Stack Overflow Developer Survey

What it is

Every year Stack Overflow runs a large survey of developers and people learning to code, and publishes the results free on its survey site. The 2025 edition received more than 49,000 responses from 177 countries (as stated on the results page, read 2026-09). Results are split into sections such as developer profile, education and experience, technology, AI, work and pay.

Why it matters if you are switching into tech

People considering a switch hear a lot of loud, contradictory claims: that nobody needs a degree, that bootcamps are dead, that AI has closed the junior market. The survey will not settle every argument, but it lets you look at real answers instead of anecdotes. The most useful parts for a career changer are:

• Education and experience: the highest level of formal education people have completed, and how many years they have been coding. It shows that most professional respondents hold a degree, and that a real minority do not.
• How people learn to code: the mix of documentation, online resources, books, school and bootcamps that respondents used in the past year. Bootcamps are one route among several, not the main one.
• Pay and work: salary by role and country, remote and hybrid work, and job satisfaction. Use country filters where they exist, because global medians hide huge differences.

How to read it carefully

The survey is not a random sample of everyone who works in software. People who use Stack Overflow, speak English and choose to answer are over-represented. Treat the numbers as a direction, not as exact truth, and compare them with local sources such as job boards and salary data in your own city.

Free vs paid

Free. The results and the anonymised data set are published openly.

Is it worth it?

Worth an hour at the start of a switch, and again when you choose a target role. Look for what surprises you. If it contradicts something you were planning around, find out why before committing money or time.

Common questions

Is there a newer edition? Stack Overflow usually runs the survey every year. Check the survey site for the latest results; this entry links to the 2025 edition, the latest published as of 2026-09.

Does it tell me which role to pick? No. It tells you how the field looks overall. Your background, your local market and what you enjoy matter more for choosing a role.