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District manager vs district leader

The differences between district managers and district leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a district manager and a district leader. Additionally, a district manager has an average salary of $96,909, which is higher than the $79,496 average annual salary of a district leader.

The top three skills for a district manager include customer service, multi-unit and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a district leader are customer service, sales presentations, and direct reports.

District manager vs district leader overview

District ManagerDistrict Leader
Yearly salary$96,909$79,496
Hourly rate$46.59$38.22
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs373,525117,708
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a district manager do?

District managers oversee the operations of a group of stores or areas covered by the assigned district. They are responsible for ensuring that the sales, marketing, quality control, and people management of their community align with the company's direction. They review the district's financial statement, draft ways to improve the district's key metrics, and mitigate any challenges that may come their way. They are also responsible for hiring store or area managers and training them to ensure that they will be significant contributors to the organization.

What does a district leader do?

The duties of a district leader depend on their line of work or industry of employment. However, their responsibilities typically include setting goals and guidelines, managing different offices, reviewing regular progress reports, coordinating managers, liaising with internal and external parties, and developing strategies to optimize services and operations. They must also respond to issues and concerns, resolving them promptly and professionally. Moreover, a district leader must lead and encourage staff to reach goals, all while implementing the organization's policies and regulations.

District manager vs district leader salary

District managers and district leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.

District ManagerDistrict Leader
Average salary$96,909$79,496
Salary rangeBetween $63,000 And $146,000Between $44,000 And $141,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCNorfolk, VA
Highest paying stateDelawareConnecticut
Best paying companyRegeneronVertex Pharmaceuticals
Best paying industryPharmaceuticalHospitality

Differences between district manager and district leader education

There are a few differences between a district manager and a district leader in terms of educational background:

District ManagerDistrict Leader
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

District manager vs district leader demographics

Here are the differences between district managers' and district leaders' demographics:

District ManagerDistrict Leader
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 70.9% Female, 29.1%Male, 60.1% Female, 39.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between district manager and district leader duties and responsibilities

District manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead charge to get Erie branch ISO [] certify.
  • Manage store location and fill ADM duties when necessary.
  • Hire, develop, and manage depot sales staff; promote consulting, training and administration.
  • Assist in managing contract delivery drivers to ensure that all routes are covered and newspapers are delivered on time.
  • Manage shipping, receiving, material handling, refuse returns, sortation departments, forklift, PTL, and calendar operations.
  • Monitor and manage sales activity using company specific CRM.
  • Show more

District leader example responsibilities.

  • Serve as multi-unit manager, responsible for motivating and developing coworkers to achieve results that increase overall profitability of company.
  • Train and mentore peer DM's, corporate executives and company trainers in both one on one and classroom situations.
  • Partner with POS programmers to develop and test new interface, new menu groupings and new products for next generation POS.
  • Provide leadership to commodity specialists and buyers including commodity planning and negotiations.
  • Coordinate community and youth educational events to promote leadership, environmental stewardship and economic prosperity in collaboration with regional government agencies.
  • Attain 92nd percentile in monthly operational KPI and quality measurements through relentless pursuit of productivity and process improvement.

District manager vs district leader skills

Common district manager skills
  • Customer Service, 21%
  • Multi-Unit, 7%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 5%
  • Payroll, 5%
  • Financial Performance, 5%
  • Performance Management, 4%
Common district leader skills
  • Customer Service, 37%
  • Sales Presentations, 12%
  • Direct Reports, 10%
  • Develop Strong Relationships, 6%
  • Brand Development, 5%
  • Loss Prevention, 3%

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