City manager vs city alderman

The differences between city managers and city aldermen can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a city manager has an average salary of $76,188, which is higher than the $51,598 average annual salary of a city alderman.

City manager vs city alderman overview

	City Manager	City Alderman
Yearly salary	$76,188	$51,598
Hourly rate	$36.63	$24.81
Growth rate	6%	-
Number of jobs	8,928	5,137
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Average age	52	52
Years of experience	-	-

City manager vs city alderman salary

City managers and city aldermen have different pay scales, as shown below.

	City Manager	City Alderman
Average salary	$76,188	$51,598
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $142,000	Between $24,000 And $108,000
Highest paying City	Hayward, CA	-
Highest paying state	California	-
Best paying company	Apple	-
Best paying industry	Start-up	-

Differences between city manager and city alderman education

There are a few differences between a city manager and a city alderman in terms of educational background:

	City Manager	City Alderman
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 45%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	-

City manager vs city alderman demographics

Here are the differences between city managers' and city aldermen' demographics:

	City Manager	City Alderman
Average age	52	52
Gender ratio	Male, 69.6% Female, 30.4%	Male, 69.2% Female, 30.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 7.6% White, 76.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 3.8% Hispanic or Latino, 5.9% Asian, 6.1% White, 80.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between city manager and city alderman duties and responsibilities

City manager example responsibilities.

Manage debt issuance, debt service, redemptions and tax arbitrage calculations.
Interpret and apply GAAP and GASB and other applicable accounting guidelines.
Provide assistance in oversight and management of all city operations.
Deploy code enforcement oversight to counter deteriorating private properties as well as public infrastructure.
Complete major renovations and improvements to the city water plant and negotiate and purchase a new city police station building.
Save utility system from financial collapse while completing city wide meter installations with new water rate and tap fee schedules.

City alderman example responsibilities.

Work on assembly line installing HVAC, duct work, brake lines, actuators and building the back hatch of Toyota automobiles
Work with technical staff to troubleshoot all equipment contain in work cell.

City manager vs city alderman skills

Common city manager skills

Human Resources, 9%
Economic Development, 8%
Oversight, 7%
Customer Service, 6%
Public Works, 6%
Payroll, 6%

Common city alderman skills

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Updated January 8, 2025

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