C jobs trend | HN Hiring Index

Skill ProfileLanguages

C appeared in 7 hiring posts in August 2026 — roughly 1.6% of all jobs. Currently #7 of 25 languages.

Mentions · August 2026+40%vs prior

mentions

this month

12-Mo TrendSep '25 → Aug '26

Share of All Jobs

1.6%

All-Time Peak

30mentions · August 2015

First Seen

April 2011

Month Momentum

Rising+40%

§ 01Demand Signal

Mention history

Annual averages give the long-run shape without the monthly noise; the last two years are zoomed in below.

All-time mentions

1,954since April 2011 · 185 months

-7.6% YoY2025 vs 2024

195

'15

186

'16

232

PEAK

'17

192

'18

169

'19

110

'20

161

'21

116

'22

'23

'24

'25

'26

Total mentions, by year · hatched column = year still in progress

All-time

1,954185 mo

↑ Best year

2017232

↓ Quietest full year

202561

Latest full year

2025-7.6% YoY

§ 02Compensation

What C jobs pay

Disclosed USD pay over the past 3 years (2023–Present). Single months are too sparse to band.

Pay over the past 3 years · 2023–Present

USD175Kmedian

$115k – $200k middle 50% · n=63

By seniority

Junior— n=4

Senior$170k – $200k n=22

Staff+$175k – $731k n=13

Bar = p25 to p75 · tick = median. Junior shown hatched below the 10-sample floor.

Disclosed

63of 354 posts

Disclosure rate

17.8%

Senior eng median · languages · 2023–Present

Where C sits in the pay distribution

LanguageMedianvs C

Cyou are here

$200k—

C++

$200k0%

Rust

$200k0%

Solidity

$200k0%

Senior eng disclosed pay · 2023–Present

§ 03Footprint

Where C is hired

Regions

Top geographies

Share of C posts by where the role is based.

United States53.3%

United States53.3%8

Asia33.3%

Asia33.3%5

Canada20.0%

Canada20.0%3

United Kingdom6.7%

United Kingdom6.7%1

Unspecified6.7%

Unspecified6.7%1

Remote Policy

47%remote

Remote

46.7%

Hybrid

33.3%

On-site

20.0%

§ 04Composition

Who hires for C

By Seniority

Roles by level

Senior33.3%

Senior33.3%5

Intern20.0%

Intern20.0%3

Staff6.7%

Staff6.7%1

By Function

Roles by function

Engineering66.7%

Engineering66.7%10

Data / ML13.3%

Data / ML13.3%2

Other13.3%

Other13.3%2

Product6.7%

Product6.7%1

§ 05Technical Skills

C++ is the skill most co-mentioned with C.

#01

Signature Stack

C’s strongest
pairings

Skills with the highest lift when co-listed with C over 2023–Present.

Top-Lift Pairs · 2023–Present

C++

9.9×

MongoDB

5.5×

Java

5.4×

Lift = how much more likely to co-appear than by chance

Common Stacks · Top co-mentioned skills2023–Present

01C++40043%

02Python33937%

03Java20823%

04TypeScript20823%

05React18120%

06Go16318%

07Rust15016%

08JavaScript14716%

09Linux (non-WSL)9711%

10UX/UI9510%

11Google Cloud9010%

12Node.js839%

13MongoDB748%

14PyTorch677%

15PostgreSQL627%

% of C jobs also mentioning the skill · 2023–Present

Peer Comparison · LanguagesWhere C stands among languages

SkillMentionsYoYMarket share

Python

43-2.3%

10.0%

TypeScript

380.0%

8.8%

11-48%

2.6%

Rust

10-29%

2.3%

SQL

10+67%

2.3%

C++

8+60%

1.9%

Cyou are here

7+17%

1.6%

GraphQL

6+50%

1.4%

Java

30.0%

0.7%

JavaScript

3-77%

0.7%

Percentage of jobs mentioning the skill · August 2026

§ 06Sponsorship

Visa support stays a minority signal across the thread.

Visa Sponsorship

12 posts offer sponsorship

2.8%

Offer sponsorship

122.8%

Explicitly decline

81.9%

Don’t mention

41095.3%

Based on 430 HN job posts in August 2026. Visa policy is not broken down per language — these rates cover all postings in the thread.