C++ jobs trend | HN Hiring Index

Skill ProfileLanguages

C++

C++ appeared in 6 hiring posts in May 2026 — roughly 0.8% of all jobs. Currently #7 of 23 languages.

Mentions · May 2026-40%vs prior

mentions

this month

12-Mo TrendJun '25 → May '26

Share of All Jobs

0.8%

All-Time Peak

37mentions · August 2017

First Seen

April 2011

Month Momentum

Declining-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

2,309since April 2011 · 182 months

-14% YoY2025 vs 2024

180

'15

222

'16

342

PEAK

'17

259

'18

229

'19

161

'20

206

'21

139

'22

'23

'24

'25

'26

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

All-time

2,309182 mo

↑ Best year

2017342

↓ Quietest full year

202562

Latest full year

2025-14% 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

USD164Kmedian

$112k – $200k middle 50% · n=74

By seniority

Junior— n=5

Mid— n=1

Senior$163k – $200k n=30

Staff+— n=8

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

Disclosed

74of 496 posts

Disclosure rate

14.9%

Senior eng median · languages · 2023–Present

Where C++ sits in the pay distribution

+13%vs Kotlin

LanguageMedianvs C++

$200k0%

C++you are here

$200k—

Rust

$200k0%

Swift

$180k−10.0%

Kotlin

$178k−11.3%

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 States96.3%

United States96.3%52

Europe (EU)29.6%

Europe (EU)29.6%16

United Kingdom9.3%

United Kingdom9.3%5

Asia1.9%

Asia1.9%1

Remote Policy

11%remote

Remote

11.1%

Hybrid

88.9%

On-site

0.0%

§ 04Composition

Who hires for C++

By Seniority

Roles by level

Senior29.6%

Senior29.6%16

Staff27.8%

Staff27.8%15

Principal9.3%

Principal9.3%5

By Function

Roles by function

Engineering88.9%

Engineering88.9%48

Operations9.3%

Operations9.3%5

Data / ML1.9%

Data / ML1.9%1

§ 05Technical Skills

Python 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

9.5×

CUDA

7.5×

Swift

5.6×

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

Common Stacks · Top co-mentioned skills2023–Present

01Python81455%

02TypeScript41828%

03React40327%

04C40027%

05Rust35924%

06Java32122%

07Go30821%

08JavaScript24617%

09Linux (non-WSL)22415%

10Kubernetes21815%

11CUDA17612%

12Windows14710%

13iOS1399%

14AWS1379%

15Swift1369%

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

Peer Comparison · LanguagesWhere C++ stands among languages

SkillMentionsYoYMarket share

Python

54+13%

7.2%

TypeScript

38-17%

5.1%

230.0%

3.1%

Rust

12-25%

1.6%

JavaScript

9-53%

1.2%

Java

70.0%

0.9%

C++you are here

6+50%

0.8%

SQL

6+20%

0.8%

5+25%

0.7%

Ruby

5+25%

0.7%

Percentage of jobs mentioning the skill · May 2026

§ 06Sponsorship

Visa support stays a minority signal across the thread.

Visa Sponsorship

11 posts offer sponsorship

1.5%

Offer sponsorship

111.5%

Explicitly decline

141.9%

Don’t mention

72096.6%

Based on 745 HN job posts in May 2026. Visa policy is not broken down per language — these rates cover all postings in the thread.