Analyst firm RedMonk has published its latest programming language rankings, which combine GitHub usage data with discussion activity to estimate which languages developers are actually using, as opposed to which ones generate the most online buzz. For job seekers deciding where to invest learning time, the headline is stability at the top and a more interesting story just beneath it.

The top of the list barely moved

According to RedMonk's own rankings post, JavaScript, Python, and Java hold the top three positions, with PHP and C# tied for fourth. RedMonk's analysts noted only one change of note within the entire top five, and attributed much of that stability partly to the declining relevance of one of their two data sources, Stack Overflow activity, as developers increasingly discuss code elsewhere.

TypeScript keeps rising, Rust stays surprisingly low

TypeScript sits at sixth place — a continuation of its multi-year climb as teams adopt it for the type safety it adds on top of JavaScript, particularly in larger codebases and front-end teams that have standardized on it. Rust, by contrast, ranks around 20th. That's a notable gap between Rust's outsized presence in developer conversation and conference talks, and its actual measured usage footprint relative to more established languages.

Why the ranking undercounts some languages

RedMonk's methodology is intentionally about measured usage, not sentiment or pay. A language can be disproportionately loved by the developers who use it, or command a notable salary premium in niche roles, without ranking especially high here — Rust is close to the textbook example of exactly that pattern, and it's one reason job seekers shouldn't read this ranking as a pay or desirability signal on its own.

What this means if you're picking a language to learn

• JavaScript, Python, and Java remain the safest general bets. Their presence in this ranking reflects broad, sustained usage, not a temporary spike — meaning job volume in these languages is unlikely to disappear quickly.
• TypeScript is worth prioritizing if you're already in JavaScript. Its continued climb suggests growing team-level adoption, not just hype, which should show up in job postings for front-end and full-stack roles.
• A lower usage ranking doesn't mean a language is a bad bet — it means a different kind of bet. Rust's position outside the top 15 reflects a smaller, more specialized usage base; it can still pay well in the specific niches that need it, but the job pool is narrower and less forgiving if you're starting from scratch with no related experience.
• Usage rankings and pay rankings answer different questions. Use a usage ranking like this one to gauge job volume and breadth of opportunity, and separately check salary and demand data for your specific niche before committing significant learning time to a lower-ranked language.

RedMonk publishes this ranking roughly twice a year, and the firm itself cautions against reading too much into short-term movement — the real signal is in the long-run trend lines for a given language, not a single edition's exact position.