21 Most Profitable Programming Languages in 2024 – Be on the Right Side of Change (2024)

This article shows you the most profitable programming languages in the world. I compiled the average income of all programming languages and sorted them in a descending manner in the following table:

Here are some interesting stats from this data:

• Erlang is the most profitable programming language with an average income of $138,000 per year.
• D is the least profitable programming language with an average income of $58,000 per year.
• Python is the most profitable major programming language with an average income of $114,000 per year.
• JavaScript is the least profitable major programming language with an average income of $84,000 per year.
• The big “traditional” programming languages C++, C, Python, and Java are six-figure earners, on average.

Let’s dive into the programming languages from most to least profitable next!

Erlang

An Erlang developer uses the Erlang programming language to develop applications, often in the area of scalable real-time systems with high availability requirements.

Erlang is a network-heavy programming language used by telecommunication companies and banks, as well as messaging and communication companies. (Source)

The average annual income of an Erlang Developer is between $110,000 (25th percentile) and $166,500 (75th percentile) according to Ziprecruiter (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: Erlang Developer

Haskell

As a Haskell developer, you create and debug applications in the Haskell programming language. Haskell is a functional language with type inference and lazy evaluation. (Source)

The average annual income of a Haskell Developer is $126,000 according to PayScale (source). Glassdoor reports an annual income range from $40k to $155k (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: Haskell Developer

Go

A Golang developer uses the Go programming language to create software, design applications, advise clients about tools and frameworks, and test and debug Golang applications. (Source)

The average annual salary of a US-based Golang Developer ranges between $111,000 (25th percentile) and $147,000 (75th percentile) with top earners (90th percentile) earning $156,000 (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: Go Developer

Scala

A Scala developer designs, creates, optimizes, debugs, and maintains software applications in the Scala programming language.

Scala is used in data analysis, data processing, distributed computing, and web development. (Source)

The average annual income of a Scala Developer is $119,000 according to PayScale (source). Ziprecruiter even reports an annual average pay of $141,810 for Scala developers.

🌍 Read Full Article: Scala Developer

Python

A Python developer is a programmer who creates software in the Python programming language. Python developers are often involved in data science, web development, and machine learning applications. (Source)

An Python developer earns $65,000 (entry-level), $82,000 (mid-level), or $114,000 (experienced) per year in the US according to Indeed. (source)

Python developers can go into a number of different niches such as software engineers, data scientists, or data analysts. Each niche pays differently.

You can learn Python with our cheat sheets:

🌍 Read Full Article: Python Developer

Solidity

A Solidity developer creates, edits, analyzes, and debugs code in the Solidity programming language used to develop smart contracts for modern Blockchain ecosystems such as Ethereum.

The average annual income of a Solidity Developer is between $60,000 and $180,000 with an average of $100,000 per year (source).

The average annual income of a Blockchain engineer is between $105,180 and $108,560 according to Glassdoor (source).

Let’s have a look at Google trends to find out how interest evolves over time (source):

We have created an introductory course on Solidity if you’re interested in pursuing this opportunity further:

🌍 Read Full Article: Solidity Developer

R

An R developer creates, writes, edits, and debugs software code in the R programming language with a focus on data analysis, statistical computing, and modeling. (Source)

The income of an R Developer is $130,327 per year in the US according to Ziprecruiter (source) and $83,000 per year in the US according to PayScale. (source) The average of this reported income data is $106,663 per year.

The top 10 highest paying cities for R Developers are the following according to Ziprecruiter (source):

1. San Mateo, CA ($167,537)
2. Richmond, CA ($156,639)
3. Stamford, CT ($152,526)
4. Bellevue, WA ($152,161)
5. Brooklyn, NY ($150,234)
6. New Haven, CT ($148,903)
7. San Francisco, CA ($148,053)
8. Lakes, AK ($147,561)
9. Brockton, MA ($147,399)
10. Paterson, NJ ($146,166)

🌍 Read Full Article: R Developer

Java

A Java Developer developer creates, edits, analyzes, debugs, and supervises the development of software written in the Java programming language.

Java is a high-level language designed to be used by the Java Virtual Machine. It has very few external dependencies and can run on almost any physical machine.

For example, Java is used a lot in network architecture and also in embedded devices, kiosks, and other in situ computing applications. (Source)

The average annual income of a Java Developer is $106,000 per year in the US according to Indeed (source), $77,700 according to Payscale (source), and $96,000 according to Salary.com (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: Java Developer

Swift

Swift Developer Definition: A Swift developer is a programmer who creates software and mobile applications for the Swift programming language for iOS, iPadOS, macOS, tvOS, and watchOS. (Source)

The average annual income of a Swift Developer is between $93,000 (25th percentile) and $114,500 (75th percentile) according to Ziprecruiter (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: Swift Developer

Kotlin

A Kotlin Developer is an Android app programmer using the Kotlin programming language.

