General manager vs area manager

The differences between general managers and area managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a general manager and an area manager. Additionally, an area manager has an average salary of $73,472, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.

The top three skills for a general manager include customer service, cleanliness and food safety. The most important skills for an area manager are customer service, safety standards, and logistics.

General manager vs area manager overview

	General Manager	Area Manager
Yearly salary	$71,581	$73,472
Hourly rate	$34.41	$35.32
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	442,690	341,983
Job satisfaction	4.25	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a general manager do?

A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.

What does an area manager do?

An Area Manager's responsibility is to oversee the business operations of all company branches within a particular area. Among the tasks involve creating strategies to achieve the sales target, monitoring and evaluating the performance and progress of stores including their workforce, adhering to the budget and regulations of the company, and focus on attaining the image and financial goals. Moreover, an Area Manager must communicate and coordinate with fellow managers and hire employees that would be a vital member of the company.

General manager vs area manager salary

General managers and area managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	General Manager	Area Manager
Average salary	$71,581	$73,472
Salary range	Between $40,000 And $126,000	Between $50,000 And $107,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	New York, NY
Highest paying state	Hawaii	New York
Best paying company	NVIDIA	Clifford Chance
Best paying industry	Manufacturing	Technology

Differences between general manager and area manager education

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

	General Manager	Area Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 63%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

General manager vs area manager demographics

Here are the differences between general managers' and area managers' demographics:

	General Manager	Area Manager
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3%	Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% 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 Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between general manager and area manager duties and responsibilities

General manager example responsibilities.

Generate positive EBITDA and improve cash flow by managing costs and inventory.
Manage all recruiting and training efforts, and develop systems to track ROI comparison results.
Work as a FOH AGM and train to manage all staff functions including training, hiring, food and labor controls.
Develop yearly budget for multiple hotels that include revenue, labor, fix and variable costs to achieve overall EBITDA goal.
Task primarily with building logistics infrastructure, managing operational expenses, and supporting start up strategies.
Train and manage FOH staff and improve overall quality, organization and professionalism of restaurant and bakery.

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Area manager example responsibilities.

Manage the recruitment, hiring, training and development of all depot distribution staff.
Used creativity and persistence to create new sales leads and run all provide leads.
Mark by achieving district s top shrink and performance (e.g., CPR) rates.
Manage Sortation area operations and escalate customer order fulfillment issues.
Manage operations in accordance with all regulatory (HSE) requirements and company procedures/guiding principles.
Implement and manage contracts for Medicaid while maintaining excellent relationships with key local agency executives.

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General manager vs area manager skills

Common general manager skills

Customer Service, 20%
Cleanliness, 18%
Food Safety, 7%
Guest Service, 4%
Payroll, 4%
Math, 4%

Common area manager skills

Customer Service, 18%
Safety Standards, 10%
Logistics, 8%
Excellent Interpersonal, 5%
Business Plan, 4%
Continuous Improvement, 4%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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