Tech salaries: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 – USA🇺🇸

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey will again survey the Stack Overflow community in 2025. 49,000 software developers worldwide took part in the study this year. How has the salary data compared to 2024? You can find an overview in this article.

If you are also interested in German tech salaries, take a look here.

What is Stack Overflow?

Stack Overflow is a platform for software developers ask questions and exchange ideas with the community. With over 100 million website views per month, it is one of the 500 most popular websites on the Internet. Many software developers use Stack Overflow in their daily programming work to solve problems, learn new things or interact with other software developers.

What is the Stack Overflow Developer Survey?

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey is an annual study various topics concerning software developers. It is divided into the following main topics:

Overview
Developer profile
Technologies
Artificial intelligence
Work
Community
Professional developers
Methodology

Overview

The „Overview“, traditionally the introduction to the study, which describes the topics covered and the focus the study.

Developer profile

The „Developer Profile“ describes the school career and educational opportunities that software developers use to become software developers.

Extract 2025: 30% of developers learning to code this year have already attained a BS degree, indicating they are learning for a higher degree, for work, or are upskilling. This is an increase over last year when 24% said they had attained a BS degree.

Technology

In the „Technology“ section, the study shows the most popular programming languages, frameworks and co. of the software developers surveyed.

Extract 2024: The most popular technologies in 2025 are JavaScript (programming languages; 66%), PostgreSQL (database; 55.6%), Docker (cloud; 71.1%), Node.js (web frameworks; 48.7%), Visual Studio Code (Dev IDEs; 75.9%). In addition, OpenAI GPT is the most popular large language model (LLM) (81.4%) and GitHub (81.1%) is the most popular code documentation and collaboration tool.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The „AI“ section has been included in the study for the first time in 2023. It describes how AI is used in software development.

Extract 2025: 84% of participants are using or planning to use AI in the development process this year. This is an increase compared to 2024 (76%). At the same time, 19.6% of respondents highly distrust the accuracy of AI tools.

Work

The „Work“ section sheds light on the professional situation of developers. What salaries do they earn? Which companies do they work for? What influence do they have on the technologies used?

Extract 2025: The number of developers working hybrid has remained the same compared to 2024. However, the number of remote workers has fallen again by 5.6% (2025: 32.4%; 2024: 38%; 2023: 41.41%). The number of “on-site” employees has also fallen by 2.1% (2025: 17.9%; 2024: 20%; 2023: 16.41%).

For the first time, countries are listed individually in this category. In Germany, 22.5% of respondents work remotely, 10.5% on-site, 46.2% hybrid, and 20.7% flexibly, as they wish.

Stack Overflow

The Stack Overflow section provides an overview of the respondents‘ use of the platform mentioned.

Methodology

The last section of the methodology shows how the study was planned and analyzed. This also includes feedback from the participants on the study itself.

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025: Participants and evaluation

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 surveyed a total of 49,009 participants (2024: 65,437 participants; 2023: 89,184 participants) from 166 countries (2024: 185 countries). 83.7% of them work full-time as software developers. That’s 41,021 software developers.

Tech salaries at a glance

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 polled a total of 7,218 respondents from the USA on the topic of salary (compared to 2024: 12,785 respondents). 74.8% of them are employed full-time, 5.6% are full-time students, and 10% are freelancers. The remaining 9.6% are divided between unemployed and retired people and those who do not wish to provide any information.

Salaries for software developers in the USA have fallen in many areas compared to the previous year.

Salary: Senior Executive (C-Level, VP, etc.)

At management level, the average salary in 2024 was $225,000. In 2025, the average salary will remain the same.

Salary: Engineering Manager

At the middle management level, the average salary in 2025 is $200,000. In 2024, this was $192,500. A gain of +3.90%.

Salary: Data Scientist / Machine Learning Specialist

For data scientists, the average in 2025 ($145,000) will be down to a reduction of -8.81% compared to 2024 ($159,000). In the past, the category of “data scientist” was combined with machine learning specialist. From 2025, these will be listed in the “AI/ML engineer” group. AI/ML engineers will earn an average salary of $189,500 in 2025.

Salary: Data Engineer

Data Engineering remains the same at $150,000 (previous year: $150,000).

Salary: Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

In Cloud Engineering, the average salary in 2024 was $165,000. In 2025, the average salary is $189,000. A plus of +14.55%.

Stack Overflow_Cloud Infrastructure Engineer_USA

Salary: DevOps Specialist

In the DevOps sector, the average salary will rise from $145,000 (2024) to $165,000 (2025). A plus of +13.79%.

Salary: Backend Developer

Backend Developer registers an increase of +2.94%. It goes from an average of $170,000 (2024) to $175,000 (2025).

Salary: Frontend Developer

In the front-end sector, the average salary in 2025 is $145,000, a rise of +7.41% compared to the previous year ($135,000).

Salary: Full Stack Developer

Full stack developers earn an average of $138,000 in 2025, a rise of +6.15% compared to 2024 ($130,000).

Stack Overflow_Full Stack Developer _ USA

Salary: Mobile Developer

Mobile developers record a strong decrease of -8.11%. From an average of $185,000 (2024) to $170,000 (2025).

Salary: Embedded Developer

Embedded developers get +1.92%. The average salary in 2025 will be $132,500 (2024: $130,000).

Salary: Security Professional

Security professionals record a rise of +15.38%. From an average of $130,000 (2024) it goes up to $150,000 (2025).

Stack Overflow_Security Professional_USA

The study also shows other salary data. For example, that of the Desktop Developer (2025: $128,000), the Data or Business Analyst (2025: $100,956) or the System Administrator (2025: $83,000).

You can find a detailed insight into the study here: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025

FAQ

How much does an AI developer earn in the USA?

An AI developer in the USA will earn an average of $189,500 in 2025.

How much does an academic researcher in software development earn?

A academic researcher in software development will earn an average of $82,300 in 2025.

How much does a scientist in software development earn?

A scientist in software development will earn an average of $157,500 in 2025.

Tech-Gehälter: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 – Deutschland🇩🇪

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey befragt auch 2025 wieder die Stack Overflow Community. Über 49.000 Softwareentwickler aus 166 Ländern haben dieses Jahr an der Studie teilgenommen. Wie haben sich die Gehaltsdaten gegenüber 2024 geändert? Eine Übersicht findest du in diesem Artikel.

Schaue dir gerne auch noch einmal den Artikel über die Gehaltsdaten von 2024 an.

What is Stack Overflow?

Stack Overflow is a platform for software developers to ask questions and share problems with the community. With over 100 million website views per month, it is one of the 50 most popular websites on the Internet. Many software developers use Stack Overflow in their daily programming work to solve problems, learn new things or interact with other software developers.

What is the Stack Overflow Developer Survey?

Der Stack Overflow Developer Survey ist eine einmal im Jahr erscheinende Studie über verschiedene Themen Softwareentwickler betreffend. Sie gliedert sich in folgende Oberthemen:

Developer profile
Technologies
Artificial intelligence
Work
Stack Overflow
Methodology

Developer profile

The "Developer Profile" describes which school career and educational opportunities software developers use to become software developers.

Auszug 2025: 35 % der Softwareentwickler, die dieses Jahr an der Studie teilgenommen haben, sind weniger als 10 Jahre in der Softwareentwicklung engagiert.

Technology

In the "Technology" section, the study shows the most popular programming languages, frameworks and co. of the software developers surveyed.

Auszug 2025: Die beliebtesten Technologien 2025 sind JavaScript (Programmiersprachen; 66 %), PostgreSQL (Database; 55,6 %), Docker (Cloud; 71,1 %), Node.js (Web-Frameworks; 48,7 %), Visual Studio Code (Dev IDEs; 75,9 %), GitHub (Dokumentation; 81,1 %). Hinzu kommt OpenAI GPT (LLM; 81,4 %) (neu seit 2025) als beliebtestes Large Language Model (LLM).

Gegenüber 2024 konnten die Technologien noch einmal an Beliebtheit gewinnen, wobei die Studie nicht mehr alle Themen gleich abfragt.

Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The "AI" section is included in the study for the first time in 2023. It describes how AI is used in software development.

Auszug 2025: 54,1 % der Teilnehmer nutzen KI um nach Lösungen zu suchen. Dabei vertrauen nur 3,1 % vollumfänglich der Genauigkeit von KI-Tools.

Work

In the "Work" section, the professional situation of developers is highlighted. What salaries do they earn? In which companies do they work? What influence do they have on the technologies used?

Auszug 2025: Die Anzahl der Entwickler, die hybrid arbeiten, ist gegenüber 2024 gleich geblieben. Die Anzahl der Remote-Tätigen ist hingegen nochmals um 5,6 % zurückgegangen (2025: 32,4 %; 2024: 38 %; 2023: 41,41 %). Auch die Anzahl der “Vor Ort”-Beschäftigten geht um 2,1 % (2025: 17,9 %; 2024: 20 %; 2023: 16,41 %) zurück.

Erstmals werden Länder einzeln in dieser Kategorie genannt. In Deutschland arbeiten 22,5 % der Befragten remote, 10,5 % vor Ort, 46,2 % hybrid und 20,7 % flexibel, wie sie möchten.

Stack Overflow

Der Abschnitt Stack Overflow gibt eine Übersicht über die Nutzung der Befragten der genannten Plattform.

Methodology

The final section of the methodology shows how the study was planned and analyzed. This also includes feedback from the participants on the study itself.

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023: Participants and evaluation

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 hat insgesamt 49.009 Teilnehmer (2024: 65.437 Teilnehmer; 2023: 89.184 Teilnehmer) aus 166 Ländern (2024: 185 Länder) befragt. 83,7 % davon sind hauptberuflich als Softwareentwickler tätig. Das sind 41.021 Softwareentwickler.

Tech salaries at a glance

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 fragt insgesamt 2.141 Stimmen aus Deutschland zum Thema Gehalt ab (gegenüber 2024: 1.976 Stimmen). 76,1 % davon sind in Vollzeit beschäftigt, 10,8 % Vollzeit-Studenten und 8,6 % Freelancer. Die restlichen 4,5 % verteilen sich auf Nicht-Beschäftigte und Ruheständler und jene, die keine Angaben machen möchten.

Die Gehälter für Softwareentwickler in Deutschland haben sich gegenüber dem Vorjahr in vielen Bereichen verbessert.

Salary: Senior Executive (C-Level, VP, etc.)

Auf der Managementebene lag das Durchschnittsgehalt 2023 bei $104,421.5. In 2024 und 2025 wird dieses in der Studie für Deutschland nicht mehr behandelt.

Salary: Engineering Manager

Auf der mittleren Managementebene lag das Durchschnittsgehalt 2023 bei $107,090. In 2024 wurde dieses in der Studie für Deutschland nicht mehr behandelt. In 2025 liegt das Durchschnittsgehalt für Engineering Manager in Deutschland bei $118,335.

Salary: Data Scientist / Machine Learning Specialist

Für Data Scientists geht es 2025 im Schnitt herauf auf $92,812. Ein Gewinn von +23,45 % gegenüber 2024 ($75,184). In 2024 wurde diese Gruppierung noch in Kombination mit „ML Specialists“ genannt, die 2025 nicht mehr namentlich genannt werden.

Salary: Data Engineer

Data engineering is about +15,22 % herauf auf $92,812 (Vorjahr: $80,555).

Salary: Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Im Cloud Engineering lag das Durchschnittsgehalt 2023 bei $85,227. In 2024 wurde dieses in der Studie für Deutschland nicht mehr behandelt. In 2025 liegt dieses im Schnitt bei $98,612.

Salary: DevOps Specialist

Im DevOps-Bereich geht das Durchschnittsgehalt von $75,184 (2024) auf $87,011 (2025) herauf. Ein Plus von +15,73 %.