Kotlin is JVM compatible and, thus, fully compatible with Java. That’s why it’s often used as an alternative for Java when developing Android applications.

(Source)

The average annual income of a Kotlin Developer is $102,000 according to PayScale and averages between $113,000 to $147,000 per year according to Ziprecruiter.

Top earners can even expect to make $158,000 per year resulting in a monthly income of a staggering $13,208!

🌍 Read Full Article: Kotlin Developer

C

C Developers write, debug, analyze, or optimize code in the C programming language used in a wide variety of areas such as operating systems, embedded systems, or low-level implementations of high-level languages such as Node.js, Python, and Go. (Source)

The average annual income of a C Developer is between $82,000 (25th percentile) and $113,000 (75th percentile) with an average of $100,000 and a top income of $128,000 per year according to Ziprecruiter (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: C Developer

.NET

Let’s have a look at the definition from the official .NET website:

“.NET is a free, cross-platform, open source developer platform for building many different types of applications. With .NET, you can use multiple languages, editors, and libraries to build for web, mobile, desktop, games, and IoT.”

The average annual income of a .NET Developer in the United States is $95,000 per year according to Indeed (source). Top earners make $115,000 and more in the US!

Here’s an interesting overview of the income of .NET developers broken down by their skills—using multiple sources of the income data:

Source

🌍 Read Full Article: .NET Developer

C++

As a C++ developer, you create software in the programming language C++ that is among the most widely used programming languages. For example, Google, Amazon, Facebook all employ a large number of C++ developers. (source)

The average annual income of a C++ Developer is between $45,000 and $140,000 according to PayScale with an average of $67,473 in the US based on 31 salary reports (source). But Indeed.com reports an even higher annual C++ developer income of $116,925 based on 480 salaries reported (source).

Do you want to become a C++ Developer?

Here’s a step-by-step learning path I’d propose to get started with C++:

• Step 1: Introduction to Computer Science (~40 hours)
• Step 2: MIT Introduction to C++ (~20 hours)
• Step 3: C++ Language Tutorial (~20 hours)

🌍 Read Full Article: C++ Developer

C#

A C# (read as “see sharp”) developer creates software in the C# programming language. C# is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language using static and strong typing, as well as a functional and object-oriented programming paradigm. (Source)

The average annual income of a C# Developer is $67,272 according to Payscale and $94,612 according to Ziprecruiter.

🌍 Read Full Article: C# Developer

HTML

As a web or HTML developer, you work on the front-end of a web application to create the visual user interface of a browser-based website.

All of them are built on top of HTML so there’s a massive and steadily-growing demand for HTML developers.

Many HTML developers work on a freelance basis for companies, organizations, and individuals that want to create a web representation. (Source)

A front-end web developer focuses on the graphical user interface (GUI) of the website using HTML, CSS, and JavaScript with the goal of setting up the whole technology stack to enable users to view and interact with the website.

• HTML & CSS Developers make between $34,770 and $116,620 per year in the US with a median annual income of $64,970.
• The average annual income of a Front-end Web Developer in the United States is between $61,194 and $119,224 with an average income of $89,683 and a median income of $90,499 per year according to our meta-study of 8 aggregated data sources such as Glassdoor and Indeed. (source)

🌍 Read Full Article: HTML Developer

COBOL

A COBOL developer creates, edits, debugs, analyzes, and optimizes applications written in the COBOL programming language. (Source)

But is there enough demand?

Let’s have a look at Google trends to find out how interest evolves over time (source):

However, COBOL developers are highly sought-after because many Fortune 500 companies still rely on old code bases that run with COBOL — and they are not willing to lose millions due to an interruption of their business so they’d pay almost any amount to fix bugs.

COBOL developer earn between $79,000 (25th percentile) and $100,000 (75th percentile) per year – with top earners (90th percentile) making $110,000 in the US according to Ziprecruiter (source). Salary.com reports an annual income of $68,669 to $86,151 as a COBOL developer (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: COBOL Developer

Dart

A Dart developer is a software developer using Google’s Dart programming language that is focused on developing web and mobile apps. (Source)

The average annual income of a Dart Developer is between $56,000 and $140,000 according to Ziprecruiter with an average of $87,820 per year.

