In the annual survey conducted by the STACK Overflow platform, a surprising result emerged in the “highest paid language” category. The relatively new programming language known as Zig, which emerged as an alternative to C and debuted in 2015, has taken the top spot.
Developers programming in Zig earned an average of over $103,611 in 2023, making it the best choice for developers seeking high-paying opportunities in the application development field. This marks a significant shift, as last year’s leader, the Clojure programming language, saw a decrease in average wages and dropped to fifth place on the list. Over 90,000 developers participated in the STACK Overflow poll to provide these insights.
Following Zig on the list is the Erlang programming language, with a potential earnings of $99,492 per year. This is followed by the versatile language F# ($99,311) and the open language Ruby ($98,522), all of which have surpassed last year’s leader in terms of average earnings.
Python continues to increase in popularity among developers and has surpassed SQL to become the third most popular language. Python also ranks first among languages preferred by novice programmers and non-professionals, with 59% of students using it compared to 37% for SQL. However, among SQL professionals, SQL is still more commonly used (52% versus 45%).
Zig is described as a “low-level” systemic language that emphasizes simplicity and reliability through the “clarity of code and readability.” The Zig Software Foundation website highlights its exceptional use of language keywords and functions to control execution flow. As an alternative to C, Zig maintains compatibility with existing C development practices while aiming to eventually replace C with comparable performance and improved development experience.
The rise of Zig to the top of the highest paid technologies list is remarkable, considering it did not even appear in the STACK Overflow survey in 2022. Prior to Zig’s ascent, other noteworthy alternatives to C included the Rust and Go languages, which remain relevant in the developer community. Rust has been consistently rated as the most “loved” language by developers for eight consecutive years.
Despite the emergence of Zig, Go dropped from the 9th to the 10th position in the list of highest paid development tools. However, the potential earnings for developers using Go increased from $89,204 in 2022 to $92,760 in 2023. The shift in rankings can be attributed to the impact of Zig, which claimed the top spot.