# 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey Source: https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2024 Kiwi News: https://news.kiwistand.com/stories/2024-Stack-Overflow-Developer-Survey?index=0x68193764a6720167bac40ca44dc983e2aabb3c985641822048c3d7d9194485dfc9d7c28d Submitted by tim on 2025-05-05 UTC, 1 upvote, 0 comments ## Summary The 2024 Stack Overflow Developer Survey reports on developer education, tools, AI use and work habits. 66% of developers hold a BA/BS or MA/MS degree, though only 49% learned to code at school, and online resources are the top learning choice for 82% of respondents. PostgreSQL is the most popular database for the second year in a row, used by 49% of developers, and Rust is the most-admired programming language with an 83% score. Of all respondents, 76% use or plan to use AI tools in their development process, up from 70% last year. ## Article Educational attainment 66% of developers have a BA/BS or MA/MS degree despite only 49% of developers learning to code at school. Educational attainment → Learning to code Online resources are the top choice for developers to learn code according to 82% of responses. Respondents 18 - 24 years old are most likely to learn code at traditional schools of all the age groups, and consistently so for the last three years. Learning to code → Databases PostgreSQL debuted in the developer survey in 2018 when 33% of developers reported using it, compared with the most popular option that year: MySQL, in use by 59% of developers. Six years later, PostgreSQL is used by 49% of developers and is the most popular database for the second year in a row. Databases → Other tools Docker is used the most by professional developers (59%) and npm is used the most by developers learning to code (45%). Other tools → Asynchronous tools Jira and Confluence top the list for most used asynchronous tools developers use for the third year. Asynchronous tools → Programming, scripting, and markup languages JavaScript, Python and SQL are all highly-desired and admired programming languages, but Rust continues to be the most-admired programming language with an 83% score this year. Programming, scripting, and markup languages → AI Search and Developer Tools Most developers use ChatGPT of all the AI tools, and 74% want to keep using it next year. 41% of ChatGPT users want to use GitHub Copilot next year. AI Search and Developer Tools → Top paying technologies Erlang developers take the top spot this year for highest reported median salary. Top paying technologies → AI tools in the development process 76% of all respondents are using or are planning to use AI tools in their development process this year, an increase from last year (70%). Many more developers are currently using AI tools this year, too (62% vs. 44%). AI tools in the development process → AI tools next year In the next year, most developers agree that AI tools will be more integrated mostly in the ways they are documenting code (81%), testing code (80%), and writing code (76%). AI tools next year → Employment status 84% of respondents are working: either part-time, freelancing, or full-time. Employment status → Work environment The number of hybrid developers has stayed consistent this year with last year (42%), while the percentage of developers working in-person has increased (20%) for the third year in a row compared to 15% in 2022 and 16% in 2023. Work environment → Tech endorsement factors APIs are pretty cool, but did you know that 75% of developers are more likely to endorse your technology if you provide access to APIs? Make sure to let back-end developers and engineering managers know about the API integrations you offer: they are even more likely to endorse your tech than the average coder. Tech endorsement factors → How you choose to use Stack Overflow Everyone agrees that finding answers quickly is the primary reason to use Stack Overflow. Understandably, those learning to code are more likely to use Stack Overflow to learn coding skills than professional developers or other coders. How you choose to use Stack Overflow → Years of professional work experience 1 in 4 are 1 to 4: as in 25% of professional developers report having one to four years of work experience. The majority of respondents are early-to-mid career professionals (nine or less years experience) and the majority of people managers are mid-to-later career professionals (10+ years experience). Years of professional work experience → Daily time spent searching for answers/solutions 61% of all respondents spend more than 30 minutes a day searching for answers or solutions to problems. People managers spend less time searching than individual contributors (40% vs. 36% spend 30 minutes or less). Daily time spent searching for answers/solutions →