Payroll supervisor vs payroll analyst

The differences between payroll supervisors and payroll analysts 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 supervisor and a payroll analyst. Additionally, a payroll supervisor has an average salary of $64,422, which is higher than the $54,217 average annual salary of a payroll analyst.

The top three skills for a payroll supervisor include customer service, payroll system and payroll tax. The most important skills for a payroll analyst are customer service, payroll system, and payroll data.

Payroll supervisor vs payroll analyst overview

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Analyst
Yearly salary	$64,422	$54,217
Hourly rate	$30.97	$26.07
Growth rate	-3%	-3%
Number of jobs	6,668	15,555
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Average age	48	48
Years of experience	4	4

What does a payroll supervisor do?

A payroll supervisor ensures employee salaries are released in a timely manner and accounts for all payrolls and cash released by the company. The payroll supervisor organizes all financial transactions and generates reports for accounting. This position ensures employees are paid accurately and calculates all deductibles such as insurance, child support, taxes, and payroll adjustments. The payroll supervisor must have accounting and bookkeeping skills and has pertinent experience in relevant fields of study.

What does a payroll analyst do?

A payroll analyst is primarily in charge of overseeing a company's payroll processes and transactions, ensuring efficiency and timeliness. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating with human resources for accurate and complete timesheets and employee data, managing calendars and schedules, calculating wages and deductions, and performing consistent audits. There are also instances when a payroll analyst must perform clerical tasks such as processing documents, prepare progress reports, and respond to employee inquiries. Furthermore, it is essential to report to managers should there be any issues and concerns.

Payroll supervisor vs payroll analyst salary

Payroll supervisors and payroll analysts have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Analyst
Average salary	$64,422	$54,217
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $89,000	Between $39,000 And $74,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Olympia, WA
Highest paying state	New Jersey	Washington
Best paying company	eBay	Varian Medical Systems
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between payroll supervisor and payroll analyst education

There are a few differences between a payroll supervisor and a payroll analyst in terms of educational background:

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Analyst
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 57%	Bachelor's Degree, 60%
Most common major	Accounting	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Payroll supervisor vs payroll analyst demographics

Here are the differences between payroll supervisors' and payroll analysts' demographics:

	Payroll Supervisor	Payroll Analyst
Average age	48	48
Gender ratio	Male, 21.3% Female, 78.7%	Male, 24.2% Female, 75.8%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 9.7% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 6.0% White, 58.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%	Black or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.1% White, 57.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.5%
LGBT Percentage	10%	10%

Differences between payroll supervisor and payroll analyst duties and responsibilities

Payroll supervisor example responsibilities.

Manage the administration and processing of KRONOS time reporting system.
Manage installation of automate timekeeping systems in facilities, ensuring accurate, timely processing of time and attendance information.
Act as the HRIS backup running queries and reports as scheduled and upon request via PeopleSoft for management and key stakeholders.
Create journal entries and account reconciliations for key benefit programs and maintain account reconciliations of liability accounts.
Assist in implementing new PTO plan, work with ADP to interface system.
Check all new hire information, ensuring accuracy of information complete in KRONOS system.

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Payroll analyst example responsibilities.

Manage all activities relate to base pay, overtime, PTO, garnishments and payroll tax.
Perform monthly accounting functions including journal entries, general ledger account reconciliations, benefit and salary accruals, and headcount reconciliations.
Create PowerPoint slides to train new timekeepers and managers in KRONOS.
Lead functional tester in support of timekeeping, payroll and labor upgrades and conversion projects.
Support the third-party web applications like KRONOS and custom-built time entry systems to input the time data
Enter new hires, terminations, and employee maintenance changes into HRIS & ADP including process employee benefit elections.

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Payroll supervisor vs payroll analyst skills

Common payroll supervisor skills

Customer Service, 9%
Payroll System, 6%
Payroll Tax, 5%
Reconciliations, 5%
Human Resources, 4%
Process Payroll, 4%

Common payroll analyst skills

Customer Service, 11%
Payroll System, 6%
Payroll Data, 4%
Human Resources, 4%
Reconciliations, 4%
Data Entry, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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