2022’s Highest‑Paying Programming Languages: Salary, Demand & Trends

2022 Highest Paying Programming Languages

Based on analysis of 5,508 software‑engineering job postings from RemoteOK, the languages with the highest median salaries are Swift ($116,000), Python ($105,000), Go ($100,000), C++ (average $100,000), Java ($95,000), Ruby ($95,000), Rust ($88,000) and SQL ($85,000). Swift tops the list with a median of $116k, but only 30 positions are listed, indicating strong competition.

Stack Overflow’s 2015 survey also named Swift as the most popular language, though it is primarily used for iOS and macOS development and has relatively few job openings.

For developers seeking lower competition, Python or Ruby are good alternatives, offering many positions and stable median salaries.

2022 Lowest Paying Programming Languages

The languages with the lowest median salaries are HTML ($70,000, 48 jobs), PHP ($75,000, 160 jobs), TypeScript ($80,000, 118 jobs) and JavaScript ($81,000, 436 jobs). These lower‑paid roles are generally front‑end positions, reflecting a market surplus of front‑end developers.

Demand trends show the fastest job‑posting growth for TypeScript (+391%) and SQL (+158%). These languages are safe bets for future‑proofing a career.

Languages with decreasing demand include C++ (‑21%) and Java (‑17%). Although the number of openings is falling, salaries for these languages remain high.

2022 Most Popular Programming Languages

Popularity is measured by the number of job postings rather than the number of developers. The top languages by postings are:

JavaScript – 657 jobs (US$7 b market value)

Ruby – 426 jobs (US$5.1 b)

Go – 390 jobs (US$5.1 b)

PHP – 232 jobs (US$2.2 b)

Python – 196 jobs (US$2.6 b)

TypeScript – 139 jobs (US$1.5 b)

SQL – 135 jobs (US$1.6 b)

Java – 115 jobs (US$1.4 b)

Conclusion: While high‑paying languages such as Swift and Go are attractive, beginners may benefit from first mastering front‑end fundamentals before moving into higher‑paid back‑end roles.