Area supervisor vs department manager

The differences between area supervisors and department managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an area supervisor and a department manager. Additionally, a department manager has an average salary of $67,160, which is higher than the $40,965 average annual salary of an area supervisor.

The top three skills for an area supervisor include ladders, cleanliness and sales floor. The most important skills for a department manager are inventory management, sales promotions, and cleanliness.

Area supervisor vs department manager overview

	Area Supervisor	Department Manager
Yearly salary	$40,965	$67,160
Hourly rate	$19.69	$32.29
Growth rate	6%	5%
Number of jobs	106,356	330,327
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age	43	43
Years of experience	6	6

What does an area supervisor do?

An area supervisor opens and closes the store, maintains a comfortable and friendly shop environment, and supervises associates. Area supervisors are responsible for keeping track of daily operations in the business. They are in charge of the maintenance, production, and other work performed in certain areas. Their responsibilities include the recruitment and training of staff, solving customer issues, updating records, and completing other tasks assigned by directors. It is also their responsibility to schedule the work hours of employees.

What does a department manager do?

Department managers oversee the operations of the department they are assigned to. They manage all aspects of the operation, including finance, sales, quality control, and human resources. They set department goals and the steps the team needs to take to ensure that the goals are met. Department managers are also in charge of training team members so that these team members will be able to work together harmoniously. They should also be able to keep the team's goal in sight and adjust their strategy as needed.

Area supervisor vs department manager salary

Area supervisors and department managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Area Supervisor	Department Manager
Average salary	$40,965	$67,160
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $61,000	Between $39,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City	Lancaster, PA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Alaska	New Jersey
Best paying company	Tesla	Ralph Lauren
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Manufacturing

Differences between area supervisor and department manager education

There are a few differences between an area supervisor and a department manager in terms of educational background:

	Area Supervisor	Department Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 47%	Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	SUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Area supervisor vs department manager demographics

Here are the differences between area supervisors' and department managers' demographics:

	Area Supervisor	Department Manager
Average age	43	43
Gender ratio	Male, 58.4% Female, 41.6%	Male, 51.8% Female, 48.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 61.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	9%	9%

Differences between area supervisor and department manager duties and responsibilities

Area supervisor example responsibilities.

Promote from associate to manage several departments including jewelry, housewares, automotive and electronics.
Demonstrate resourcefulness and imagination when managing professional responsibilities.
Schedule and lead safety meetings par OSHA regulations.
Train new and current employees run reports and stats for upper management.
Handle work flow, assign tasks, train new associates, run administrative machines.
Review laboratory documents and test paperwork to ensure the information is accurate and GMP compliant.

Department manager example responsibilities.

Participate in company's ISO certification program, successfully achieving ISO [] and AS9100 certification.
Manage and delegate over lumber-building materials department including millwork department.
Manage electronics, wireless connection center, layaway and online order/pickup departments.
Develop schedules; manage payroll; multitask extensively to ensure competing requirements are complete.
Monitor and maximize sales and payroll by identifying sales opportunities and managing controllable expenses.
Manage geotechnical aspects of an EIR/EIS for a coastal development in an environmentally sensitive lagoon.

Area supervisor vs department manager skills

Common area supervisor skills

Ladders, 17%
Cleanliness, 16%
Sales Floor, 15%
Front End, 13%
Loss Prevention, 10%
Bank Deposits, 9%

Common department manager skills

Inventory Management, 38%
Sales Promotions, 17%
Cleanliness, 13%
Customer Service, 8%
Sales Floor, 3%
Product Knowledge, 2%

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Area Supervisor
Area Supervisor vs Department Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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