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The differences between payroll managers and payroll technicians can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a payroll manager and a payroll technician. Additionally, a payroll manager has an average salary of $86,147, which is higher than the $44,971 average annual salary of a payroll technician.
The top three skills for a payroll manager include customer service, human resources and payroll system. The most important skills for a payroll technician are payroll system, human resources, and data entry.
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Technician | |
| Yearly salary | $86,147 | $44,971 |
| Hourly rate | $41.42 | $21.62 |
| Growth rate | -3% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 6,972 | 11,297 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A payroll manager is responsible for monitoring the payment process of all employees. Payroll managers oversee payroll records, reviewing calculable taxes and other deductions, creating a comprehensive summary of payroll details, managing payroll discrepancies, and releasing payroll checks through the organization's payment method. They must also follow strict procedures on legal requirements and tax obligations. A payroll manager must have excellent analytical and communication skills, especially on responding to the employees' inquiries and concerns, as well as managing the performance of the payroll staff.
A payroll technician may work in the finance or human resource department of an organization or with a payroll service. They are responsible for the collation and recording of employee payment data. As a payroll technician, you will apply organization systems, relevant laws, and other employment and labour regulations to process employees' payments. Depending on the payroll cycle, as a payroll technician, you will be expected to maintain accurate and up to date detailed information of staff for payroll purposes.
Payroll managers and payroll technicians have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Technician | |
| Average salary | $86,147 | $44,971 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $117,000 | Between $30,000 And $66,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Ep Energy | InfosysPublicService |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a payroll manager and a payroll technician in terms of educational background:
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Technician | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 45% |
| Most common major | Accounting | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between payroll managers' and payroll technicians' demographics:
| Payroll Manager | Payroll Technician | |
| Average age | 48 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 22.0% Female, 78.0% | Male, 19.1% Female, 80.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 9.9% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.1% White, 57.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% | Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.9% Asian, 6.1% White, 57.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |