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?

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 (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%.

Sr. Executive (C-Level, VP) _ USA

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%.

Engineering Manager _ USA

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).

Data Scientist _ USA

Salary: Data Engineer

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

Data Engineer _ USA

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%.

Cloud Infrastructure Engineer _ _ USA

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%.

DevOps Specialist _ USA

Salary: Backend Developer

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

Backend Developer _ USA

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).

Frontend Developer _ USA

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).

Full Stack Developer _ USA

Salary: Mobile Developer

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

Mobile Developer _ USA

Salary: Embedded Developer

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

Embedded Developer _ USA

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).

Security Professional _ USA

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


About me

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.

Tech-Gehälter: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 – Germany🇩🇪

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey befragt auch 2024 wieder die Stack Overflow Community. 65.000 Softwareentwickler weltweit haben dieses Jahr an der Studie teilgenommen. Wie haben sich die Gehaltsdaten gegenüber 2023 geändert? Eine Übersicht findest du in diesem Artikel.

Schaue dir gerne auch noch einmal den Artikel über die Gehaltsdaten von 2023 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:

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

Overview

Der “Überblick” stellt klassischerweise die Einleitung der Studie dar, die beschreibt, welche Themen die Studie aufgreift und welchen Fokus sie setzt. In der letzten Studie aus 2023 ist das Thema “KI” neu hinzugekommen, wozu Stack Overflow auch sein neues Produkt Stack Overflow Labs vorgestellt hat.

Developer profile

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

Auszug 2024: Altersübergreifend findet die Aneignung von Wissen im Tech-Bereich vor allem mit Hilfe von Online-Ressourcen statt. Spitzenreiter sind dabei technische Dokumentationen (>80%). Auf dem Vormarsch ist auch Künstliche Intelligenz (KI) mit 37%.

Technology

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

Auszug 2024: Die beliebtesten Technologien 2024 sind JavaScript (Programmiersprachen; 62,3%), PostgreSQL (Database; 48,7%), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (Cloud; 48%), Node.js (Web-Frameworks; 40,8%), .NET (5+) (andere Frameworks; 25,2%), Docker (andere Tools; 53,9%). Hinzu kommt Visual Studio Code als beliebteste Entwicklungsumgebung (73,6%) und Raspberry Pi (38,6%) als beliebteste Embedded Technologie.

Außer Docker verzeichnen alle Technologien einen leichten Rückgang gegenüber 2023.

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 2024: 76% der Teilnehmer nutzen oder planen den Einsatz von KI im Entwicklungsprozess dieses Jahr. Dies ist eine Steigerung gegenüber 2023 (70%). Dabei sind 43% der Befragten überzeugt und 31% skeptisch bzgl. der Ergebnisse von KI.

70% der Befragten sehen ihren Job nicht durch KI gefährdet.

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 2024: Die Anzahl der Entwickler, die hybrid arbeiten, ist gegenüber 2023 gleich geblieben. Die Anzahl der Remote-Tätigen ist hingegen um 3,41% zurückgegangen (2024: 38%; 2023: 41,41%). Dafür steigt die Anzahl der “Vor Ort”-Beschäftigten um 3,59% (2024: 20%; 2023: 16,41%)

Community

"Community" describes the use of Stack Overflow itself by participants.

Professional developers

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

Extract 2023: 63% of all participants use over 30 minutes of a workday to search for solutions to problems. 

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 2024 hat insgesamt 65.437 Teilnehmer (2023: 89.184 Teilnehmer) aus 185 Ländern befragt. 76,6% davon sind hauptberuflich als Softwareentwickler tätig. Das sind 54.967 Softwareentwickler. 

Stack Overflow Developer Survey - Participants

Tech salaries at a glance

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 fragt insgesamt 1.976 Stimmen aus Deutschland zum Thema Gehalt ab (gegenüber 2023: 3.853 Stimmen). 56,3% davon sind in Vollzeit beschäftigt, 13,8% Vollzeit-Studenten und 10,5% Freelancer. Die restlichen 19,40% verteilen sich auf Teilzeit-Angestellte und Studenten sowie Nicht-Beschäftigte und Ruheständler.

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

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

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

Salary: Data Scientist / Machine Learning Specialist

Für Data Scientists und Machine Learning Specialists geht es 2024 im Schnitt herunter auf $75,184. Eine Reduktion um -14,38% gegenüber 2023 ($87,813).

Data Scientist / ML Specialist

Salary: Data Engineer

Data engineering is about -5,97% herunter auf $80,555 (Vorjahr: $85,672).

Data Engineer

Salary: Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Im Cloud Engineering lag das Durchschnittsgehalt 2023 bei $85,227. In 2024 wird dieses in der Studie für Deutschland nicht mehr behandelt.

Salary: DevOps Specialist

Im DevOps-Bereich geht das Durchschnittsgehalt von $70,679 (2023) auf $75,184 (2024) herauf. Ein Plus von +6,37%.

DevOps Specialist

Salary: Backend Developer

Backend Developer registrieren eine Reduktion von -1,21%. Es geht von im Schnitt $80,317 (2023) auf $79,346.5 (2024).

Backend Developer

Salary: Frontend Developer

Im Frontend-Bereich liegt das Durchschnittsgehalt 2024 bei $66,615. Ein Minus von –2,80% gegenüber dem Vorjahr ($68,537).

Frontend Developer

Salary: Full Stack Developer

Full Stack Developer verdienen 2024 im Schnitt $69,814. Ein minimaler Zuwachs von +0,30% gegenüber 2023 ($69,608).

Full Stack Developer

Salary: Mobile Developer

2023 noch der Gewinner gegenüber 2022, sind Mobile Developer jetzt mit -7,42% mit die Entwickler-Gruppe, die das höchste Minus verzeichnen. Von im Schnitt $83,530 (2023) geht es hinunter auf $77,332 (2024).

Mobile Developer

Salary: Embedded Developer

Embedded Developer bleiben mit +0,29% Gehaltszuwachs relativ konstant. Das durchschnittliche Gehalt liegt 2024 bei $75,184 (2023: $74,963).

Embedded Developer

Die Studie weist noch weitere Gehaltsdaten aus. So z. B. die des akademischen Forschers (2024: $61,222), des Desktop-Developers (2024: $69,814) oder auch des Studenten (2024: $12,889). 

A detailed insight into the study can be found here: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024


About me

FAQ

Wie viel verdient ein Softwareentwickler 2024 in Deutschland?

Die Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2024 zeigt, dass die Gehälter im Bereich Softwareentwicklung in Deutschland bei den Befragten eher stagnieren und teilweise zurückgehen. Das Durchschnittsgehalt liegt je nach Rolle und Erfahrung zwischen 55.000 € und 85.000 €.

Wie viel verdient ein Softwareentwickler 2024 in den USA?

Auch in den USA sind die Gehälter in der Softwareentwicklung teilweise zurückgegangen. So verdient ein Full Stack Entwickler im Durschnitt nur noch $130.000 statt $140.000.

Wie viel verdient ein Softwareentwickler 2024 in Großbritannien?

Das durchschnittliche Gehalt in der Softwareentwicklung in Großbritannien steigt 2024 leicht gegenüber 2023. So verdient ein Full Stack Entwickler im Schnitt ca. $76.500 und ein Frontend Entwickler ca. $82.000.

Tech salaries: analysis of the Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023

The 13th edition of the Stackoverflow Developer Survey has been published. 90,000 software developers worldwide took part in the study this year. Of particular interest from a recruiting perspective: salary data. How have the salaries for backend developers, DevOps engineers and others developed? You can find an overview in this article. (Please note that this article is about the german tech scene.)

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?

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey is a study published once a year on 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" is classically the introduction to the study, describing what topics the study addresses and what its focus is. In this year's study, the topic of "AI" is a new addition, to which Stack Overflow also adds its new product Stack Overflow Labs introduces.

Developer profile

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

Extract 2023: Participants under the age of 18 primarily use online tools, such as videos, blogs and forums, to acquire knowledge. Participants between the ages of 25 and 34 acquired their knowledge primarily through online courses and certificates (52 %) and through school careers (55 %). 

Technology

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

Extract 2023: The most popular technologies 2023 of the respective categories are JavaScript (Programming Languages; 63,61%), PostgreSQL (Database; 45,55%), Amazon Web Services (AWS) (Cloud; 48,62%), Node.js (web frameworks; 42,65%), .NET (5+) (other frameworks; 25,29%), Docker (other tools; 51,55%). In addition, Visual Studio Code is the most popular development environment (73,71%).

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.

Extract 2023: 70% of participants are using or planning to use AI in the development process this year.

By the way: How the use of AI in recruiting looks like, shows this article.

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?

Extract 2023More than a third of all companies work completely remotely. However, compared to the previous year, +2% of companies also insist on on-site presence.

Community

"Community" describes the use of Stack Overflow itself by participants.

Professional developers

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

Extract 2023: 63% of all participants use over 30 minutes of a workday to search for solutions to problems. 

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

The 2023 Stack Overflow Developer Survey polled a total of 89,184 respondents from 185 countries. 75.39% of them are full-time software developers. That's 67,237 software developers. A further 8,954 participants (10.04%) are not active full-time as software developers, but are involved in programming either professionally or through their studies. 

Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023
Source: Stack Overflow Survey 2023

Tech salaries at a glance

The Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023 asks for a total of 3,853 votes from Germany on salary (vs. 2022: 2,879 votes). 56.41% of them are full-time employees, 14.63% are full-time students, and 10.92% are freelancers. The remaining 18.04% are distributed among part-time employees and students and non-employees and retirees.

Salaries for software developers in Germany have increased year-on-year in almost all areas. Please note that the figures given below are average values.

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

At management level, the average salary in 2023 will be $104,421.5. This is an increase from +7,6% compared to the previous year ($97,045.5).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Engineering Manager

At middle management level, the average salary in 2023 will be $107,090. A plus from +11,58% vs. 2022 ($95.979).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Data Scientist / Machine Learning Specialist

For Data Scientists and Machine Learning Specialists, the 2023 average goes up to $87,813. An increase by +17,63% vs. 2022 ($74,651).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Data Engineer

Data engineering is about +11,58% high on $85,672 (previous year: $76,783).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Cloud Infrastructure Engineer

Cloud engineering is about +10,99% high on $85,227 (previous year: $76,788).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: DevOps Specialist

In the DevOps sector, the study is the only one to show a decrease in the average salary of the salaries considered here. From $72,983 (2022) to $70,679 (2023). A minus of -3,16%.

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Backend Developer

Backend developers are pleased with an increase of +14,12%. It goes from an average of $70,380 (2022) to $80,317 (2023).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Frontend Developer

In the front-end area, the average salary in 2023 is $68,537. A plus from +7,11% compared with the previous year ($63,986).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Full Stack Developer

Full stack developers earn on average in 2023 $69,608. An increase of +4,35% vs. 2022 ($66,708).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Mobile Developer

Mobile developers have to work with +24,33% made the biggest salary jump in the study. From an average of $67,186 (2022), it goes up to $83,530 (2023).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

Salary: Embedded Developer

Embedded developers are happy about +10,52% Salary growth. The average salary in 2023 is $74,963 (2022: $67,825).

Sources: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2022/2023

The study also shows other salary data. For example, the project manager (2023: $80,317), the desktop developer (2023: $69,608) and the game developer (2023: $64,254). 

A detailed insight into the study can be found here: Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2023


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How much does a software developer earn?

As a software developer, you can earn a lot of money depending on your experience level. Exactly how much depends on the job you're aiming for. Check out our article on tech salaries for more detailed salary data for each position.

How much can a software developer earn?

Software developers earn an average of around €63,000 per year. The salary is always based on experience, the value you bring to the company and a portion of negotiating skills.

What is the starting salary as a software developer?

As a software developer, you can expect a starting salary of around €49,000 gross per year. However, the salary depends on various factors, such as the size of the company, the job itself or the location of the company.