2024 Developer Survey

5 Community

Community is at the center of all that we do. Here we take a look at how people use Stack Overflow and how connected they feel to the community.

5.1 Stack Overflow site use

Visiting sites across Stack Overflow and Stack Exchange

Most everyone has visited Stack Overflow, but many fewer visited the Stack Overflow blog and podcast (15% overall). You are in for a content treat, make sure to visit our blog site to see new articles and interviews posted every week!

Which of the following Stack Overflow sites have you visited? Select all that apply. *
All Respondents Professional Developers Learning to Code Other Coders
All Respondents to-do Stack Overflow97.4%Stack Exchange65.7%Stack Overflow Blog or Podcast15.2%Stack Overflow for Teams 4.2%Overflow API2.8%I have never visited Stack Ove…0.9%
Responses: 60,286 (92.1%)
Professional Developers to-do Stack Overflow98.3%Stack Exchange66.5%Stack Overflow Blog or Podcast15.7%Stack Overflow for Teams 4.6%Overflow API2.5%I have never visited Stack Ove…0.4%
Responses: 45,640 (69.7%)
Learning to Code to-do Stack Overflow93.4%Stack Exchange60.7%Stack Overflow Blog or Podcast12.6%Overflow API3.7%I have never visited Stack Ove…3.4%Stack Overflow for Teams 2.7%
Responses: 6,650 (10.2%)
Other Coders to-do Stack Overflow95.6%Stack Exchange65.3%Stack Overflow Blog or Podcast14.7%Stack Overflow for Teams 3.5%Overflow API3.4%I have never visited Stack Ove…1.5%
Responses: 7,996 (12.2%)

Frequency of visiting Stack Overflow

93% of respondents visit Stack Overflow at least multiple times per month if not multiple times per day.

How frequently would you say you visit Stack Overflow?
All Respondents to-do Multiple times per day12.7%Daily or almost daily24.5%A few times per week32.3%A few times per month or weekl…24.2%Less than once per month or mo…6.3%
Responses: 59,536 (91%)

5.2 Participation and Feedback

Frequency of participation on Stack Overflow

Those learning to code are almost twice as likely to have not participated in Q&A on Stack Overflow than professional developers. We know the first step can sometimes be the hardest: that's why we recently launched a better experience for newbies. Get those questions ready and check out Staging Ground .

How frequently would you say you participate in Q&A on Stack Overflow? By participate we mean ask, answer, vote for, or comment on questions.
All Respondents Professional Developers Learning to Code Other Coders
All Respondents to-do Multiple times per day1%Daily or almost daily2.1%A few times per week5%A few times per month or weekl…13.9%Less than once per month or mo…53.4%I have never participated in Q…24.6%
Responses: 45,237 (69.1%)
Professional Developers to-do Multiple times per day1%Daily or almost daily2.1%A few times per week5.3%A few times per month or weekl…14.3%Less than once per month or mo…54.9%I have never participated in Q…22.4%
Responses: 35,453 (54.2%)
Learning to Code to-do Multiple times per day0.4%Daily or almost daily1.1%A few times per week3%A few times per month or weekl…10%Less than once per month or mo…43.3%I have never participated in Q…42.3%
Responses: 4,139 (6.3%)
Other Coders to-do Multiple times per day1.3%Daily or almost daily2.4%A few times per week4.7%A few times per month or weekl…14.1%Less than once per month or mo…51.7%I have never participated in Q…25.7%
Responses: 5,645 (8.6%)

How you choose to use Stack Overflow

Everyone agrees that finding answers quickly is the primary reason to use Stack Overflow. Understandably, those learning to code are more likely to use Stack Overflow to learn coding skills than professional developers or other coders.

How do you use Stack Overflow? Select all that apply.
All Respondents Professional Developers Learning to Code Other Coders
All Respondents to-do Quickly finding code solutions89.5%Finding reliable guidance from…68.7%Learning new-to-me technology/…41%Engage with community by comme…18.9%Showcase expertise with code s…15.2%Learning new-to-everyone techn…14.4%
Responses: 58,962 (90.1%)
Professional Developers to-do Quickly finding code solutions89.6%Finding reliable guidance from…69.1%Learning new-to-me technology/…39.6%Engage with community by comme…19.3%Showcase expertise with code s…16%Learning new-to-everyone techn…14.2%
Responses: 44,867 (68.6%)
Learning to Code to-do Quickly finding code solutions89.8%Finding reliable guidance from…67.7%Learning new-to-me technology/…47.5%Learning new-to-everyone techn…15.8%Engage with community by comme…13%Showcase expertise with code s…10.8%
Responses: 6,337 (9.7%)
Other Coders to-do Quickly finding code solutions88.2%Finding reliable guidance from…66.9%Learning new-to-me technology/…43.6%Engage with community by comme…21.4%Showcase expertise with code s…14.5%Learning new-to-everyone techn…13.9%
Responses: 7,758 (11.9%)

Feel like a part of the Stack Overflow community

34% of respondents feel like they are a member of the Stack Overflow community. Respondents between ages 45 - 64 are the most likely to feel included (> 40%).

Do you consider yourself a member of the Stack Overflow community?
All Respondents By Age
All Respondents to-do Yes, definitely10.4%Yes, somewhat23.5%Neutral21.2%No, not really30%No, not at all13.9%Not sure1.1%
Responses: 59,163 (90.4%)
By Age to-do Under 18 years old23.7%18-24 years old26.5%25-34 years old32.7%35-44 years old38%45-54 years old42.7%55-64 years old44.1%65 years or older40.3%Prefer not to say29%
Responses: 59,163 (90.4%)
Percent who consider themselves definitely or somewhat part of the Stack Overflow community.

Top suggested improvements per frequency of participation

We asked and you answered: many suggested improvements indicate a desire for fresh perspectives on Stack Overflow.

By grouping open-ended responses into topics based on phrase patterns, we can see themes amongst different users.

Thinking about your personal experience using Stack Overflow, what could we change/improve to make it better for you?
Less than Monthly Monthly Weekly Daily More than Daily
Less than Monthly to-do New Users9.6%Old Answer7.9%New Question5.7%Good Answer5.3%Well Search4.4%Toxic Community4.2%New Answer4.1%Duplicate Question4%Good Question3.8%Old Question3.8%
Responses: 8,717 (13.3%)
Monthly to-do New Users10.5%New Question7.3%Good Answer6.2%Old Answer5%Well Question4.6%New Answer4.4%Low Quality4.3%Duplicate Question4.2%Well Way3.8%Old Question3.7%
Responses: 2,627 (4%)
Weekly to-do New Users11.2%Good Solution5.6%Low Quality4.8%Duplicate Question4.6%Good Answer3.9%New Question3.7%Old Question3.7%Outdated Answer3.7%Toxic Member3.7%New Answer3.5%
Responses: 1,033 (1.6%)
Daily to-do New Question7.5%New Users6%Low Quality5.1%Old Answer4.8%Outdated Answer4.5%Tutorial Video4.5%Correct Answer4.2%Well Search4.2%Well Video4.2%Good Question3.6%
Responses: 482 (0.7%)
More than Daily to-do New Users12.9%New Question6.9%Easy User5.1%Impossible Answer5.1%Relevant Question4.6%Good Practice4.2%Well Guidance4.2%Annoying Quality3.2%Unanswered Question3.2%Well Search3.2%
Responses: 252 (0.4%)
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