Recently, we dwelled on the topic of top frontend programming languages. Now, let’s explore the other side of software development – backend programming languages. What are the top backend programming languages and the salaries of backend developers?
What is backend development?
Contrary to frontend developers, who are responsible for building customer-facing elements of the software, backend development focuses basically on everything the user cannot see. This includes designing all data-processing mechanisms, databases, application logic, APIs, servers, security measures and more.
Obviously, to build a fully functional application, backend developers must collaborate with frontend developers, architects, project managers and testers, and make sure that their layer efficiently responds to user requests deployed by frontend programmers.
According to Stack Overflow Development Survey 2022, 43.4% of developers are backend developers. That’s actually much more than frontend developers (26%). The average backend developer’s salary is $68.355 (median yearly salary in USD).
IT recruitment in Poland
As recruiters and employees of an IT recruitment agency based in Poland, we constantly analyze trends in programming. Our IT blog contains articles not only about recruitment for IT positions, but also about individual technologies. Knowledge of the trends in programming languages is necessary. This allows you to check the candidate’s suitability for the assigned position. Our IT recruiters are constantly expanding their skills in order to clearly analyze the competences of programmers. For this purpose, we have prepared this list of top backend languages.
If you want to see which programming languages are most often found in offers on the Polish IT job market, we encourage you to check out our report. Thanks to our recruitment tips, you can hire the best programmers in Poland. If you have any questions regarding IT recruitment or other services related to the IT industry, please contact us.
Top backend languages in 2022
1. JavaScript
JavaScript is undoubtedly a leader of backend languages. It has been the most popular language for 10 years in a row, with over 65% of developers using it. JavaScript is used widely in frontend development, but in recent years is used for backend development too. Node.js (a JavaScript runtime) makes that possible by providing backend functionality. The language offers a variety of useful and loved frameworks such as Jext.JS or Node.JS that make the programming process fast and enable scalability of the app and its integration with database engines such as MySQL, and MongoDB. According to the Stack OverFlow report the average salary of a JavaScript developer is $65.580. Based on our report “Prepare for the IT recruitment process in 2023“, the average salaries of JavaScript developers were as follows:
“JavaScript has been at the forefront of rankings for the most commonly used programming languages. This may be due to its universality – this language is used primarily in the creation of web applications, cloud solutions and IoT applications. JavaScript Developers prefer to work in one of the popular frameworks such as React, Vue or Angular.”
Katarzyna Wiśniewska – IT Recruiter
2. Python
In 2022, Python is the choice of 48% of developers. The language is pretty easy to learn and comes along with one of the best backend frameworks called Django which is secure, stable, fast, and scalable. However, there are also many more frameworks to choose from, which makes Python development so popular and accessible. Python is also compatible with AI and Machine Learning mechanisms and provides many tools designed specifically for these technologies. The Python developer’s average salary is $71.105. According to our report “Prepare for the IT recruitment process in 2023“, the average salaries of Python developers were as follows:
3. PHP
PHP is an open-source backend programming language created back in 1994. Despite the fact it’s one of the oldest languages in the pool, it has been frequently improved and updated, and not it’s one of the most flexible and easy-to-learn languages. It is also provided with widely used frameworks and CMS systems, such as Laravel, Symphony, and WordPress, and can be integrated with many other languages such as JavaScript, HTML, XML, and databases: MySQL, Oracle, SQLite, and more. The average salary of a PHP developer is $50.496. According to our report “Prepare for the IT recruitment process in 2023“, the average salaries of PHP developers were as follows:
4. Golang
Golang also called Go, is a fast-growing programming language designed by Google. Although it’s still a quite young language, it already reached the top 10 most loved programming languages in 2022. It is scalable, secure, and highly automated in terms of garbage collection or memory management. Moreover, it’s easy to learn and the written code is also easy to read. In addition, Google offers sufficient support. It’s one of the best-paying languages with an average salary of $89.204.
5. C#
C# is a general-purpose language created by Microsoft back in 2001. It is based on C and C++ programming languages, so it’s easier to learn it when you already have a basic understanding of those languages. It provides a fast compilation, scalability, and interoperability, and can be used in server-side development. It is provided with a large number of libraries that make coding more efficient and faster. The average C+ developer’s salary is $69.516.
If you want to learn more about C# and .NET technologies or want to see what the job market looks like, we highly recommend our guide: “How to Hire a .NET Developer”. Among other things, you’ll find 6 effective tips, recruitment advice and insightful comments from experts.
6. Rust
Rust is a backend programming language used worldwide to build cross-platform solutions. It has features of C and C++ but is much more focused on memory safety. It’s fast, memory-efficient, and easily interacts with other languages. Although still not very popular, with only 9.3% using it, it was the most loved programming language in 2022. The average salary of a Rust developer is $87.047, which makes it one of the top paying backend programming languages.
7. TypeScript
Although the language is still relatively new (it was created in 2012), some research predicts that it already has the potential to outperform JavaScript. As it is actually compiled to JavaScript though, it can be applied anywhere JavaScript can, in both frontend and backend. 73.5% of developers claim that they want to continue working with TypeScript, which makes it one of the most loved languages. The TypeScript developer’s salary is $70,276.
The most popular 7 backend programming languages for 2024
In the forecasts for 2024, we can still expect technologies such as JavaScript, Python and PHP to be on the podium. In addition to these giants we can see TypeScript, C# and Rust to also appear on the top. However, among those mentioned, you can also discover a new option, such as Visual Basic.
Are you interested in the earnings of Polish IT specialists? We encourage you to download our new report Salaries in the IT industry in Poland, in which we changed the salaries of Polish IT specialists from PLN to EUR and USD.
Do you want to learn more about the opportunities in software development? Follow our blog to stay updated. And if you wish to hire a backend developer, feel free to contact us. We can help you find the best IT specialists for your projects.