Line manager vs general manager

The differences between line managers and general 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 line manager and a general manager. Additionally, a general manager has an average salary of $71,581, which is higher than the $56,406 average annual salary of a line manager.

The top three skills for a line manager include client facing, continuous improvement and service line. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.

Line manager vs general manager overview

	Line Manager	General Manager
Yearly salary	$56,406	$71,581
Hourly rate	$27.12	$34.41
Growth rate	6%	6%
Number of jobs	369,491	442,690
Job satisfaction	-	4.25
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 56%	Bachelor's Degree, 56%
Average age	44	44
Years of experience	6	6

What does a line manager do?

As line managers, they oversee other employees and the business operations while reporting to a higher manager. They play a significant role in the operation of the business from supervising and managing workers daily and acting as a link to upper management and employees. It is part of their responsibility to recruit and hire talent to fill team positions, provide training and learning to new hires, and ensuring that the employees are doing their jobs effectively and efficiently.

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.

Line manager vs general manager salary

Line managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Line Manager	General Manager
Average salary	$56,406	$71,581
Salary range	Between $27,000 And $116,000	Between $40,000 And $126,000
Highest paying City	New Brunswick, NJ	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Hawaii
Best paying company	Microsoft	NVIDIA
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between line manager and general manager education

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

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

Line manager vs general manager demographics

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

	Line Manager	General Manager
Average age	44	44
Gender ratio	Male, 64.7% Female, 35.3%	Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	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%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between line manager and general manager duties and responsibilities

Line manager example responsibilities.

Lead the team in successfully meeting FDA and GMP requirements.
Manage project developing integration and process flows for fab expansion doubling the area and moving to a larger wafer.
Manage team of database administrators, database technicians and systems administrators responsible for maintaining all production, development and QA systems.
Define and enforce GMP's to subordinates.
Train in FDA standards for food industry.
Establish and measure KPI's ensuring all departments maintain the highest levels of performance.

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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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Line manager vs general manager skills

Common line manager skills

Client Facing, 11%
Continuous Improvement, 7%
Service Line, 6%
Customer Satisfaction, 6%
Direct Reports, 5%
Process Improvement, 4%

Common general manager skills

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

Line Manager vs. similar jobs

Line Manager related careers

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Updated January 8, 2025

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