# 11 Top Software Developer Statistics for 2023

These 11 software developer productivity statistics reveal the industry's state in 2023.

[Valerie Silverthorne](https://www.allstacks.com/blog/author/valerie-silverthorne) is a journalist turned content marketer focused on the software development/DevOps space.

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May 1, 2023

It is deceptively easy to paint a picture of productive software developers – they probably love free t-shirts, double space after a period when sending email, and have a notorious disdain for marketing. But look a bit deeper and a more nuanced picture emerges. Here are 11 stats (and perspectives) to keep in mind when considering developer team productivity and progress.

**1. Developers spend a remarkable amount of time waiting on people and machines, according to the 2022 State of Engineering Time survey**  
Perhaps surprisingly, developers are spending **a lot** of their workdays waiting, according to [Retool’s 2022 State of Engineering Time survey](https://retool.com/reports/state-of-engineering-time-2022/). Fully 38% of individual contributor developers report they have to wait on other people while 42% are waiting on machines. Other bumps in the road include trying to find documentation or “context” (37%), dealing with merge conflicts (34%), and handling flaky tests or broken builds (41%).

**2. The annual 100 Best Job Rankings named software developer as the #1 profession in 2023**  
The need for devs to constantly move quickly, pivot as needed, and continually upskill were just three of the reasons cited for US News & World Report’s decision to move software development into the top career choice for the first time. According to the annual 100 Best Job Rankings, [software developer is the number one profession in 2023](https://money.usnews.com/careers/articles/why-software-developer-is-the-no-1-job-of-2023). Rounding out the top 5 spots were nurse practitioners, healthcare managers, physician assistants and information security analysts.

**3. Developers report lower rates of neurodiversity than the average worldwide population in the 2022 Stack Overflow Survey**  
Although not strictly a productivity measurement, neurodiversity data is critical because development teams aren’t made up of the same skill sets. In 2022, Stack Overflow [asked respondents about neurodiversity](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#section-demographics-neurodiversity): over 10.5% said they experience memory or concentration problems (one example is ADHD), while 10.3% reported having an anxiety disorder, 9.7% said they have a mood disorder (such as depression or bipolar disorder), over 4.2% said they have autism or an autism spectrum disorder, and slightly more than 2.7% reported learning differences such as dyslexia. For comparison, rates of neurodiversity are estimated to be [between 15% and 20% worldwide.](https://mydisabilityjobs.com/statistics/neurodiversity-in-the-workplace/)

**4. It takes 1 to 2 weeks for devs to make code ideas a reality for customers, Retool found**  
Just shy of [40% of developers need between one and two weeks](https://retool.com/reports/state-of-engineering-time-2022/#time-to-ship) to get code out of their brains and off to customers, according to the latest Retool survey. Is that fast or slow? Only your organization can answer that question.

**5. In 2021, developers had a median salary of nearly $121K, according to the US BLS**  
Like it or not, productivity and paychecks are linked, at least for most of us. Devs aren’t likely to be an exception to that, so here’s a look at compensation trends. Developers [had a median salary of nearly $121,000](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/software-developers.htm#tab-5) in 2021, according to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. But there’s a lot more to unpack when it comes to salary. Devs in the greater San Jose and San Francisco areas are [pulling in the highest paychecks](https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes151252.htm#st) ($167,000 and $158,000 respectively) but remote work salaries are also on the rise. According to employment service Hired.com’s [2022 State of Tech Salaries](https://hired.com/blog/highlights/2022-state-of-tech-salaries-released/?cookie_consent=true), remote roles are actually paying up to $3,000 more than “local” roles.

In fact, developers wanting a more rural life aren’t doing badly at all. The BLS found devs in southern (non-rural) Vermont had a median wage of just over $133,000, followed closely by those in eastern Oregon at slightly more than $125,000.

But salary is also about more than location. Stack Overflow’s Survey [found devs with Clojure experience](https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2022/#work-salary) to be the highest paid at almost $107,000. Overall, the survey found salaries jumped 23% between 2021 and 2022, based on responses from 70,000 people, and said the biggest increases were for developers with experience in Flow, COBOL, Couchbase, and IBM Cloud/Watson.

**6. The United States won’t be the leaders in software development forever, predicts Evans Data**  
Supply and demand have an impact on productivity, and software developers [are already in short supply](https://devops.com/despite-tech-layoffs-developer-shortage-continues/). Although the United States currently has more software developers than any other country, that’s expected to change. Evans Data is forecasting [India will have more developers](https://evansdata.com/press/viewRelease.php?pressID=278#:~:text=At%20a%20country%20level%2C%20there%20are%20predicted%20to%20be%20some%20leadership%20shake%2Dups%20by%202024%20as%20India%20overtakes%20the%20US%20as%20the%20largest%20developer%20population%20center) than the US by 2024, no doubt reflective of the nation’s [overall population trajectory](https://apnews.com/article/india-worlds-largest-population-china-un-47bcd360aba6b7e3ecc4020702fa685f).

**7. Do developers *really* spend less than half their time coding? Infragistics says yes**  
A March 2023 survey from Infragistics found [devs spend just 43% of their time](https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2023/02/23/2614440/0/en/Developer-Shortage-Remains-the-Top-Challenge-Two-Years-in-a-Row-2023-Reveal-Annual-Software-Developer-Survey-finds.html) coding applications, though the survey did note that almost 60% of respondents had more time to finish projects thanks to remote work.

**8. The number one collaborator on Stack Overflow is Jon Skeet**  
[Meet Jon Skeet](https://stackexchange.com/leagues/1/alltime/stackoverflow), the all time number one contributor/collaborator on Stack Overflow with 1,398,636 “reputation” votes. Teams wanting to build a culture of collaboration and communication might want to take a look at how he’s achieved the top spot.

**9. Devs wanting to get more interviews need to know Go, Ruby on Rails and Scala, says Hired.com**  
On Hired.com, experience with Go is the most requested skillset, followed by Ruby on Rails and Scala. [Expertise in those three languages](https://hired.com/blog/highlights/hired-releases-2022-state-of-software-engineers-data-report/) results in twice the number of interview requests.

**10. On the developer “want to learn” list: web & game development and AI/ML, from the State of Tech Hiring in 2023**  
CodinGame-CoderPad’s [State of Tech Hiring in 2023](https://www.codingame.com/work/codingame-and-coderpad-tech-hiring-survey-2023/) found developers would like to beef up on web and game development as well as AI/ML.

**11. Developers want to work on projects that matter, like public health and climate change, according to Hired.com**  
Perhaps more than in other professions, developers want to _be the change_. In fact, according to Hired.com, devs are most excited to use their skills to improve public health, access to education and climate change. Engineering productivity experts stress the importance of regular one-on-ones with development teams – perhaps that’s the right time to explore what *else* gets devs enthusiastic.

**Bonus stat:** **Ex Machina is the best movie featuring software development, says Chillopedia**  
Chillopedia said [Ex Machina](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0470752/), from 2014, was the number one movie with a software development theme, but [there are 15 choices in total](https://chillopedia.com/best-movies-for-software-developers/), so feel free to pick your own favorite.