If you decide to go the route as a freelance Dart Developer, you can expect to make between $25 and $50 per hour on Upwork (source).

Assuming an annual workload of 2000 hours, you can expect to make between $50,000 and $100,000 per year.

⭐ Note: Do you want to create your own thriving coding business online? Feel free to check out our freelance developer course — the world’s #1 best-selling freelance developer course that specifically shows you how to succeed on Upwork and Fiverr!

🌍 Read Full Article: Dart Developer

JavaScript

A JavaScript developer creates dynamic web applications focusing mostly on the front-end logic—but recently some back-end JavaScript frameworks emerged as well.

If you like web development and programming user interfaces, you’ll love the work as a JavaScript developer. (Source)

The average annual income of a JavaScript Developer is between $62,000 and $118,000 with an average of $84,000 per year according to Daxx.com and PayScale (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: JavaScript Developer

Julia

A Julia developer is a programmer creating applications in the Julia programming language.

Julia is a high-level, high-performance, dynamic programming language that is exceptionally suited for numerical analysis and computational science. (Source)

The average annual income of a Julia Developer is between $47,000 (25th percentile) and $199,500 (75th percentile) with an average of $76,735 per year according to Ziprecruiter (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: Julia Developer

Fortran

A FORTRAN Developer developer creates, edits, analyzes, debugs, and supervises the development of software written in the FORTRAN programming language.

Fortran first appeared in 1957 and is still used today to solve some of the most complicated problems in modern science and engineering. (Source)

The average annual income of a FORTRAN Developer is between $63,000 and $122,000 with an average of $76,409 per year in the US according to Payscale (source).

If you decide to go the route as a freelance FORTRAN Developer, you can expect to make between $30 and $80 per hour on Upwork (source). Assuming an annual workload of 2000 hours, you can expect to make between $60,000 and $160,000 per year.

🌍 Read Full Article: Fortran Developer

Matlab

Matlab developers create code in the Matlab programming language that is used for mathematical and scientific computations, data analysis, simulations, and machine learning. (Source)

The average annual income of a Matlab Developer is between $61,895 according to Glassdoor (source) and $84,591 according to Ziprecruiter (source) with top earners (90th percentile) making $135,000 and more.

🌍 Read Full Article: Matlab Developer

PHP

A PHP Developer specializes in designing, testing, debugging, and implementing software code in the PHP programming language — mainly used for server-side applications to serve dynamic web content. (Source)

The average annual income of a PHP Developer is $65,590 according to PayScale (source) ranging from $44k (10th percentile) to $97k (90th percentile).

🌍 Read Full Article: PHP Developer

D

A D or Dlang Developer developer creates, edits, analyzes, debugs, and supervises the development of software written in the D programming language.

Just as the C programming language came about because of deficiencies in the B programming language, D was designed to fix C.

In particular, D makes C object-oriented.

But unlike C++, which did the same thing, D is not backward compatible, and so doesn’t contain some of the weaknesses of C++. (Source)

The average annual income of a D Developer is between $30,000 and $150,500 according to PayScale with an average of $58,000 per year (source).

🌍 Read Full Article: D Developer

Conclusion

Every programming language has the potential to make you lots of money. You just need to join the top 20% of coders and you’ll make six figures easily.

However, some programming languages are inherently more attractive than others.

My secret tip is Solidity which is the programming language to use as a Blockchain engineer. This has hugely growing demand (I’ve never seen such a thing in programming) and many Blockchain engineers make $100 and up to $250 per hour!

Solidity Learn and Earn

The Finxter CS Academy has many Solidity courses in case you’re motivated to learn!

Where to Go From Here?

Enough theory. Let’s get some practice!

Coders get paid six figures and more because they can solve problems more effectively using machine intelligence and automation.

To become more successful in coding, solve more real problems for real people. That’s how you polish the skills you really need in practice. After all, what’s the use of learning theory that nobody ever needs?

You build high-value coding skills by working on practical coding projects!

Do you want to stop learning with toy projects and focus on practical code projects that earn you money and solve real problems for people?

🚀 If your answer is YES!, consider becoming a Python freelance developer! It’s the best way of approaching the task of improving your Python skills—even if you are a complete beginner.

If you just want to learn about the freelancing opportunity, feel free to watch my free webinar “How to Build Your High-Income Skill Python” and learn how I grew my coding business online and how you can, too—from the comfort of your own home.

Join the free webinar now!

Programmer Humor

Q: What is the object-oriented way to become wealthy?💰A: Inheritance.