Salary: Backend Developer

Backend Developer registrieren einen Zuwachs von +9,66 %. Es geht von im Schnitt $79,346.5 (2024) auf $87,011 (2025).

Salary: Frontend Developer

Im Frontend-Bereich liegt das Durchschnittsgehalt 2025 bei $79,636.5. Ein kräftiges Plus von +19,55 % gegenüber dem Vorjahr ($66,615).

Salary: Full Stack Developer

Full Stack Developer verdienen 2025 im Schnitt $75,410. An increase of +8,02 % gegenüber 2024 ($69,814).

Salary: Mobile Developer

Mobile Developer sind die Entwickler-Gruppe, die mit +21,52 % das größte Plus verzeichnen. Von im Schnitt $77,332 (2024) geht es herauf auf $93,972 (2025).

Salary: Embedded Developer

Der lange konstant gebliebene Embedded Developer startet 2025 mit +11,1 % Gehaltszuwachs richtig durch. Das durchschnittliche Gehalt liegt 2025 bei $83,531 (2024: $75,184).

Die Studie weist noch weitere Gehaltsdaten aus. So z. B. die des akademischen Forschers (2025: $71,349), des Cybersecurity-Professionals (2025: $92,812) oder auch des Studenten (2024: $15,082).

A detailed insight into the study can be found here: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 20255

FAQ

Wie viel verdient ein Softwareentwickler 2025 in Deutschland?

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 zeigt, dass die Gehälter im Bereich Softwareentwicklung in Deutschland zugenommen haben. Das Durchschnittsgehalt liegt je nach Rolle und Erfahrung zwischen 55.000 € und 85.000 €.

Wie viel verdient ein Cybersecurity-Spezialist in Deutschland?

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 weist für Cybersecurity- und InfoSec-Professionals ein Durchschnittsgehalt von $92,812 für das Jahr 2025 aus.

Wie viel verdient ein IT-Systemadministrator 2025 in Deutschland?

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2025 weist für IT-Systemadministratoren ein Durchschnittsgehalt von $61,139.5 für das Jahr 2025 aus.

Tech salaries: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 – USA🇺🇸

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey will again survey the Stack Overflow community in 2024. 65,000 software developers worldwide took part in the study this year. How has the salary data compared to 2023? You can find an overview in this article.

If you are also interested in German tech salaries, take a look here.

What is Stack Overflow?

What is the Stack Overflow Developer Survey?

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey is an annual study various topics concerning software developers. It is divided into the following main topics:

Overview
Developer profile
Technologies
Artificial intelligence (AI; new since 2023)
Work
Community
Professional developers
Methodology

Overview

The „Overview“, traditionally the introduction to the study, which describes the topics covered and the focus the study. In the last study from 2023, the topic of „AI“ was added, to which Stack Overflow also added its new product Stack Overflow Labs.

Developer profile

The „Developer Profile“ describes the school career and educational opportunities that software developers use to become software developers.

Extract 2024: Across all ages, knowledge in the tech sector is primarily acquired with the help of online resources. The frontrunners here are technical documentation (>80%). Artificial intelligence (AI) is also on the rise with 37%.

Technology

In the „Technology“ section, the study shows the most popular programming languages, frameworks and co. of the software developers surveyed.

Extract 2024: The most popular technologies in 2024 are JavaScript (programming languages; 62.3%), PostgreSQL (database; 48.7%), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (cloud; 48%), Node.js (web frameworks; 40.8%), .NET (5+) (other frameworks; 25.2%), Docker (other tools; 53.9%). In addition, Visual Studio Code is the most popular development environment (73.6%) and Raspberry Pi (38.6%) is the most popular embedded technology.

With the exception of Docker, all technologies show a slight decline compared to 2023.

Artificial intelligence (AI)

The „AI“ section has been included in the study for the first time since 2023. It describes how AI is used in software development.

