These Are The Programming Languages Developers Want To Learn The Most

New programming languages pop up seemingly every day, but despite a sea of options, a few figures routinely stand out as the most sought-after. According to StackOverflow's 2025 Developer Survey, the three most in-demand programming languages in order of developer popularity are Python, JavaScript, and Rust (omitting markup and query languages like HTML/CSS and SQL, as well as TypeScript, a superset of JavaScript). These are revered by recruiters and programmers alike for various reasons.

JavaScript is generally lauded for its easy entry point and versatility when creating web apps. Python is one of the most documented and adaptable languages available, having been released four years prior to JavaScript, and it can be used to create everything from simple front-end app user interfaces to complex back-end database communication. Rust is particularly beneficial when speed and data safety and integrity are top priorities, like when developing runtime engines, storing sensitive information, and interfacing with APIs.

As you can see, there's a clear commonality among popular languages: they're all very versatile. Languages like Swift and Lua come in much further down the popularity list because, while they aren't necessarily inferior languages to Python or JavaScript, they are more niche in scope and aren't as widely applied. Let's take a look at what you can build with Python, JavaScript, and Rust, as well as some real-world examples of programs that utilize these languages.

You'll find apps and websites from every single sector and market that employ Python. You could feasibly develop an application entirely from start to finish using nothing but Python, including the backend data handling, frontend UI, and data analysis after it's live. Back in 2013, Spotify published an article detailing its extensive use of the language, estimating that around 80% of its services were coded in Python.

JavaScript (JS) is pretty ubiquitous on the web, with over 98% of the world's websites using JavaScript in some capacity. This is because there's extensive documentation on the language, the barrier to entry is quite low, and its versatility lets developers create everything from simple navigation bars to complicated browser games and sprawling app interfaces. The list of other notable tech platforms that make liberal use of JavaScript includes Meta (React and React Native), Netflix (Node.js), and Microsoft's Visual Studio Code (Electron).

Rust's popularity has exploded over the last decade, and that's largely due to the language's impressive low-level performance. It's similar to what you'd see with C or C++, but with a greater degree of memory safety thanks to Rust's modern compiler. This makes it particularly useful for storing sensitive information or when a huge volume of database reads and writes is required, which is why Discord relies on Rust to store trillions of messages. In a blog post discussing this implementation, Discord specifically lauds Rust for its combination of speed and safety.

There is some uncertainty around the field of software development as of late due to the rise of AI and vibe coding. However, the need for practiced software engineers hasn't gone away — the role has simply evolved. In 2025, the U.S Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the broad field of software developers, quality assurance analysts, and testers to grow 10 percent from 2025 to 2035, which is much faster than the average for all occupations.

The 2025 median wage for the field was $134,040 per year, whereas in May 2025, the median annual wage for all workers was $50.980. Scroll through popular job boards like Indeed and LinkedIn, and you'll see there's no shortage of jobs for Python developers. Opportunities in JavaScript, and its libraries like React, Vue, and Angular, are also bountiful. Rust is slightly more niche, and you probably won't find as many jobs where Rust is the main focus as you would with Python or JS. Instead, you'd more likely incorporate Rust into your tech stack as a backend engineer or similar position.

With that said, you will find some users lamenting about just how tough the job market truly is for software developers. "Is the software engineering job market still extremely bad right now?" asks one Reddit user, with a crowd of confirmations and agreement in the replies. Ultimately, it depends on your experience, education, and capabilities — along with the languages you know.