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State of JavaScript 2024

Usage

How you use JavaScript

JavaScript/TypeScript Balance

We're now firmly in the TypeScript era. 67% of respondents stated they write more TypeScript than JavaScript code – while the single largest group consisted of people who only write TypeScript.

How do you divide your time between writing JavaScript and TypeScript code?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

0% TS

915
2

|

559
3

|

446
4

|

185
5

50/50

625
6

|

352
7

|

1,245
8

|

3,172
9

100% TS

3,936
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
11,435
82%
74%
88%

Compiled Code Balance

It should come as no surprise that in 2024, almost all of our JavaScript code goes through a build step. While bundlers and build tools certainly add complexity to our development process, they are most likely here to stay.

What proportion of the JavaScript code you write for the browser goes through a build step?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

0% Compiled

262
2

|

185
3

|

192
4

|

118
5

50%

629
6

|

233
7

|

1,020
8

|

2,449
9

100% Compiled

5,927
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
11,015
79%
85%
100%

AI Code Generation

For all the talk of AI-assisted coding, most of us still only use AI tools sparingly. And in fact, a whole 20% do not use them whatsoever to produce code.

What proportion of the code you produce is AI-generated?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

0% AI

2,263
2

|

4,319
3

|

2,573
4

|

837
5

50%

751
6

|

285
7

|

270
8

|

55
9

100% AI

18
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
11,371
81%
20%
13%

Usage

It's always good to know in what context respondents are writing JavaScript code, and the vast majority are using it as part of their day job.

In what context do you primarily use JavaScript?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Professionally

10,842
2

As a hobby

4,593
3

As a student

1,143
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
11,433
82%

Use Case

Virtually every respondent stated that they use JavaScript for frontend development, which makes sense given the language's origins.

What do you use JavaScript for?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Frontend Development

11,268
2

Backend Development

7,345
3

Mobile Apps

2,994
4

Desktop Apps

2,072
5

Data Visualization

1,653
6

Graphics & Animation

1,302
7

Data Analysis

854
8

Game Development

651
9

Machine Learning

263
10

Embedded Apps

258
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
11,448
82%

Industry Sector

While the largest industry sector consisted of developers building tools for other developers, the highest-paying one turned out to be Advertising.

Which industry sector(s) do you work in?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Programming & Technical Tools

4,299
2

Consulting & Services

3,555
3

Ecommerce & Retail

2,668
4

Finance

1,796
5

Marketing/Sales/Analytics Tools

1,558
6

Education

1,494
7

Entertainment

1,256
8

Healthcare

1,035
9

News, Media, & Blogging

939
10

Government

836
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
10,226
73%

Application Patterns

Despite modern JavaScript meta-frameworks now supporting intricate rendering strategies, the most common application patterns remained the most traditional ones: single-page apps and server-side rendering.

Which of the following architecture and rendering patterns have you used in the last year?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Single Page Application (SPA)

10,027
2

Server-Side Rendering (SSR)

6,559
3

Static Site Generation (SSG)

5,072
4

Multi-Page Application (MPA)

4,399
5

Partial Hydration

2,320
6

Islands Architecture

1,573
7

Progressive Enhancement

1,480
8

Incremental Static Generation

1,053
9

Streaming SSR

956
10

Partial Prerendering

906
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
11,119
79%

JavaScript Pain Points

Code architecture is always a concern once a codebase gets past a certain size, so it makes sense that it topped the rankings of overall JavaScript pain points, followed by state and dependency management.

What aspects of JavaScript do you struggle with the most?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Code Architecture

3,719
2

State Management

3,290
3

Managing Dependencies

3,053
4

Build Tools

2,925
5

Performance

2,538
6

Debugging

2,355
7

Date Management

2,338
8

Typing

2,338
9

Async Code

1,151
10

Finding Packages

1,102
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
10,599
76%

New Proposals

There are currently quite a few TC39 proposals that are on the verge of becoming a reality. Temporal and Decorators stood out this year as the ones respondents were most excited about.

Which of these active JavaScript proposals are you most excited about?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

6,637
2

3,392
3

1,312
4

1,259
5

978
6

888
7

750
8

695
9

669
10

462
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
8,936
64%

Missing Features

While the lack of native static typing has long been felt by the community, it's interesting to see Signals making an entrance at number 3 on this list, despite not being part of the most popular front end framework.

What do you feel is currently missing from JavaScript?
Multiple
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

Static Typing

5,403
2

Standard Library

4,378
3

3,985
4

2,362
5

1,919
6

1,905
7

1,889
8

1,366
9

928
10

701
11

356
12

307
13

Other Answers

169
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
10,164
73%

Native Types

It's clear that survey respondents want native types, and that they hope to seem them implemented with a TypeScript-like syntax.

This year's question phrasing sadly did not make a clear distinction between runtime types and TypeScript-like type-as-annotations, so it remains to be seen which of these two paths will gain the community's favor.

How would you like to see native types implemented in JavaScript?
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
1

As similar to TypeScript as possible

8,362
2

Using comments, similar to JSDoc

1,037
3

I would not like to see them implemented

1,000
4

Type Annotations

5

Similar to Java

6

Similar to Rust

7

Similar to TypeScript

8

Similar to Python

9

Other Answers

225
0%
20%
40%
60%
80%
100%
% of question respondents
10,399
74%

Web Technologies Happiness

How happy are you with the general state of web technologies?
1
2
3
4
5
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
1
2
3
4
5
Average
11,221
80%
3.8
4

JavaScript Happiness

How happy are you with the general state of JavaScript?
1
2
3
4
5
2020
2021
2022
2023
2024
1
2
3
4
5
Average
11,273
80%
3.8
4

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