How developers learned to code — Community data 2026 | Stack Overflow Developer Survey

Developer Survey 2026

Question

How did you learn to code in the past year? Select all that apply.

multi select
Optional
v2026.1
Randomized

Data

	Respondents	Percent
Technical documentation (is generated for/by the tool or system)	8,555	58.9%
AI codegen tools or AI-enabled apps	7,650	52.6%
Other online resources (e.g. standard search, forum, online community)	7,518	51.7%
Videos (not associated with specific online course or certification)	5,975	41.1%
Stack Overflow or Stack Exchange	4,909	33.8%
Online courses or certification (includes all media types)	4,260	29.3%
Blogs or podcasts	4,010	27.6%
Books / physical media	3,846	26.5%
Colleague or on-the-job training	3,106	21.4%
School (i.e., university, college, etc)	2,064	14.2%
Games or coding challenges	1,700	11.7%
Coding bootcamp	922	6.3%
Other	629	4.3%

Use this data

Citation

Response data is released under the ODbL 1.0, which asks that you attribute it.

Stack Exchange Inc. (2026). “How developers learned to code”. Stack Overflow Developer Survey 2026. Licensed under ODbL 1.0. https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/community/data/learn-code-how

JSON

Structured for code, with the question, the year and the source url alongside the numbers.

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  "question": "How developers learned to code",
  "dataId": "LearnCodeHow",
  "asked": "How did you learn to code in the past year? Select all that apply.",
  "year": "2026",
  "url": "https://survey.stackoverflow.co/2026/community/data/learn-code-how",
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  "data": [
    {
      "response": "Technical documentation (is generated for/by the tool or system)",
      "count": 8555,
      "pct": 0.589
    },
    {
      "response": "AI codegen tools or AI-enabled apps",
      "count": 7650,
      "pct": 0.526
    },
    {
      "response": "Other online resources (e.g. standard search, forum, online community)",
      "count": 7518,
      "pct": 0.517
    },
    {
      "response": "Videos (not associated with specific online course or certification)",
      "count": 5975,
      "pct": 0.411
    },
    {
      "response": "Stack Overflow or Stack Exchange",
      "count": 4909,
      "pct": 0.338
    },
    {
      "response": "Online courses or certification (includes all media types)",
      "count": 4260,
      "pct": 0.293
    },
    {
      "response": "Blogs or podcasts",
      "count": 4010,
      "pct": 0.276
    },
    {
      "response": "Books / physical media",
      "count": 3846,
      "pct": 0.265
    },
    {
      "response": "Colleague or on-the-job training",
      "count": 3106,
      "pct": 0.214
    },
    {
      "response": "School (i.e., university, college, etc)",
      "count": 2064,
      "pct": 0.142
    },
    {
      "response": "Games or coding challenges",
      "count": 1700,
      "pct": 0.117
    },
    {
      "response": "Coding bootcamp",
      "count": 922,
      "pct": 0.063
    },
    {
      "response": "Other",
      "count": 629,
      "pct": 0.043
    }
  ]
}

Markdown

A formatted table, ready to paste into a document, an issue or a prompt.

|  | Respondents | Percent |
| --- | ---: | ---: |
| Technical documentation (is generated for/by the tool or system) | 8,555 | 58.9% |
| AI codegen tools or AI-enabled apps | 7,650 | 52.6% |
| Other online resources (e.g. standard search, forum, online community) | 7,518 | 51.7% |
| Videos (not associated with specific online course or certification) | 5,975 | 41.1% |
| Stack Overflow or Stack Exchange | 4,909 | 33.8% |
| Online courses or certification (includes all media types) | 4,260 | 29.3% |
| Blogs or podcasts | 4,010 | 27.6% |
| Books / physical media | 3,846 | 26.5% |
| Colleague or on-the-job training | 3,106 | 21.4% |
| School (i.e., university, college, etc) | 2,064 | 14.2% |
| Games or coding challenges | 1,700 | 11.7% |
| Coding bootcamp | 922 | 6.3% |
| Other | 629 | 4.3% |

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