Extract 2024: 76% of participants are using or planning to use AI in the development process this year. This is an increase compared to 2023 (70%). At the same time, 43% of respondents are convinced and 31% are skeptical about the results of AI.

70% of respondents do not see their job at risk from AI.

Work

The „Work“ section sheds light on the professional situation of developers. What salaries do they earn? Which companies do they work for? What influence do they have on the technologies used?

Extract 2024: The number of developers working hybrid has remained the same compared to 2023. The number of remote workers, on the other hand, has fallen by 3.41% (2024:

38%; 2023: 41,41%). On the other hand, the number of „on-site“ employees will increase by 3.59% (2024:

20%; 2023: 16,41%)

Community

„Community“ describes the use of Stack Overflow itself by the participants.

Professional developers

The „Professional developers“ section describes the working environment of software developers in the company. This includes communication with each other as well as the use of tools and programs.

Extract 2023: 61% of all participants spend more than 30 minutes of a working day looking for solutions to problems.

Methodology

The last section of the methodology shows how the study was planned and analyzed. This also includes feedback from the participants on the study itself.

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024: Participants and evaluation

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 surveyed a total of 65,437 participants (2023: 89,184 participants) from 185 countries. 84% of them are full-time software developers. That is 54,967 software developers.

Stack Overflow Developer Survey - Participants

Tech salaries at a glance

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 asks a total of 12,785 participants from the USA about salary (compared to 2023: 11,396 participants). 64.8% of them are employed full-time, 9.1% are full-time students and 11.1% are freelancers. The remaining 15% are made up of part-time employees and students as well as non-employees and retirees.

Salaries for software developers in the USA have fallen in many areas compared to the previous year.

Salary: Senior Executive (C-Level, VP, etc.)

At management level, the average salary in 2023 was $220,000. In 2024, this will rise to $225,000. This is an increase of +2.27%.

Salary: Engineering Manager

At the middle management level, the average salary in 2024 is $192,500. In 2023, this was $195,000. A reduction of -1.28%.

Salary: Data Scientist / Machine Learning Specialist

For data scientists and machine learning specialists, the average in 2024 will be down to A slight reduction of -0.63% compared to 2023 ($160,000).

Salary: Data Engineer

Data Engineering is down -6.25% to $150,000 (previous year: $160,000).

Salary: Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

In Cloud Engineering, the average salary in 2023 was $185,000. In 2024, the average salary is only $165,000. A reduction of -10.81%.

Salary: DevOps Specialist

In the DevOps sector, the average salary will fall from $160,000 (2023) to $145,000 (2024). A minus of -9.38%.

Salary: Backend Developer

Backend Developer registers an increase of +3.03%. It goes from an average of $165,000 (2023) to $170,000 (2024).

Salary: Frontend Developer

In the front-end sector, the average salary in 2024 is $135,000, a drop of -3.57% compared to the previous year ($140,000).

Salary: Full Stack Developer

Full stack developers earn an average of $130,000 in 2024, a reduction of -7.14%compared to 2023 ($140,000).

Salary: Mobile Developer

Mobile developers record a strong increase of +13.5%. From an average of $163,000 (2023) to $185,000 (2024).

Salary: Embedded Developer

Embedded developers lose -7.14%. The average salary in 2024 will be $130,000 (2023: $140,000).

Salary: Security Professional

Security professionals continued to record a sharp drop of -24.86%. From an average of $173,000 (2023) it goes down to $130,000 (2024).

The study also shows other salary data. For example, that of the Game Developer (2024: $125,000), the Site Reliability Engineer (2024: $166,500) or the System Administrator (2024: $83,080).

You can find a detailed insight into the study here: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024

FAQ

How much does an AI developer earn in the USA?

An AI developer in the USA will earn an average of $160,000 in 2024.

How much does a scientist in software development earn?

A scientist in software development will earn an average of $113,939.5 in 2024.

How much does a QA / Test Engineer earn in the USA?

A QA / Test Engineer in the USA will earn an average of $130,000 in 2024.