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The differences between city managers and operations managers 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 city manager, becoming an operations manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, an operations manager has an average salary of $76,894, which is higher than the $76,188 average annual salary of a city manager.
The top three skills for a city manager include human resources, economic development and oversight. The most important skills for an operations manager are customer service, logistics, and continuous improvement.
| City Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $76,188 | $76,894 |
| Hourly rate | $36.63 | $36.97 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 8,928 | 343,868 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 52 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
A city manager is responsible for monitoring city operations and manage staff to advise programs and initiatives for the benefits of the citizens. City managers oversee community projects and allocate adequate resources to support functions and societal activities. They also serve as a liaison to clear political disputes and officer conflicts. A city manager attends community events and meetings to represent the city, provide progress updates, and coordinate with other local organizations for sponsorship and funding events.
Operations managers are in charge of running the main business of the organization. They ensure that the business is running smoothly from an operations standpoint. They make sure that the processes in place produce the necessary output by implementing quality control measures. They also manage finances and ensure that there is enough budget to keep the operations of the business running. They also ensure that the production of goods or services is cost-efficient. Operations managers also handle people-related concerns. They are responsible for interviewing candidates, choosing the ones to hire, and ensuring that individuals assigned to operations are properly trained.
City managers and operations managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| City Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Average salary | $76,188 | $76,894 |
| Salary range | Between $40,000 And $142,000 | Between $47,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | Hayward, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Delaware |
| Best paying company | Apple | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Technology |
There are a few differences between a city manager and an operations manager in terms of educational background:
| City Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between city managers' and operations managers' demographics:
| City Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Average age | 52 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.6% Female, 30.4% | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% |
| 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, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |