin
Austin, TX • Private
In-State Tuition
$10,610
Enrollment
40,329
7. SUNY at Binghamton
Vestal, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$9,808
Enrollment
13,990
8. Northeastern University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,522
Enrollment
13,760
9. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$49,880
Enrollment
4,177
10. Lehigh University
Bethlehem, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$52,930
Enrollment
5,030
Top Skills For an Area Manager
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 17.0% of area managers listed customer service on their resume, but soft skills such as communication skills and leadership skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Area Manager Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Area Manager templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Area Manager resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Area Manager Demographics
Area Manager Gender Distribution
Male
69%
Female
31%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among area managers, 30.9% of them are women, while 69.1% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among area managers is White, which makes up 70.8% of all area managers.
- The most common foreign language among area managers is Spanish at 60.5%.
Online Courses For Area Manager That You May Like
Advertising Disclosure  The courses listed below are affiliate links. This means if you click on the link and purchase the course, we may receive a commission.
ISO 45001. Occupational Health & Safety management system
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Supply Chain Management A-Z: Operations & Logistics Basics
Supply Chain Management Basics: An MBA style course to boost your career as a business operations & logistics manager...
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Best States For an Area Manager
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as an area manager. The best states for people in this position are Washington, Colorado, California, and South Dakota. Area managers make the most in Washington with an average salary of $83,564. Whereas in Colorado and California, they would average $83,524 and $81,742, respectively. While area managers would only make an average of $80,542 in South Dakota, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. Nevada
Total Area Manager Jobs:
729
Highest 10% Earn:
$104,000
Location Quotient:
1.04 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$75,350
Avg. Salary
2. Colorado
Total Area Manager Jobs:
1,955
Highest 10% Earn:
$116,000
Location Quotient:
0.98 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$83,524
Avg. Salary
3. California
Total Area Manager Jobs:
10,541
Highest 10% Earn:
$113,000
Location Quotient:
1.08 Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$81,742
Avg. Salary
How Do Area Manager Rate Their Jobs?
Top Area Manager Employers
Most Common Employers For Area Manager
| Rank  | Company  | Average Salary  | Hourly Rate  | Job Openings  |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AT&T | $109,423 | $52.61 | 466 |
| 2 | Enterprise Holdings | $84,916 | $40.83 | 193 |
| 3 | Walmart | $84,593 | $40.67 | 969 |
| 4 | Burlington | $83,807 | $40.29 | 92 |
| 5 | Kohl's | $83,715 | $40.25 | 97 |
| 6 | Best Buy | $80,966 | $38.93 | 112 |
| 7 | Ross Stores | $80,275 | $38.59 | 90 |
| 8 | Kmart | $79,955 | $38.44 | 107 |
| 9 | Amazon | $72,022 | $34.63 | 872 |
| 10 | RGIS | $66,085 | $31.77 | 397 |
Area Manager Videos
Life as an Area Manager
Career Advice on becoming an Area Manager by Kirk E (Highlights)
Career Advice on becoming an Area Manager by Bobby S (Highlights)
Becoming an Area Manager FAQs
How long does it take to become an Area Manager?
It takes 7 years of professional experience to become an area manager. That is the time it takes to learn specific area manager skills, but does not account for time spent in formal education. If you include the normal education requirements to complete a college degree, then it takes 10 to 12 years years to become an area manager.
What are the skills of an area manager?
The skills of an area manager have to do with customer service, procedures, and safety standards. Additionally, with the occupation being a managerial position, it would be important to also have soft skills like leadership and communication.
What degree do you need to be an area manager at Amazon?
The degree you need to be an area manager at Amazon is at minimum a bachelor's degree. In general, most area managers have postsecondary education like an associate's or bachelor's degree in business, marketing, or management.
What is the role of an area sales manager?
The role of an area sales manager, also known as a district sales manager, is to supervise the sales team and monitor the sales performance of the assigned district.
They make sure the members of the sales teams are always at the top of their game by providing training and self-improvement opportunities. They create progress reports, present them to management, set sales goals, and ensure they are achieved.
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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