Chief of staff vs area director

The differences between chiefs of staff and area directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a chief of staff, becoming an area director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief of staff has an average salary of $130,835, which is higher than the $100,433 average annual salary of an area director.

The top three skills for a chief of staff include PET, team support and project management. The most important skills for an area director are customer service, patients, and home health.

Chief of staff vs area director overview

	Chief Of Staff	Area Director
Yearly salary	$130,835	$100,433
Hourly rate	$62.90	$48.29
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	124,272	47,326
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age	52	44
Years of experience	-	6

What does a chief of staff do?

A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.

What does an area director do?

Area directors oversee the operations of the company in a particular area. They manage the company's presence in their assigned area. Area directors come up with strategies so that their area meets company goals. They manage the company's performance in their area, from sales to marketing to finance to human resources. Area directors are expected to have in-depth knowledge of the situation and the context in the area they handle. They should be able to identify strengths and areas for improvement in their area. As such, they would be able to capitalize on their strengths and address their areas for improvement. Overall, area directors are responsible for the fulfillment of the company's vision in their area.

Chief of staff vs area director salary

Chiefs of staff and area directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Chief Of Staff	Area Director
Average salary	$130,835	$100,433
Salary range	Between $85,000 And $200,000	Between $55,000 And $182,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Boston, MA
Highest paying state	California	New Jersey
Best paying company	Lyft	AstraZeneca
Best paying industry	Start-up	Health Care

Differences between chief of staff and area director education

There are a few differences between a chief of staff and an area director in terms of educational background:

	Chief Of Staff	Area Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Chief of staff vs area director demographics

Here are the differences between chiefs of staff' and area directors' demographics:

	Chief Of Staff	Area Director
Average age	52	44
Gender ratio	Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0%	Male, 63.9% Female, 36.1%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	12%	10%

Differences between chief of staff and area director duties and responsibilities

Chief of staff example responsibilities.

Lead headquarters (HQ) operations staff.
Manage the G3's fiscal year budget planning, formulation, and execution.
Supervise the G2 administrative section and maintain and manage the G2 budget and material resources.
Manage the predeployment training and the deployment process to receiving commands, and subsequent redeployment and deactivation.
Manage budgets of $75,000 to $22 million paying keen attention to cost containment and ROI.
Credit for managing and improving the HAZMAT program, which serve as a benchmark example for the base community.

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Area director example responsibilities.

Manage all aspects of selling process such as ROI, quotes, budgetary approval and demos.
Manage due diligence requirements and rehabilitation plans.
Lead operations for contract rehabilitation practice across north and central Texas.
Establish and manage the mid-Atlantic regional office of a privately own legal education company that provide educational services to law students.
Provide administrative (programmatic and fiscal) oversight for residential homes for people with cerebral palsy and developmental disabilities.
Offer risk management and insurance services to the healthcare industry.

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Chief of staff vs area director skills

Common chief of staff skills

PET, 15%
Team Support, 11%
Project Management, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Direct Reports, 6%
Marketing Campaigns, 6%

Common area director skills

Customer Service, 8%
Patients, 8%
Home Health, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Human Resources, 5%
Financial Performance, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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