3 in 4 People Say Learning to Code Still Important in the Age of AI

For the past two decades, coding has been viewed as a future-proof skill among Americans. The ability to code meant the ability to build the future, and it had the benefit of making individuals a more valuable asset to many companies, regardless of their position. Marketing and Finance are two examples where, even though coding is not required, it certainly makes for a stronger résumé.

To put it bluntly, the world has changed since the release of ChatGPT in late 2022. Generative AI is getting better and better at writing code. With these sudden developments, do Americans feel the same about the importance of learning to code as they once did?

To find out, we surveyed more than 1,000 people from across the country about their current thoughts and experiences with coding. We’re defining coding as using any programming language.

Nearly three-quarters (74%) of those surveyed have learned or tried coding at some point in their lives. Among them, 42% continue to use their coding skills at least once a week, 19% once a month, and 39% once every 3 months or less.

In 2025, the top motivation for learning to code is still for career opportunities. Even with AI’s rapid advancement, the public still believes coding is an important skill for their job prospects going forward. It’s important to note that this does not necessarily mean they feel the job of software development is as promising as it once was.

As for how the majority of respondents learned to code, self-taught is the most common, followed by formal education and coding boot camps. The most common coding languages people learn include Python, HTML/CSS, and JavaScript.

Of those who have learned or tried coding, 21% are very confident in their coding abilities, 40% are somewhat confident, and 39% are not confident. No matter their skill or confidence level, 64% believe their coding skills make them competitive job applicants.

Among those who haven’t learned to code, 69% think they should. The primary reasons for not learning to code are perceived difficulty, lack of resources/access to learn, and lack of interest. Nearly half (48%) say career advancement would motivate them to learn to code, and 45% are considering learning to code in 2025.

Despite advancements in technology, 90% of survey respondents think it is valuable to know basic coding in today’s world, and 76% believe it is still worth learning to code in the age of AI. As for how valuable coding skills will be in the next 5–10 years, nearly 2 in 5 (37%) believe coding skills will be more valuable in the future, 39% believe they will be equally valuable, 20% say less valuable, and 4% are unsure.

According to our survey, 3 in 4 believe learning to code now is more important than ever before, and 80% say they trust the code generated by AI. These two statistics illustrate the need to remember that this is a survey of the general public. If we were to survey software developers or those embedded within the tech industry, you have to imagine that the results would illustrate a significantly different view.

The majority of those surveyed (91%) believe AI tools make coding more accessible for beginners. While this is helpful, 65% worry that reliance on AI coding tools will hinder the development of fundamental coding skills. More than 3 in 5 (67%) of respondents have used AI tools to assist with coding. Among them, 58% say the tools were very helpful.

AI’s impact on the future of coding is a growing topic. Of those surveyed, 62% are concerned AI advancements could replace coding jobs, and 43% believe AI tools will eventually replace human coders entirely.

Nearly half (44%) believe their coding skills have helped them advance their career, and 68% believe coding is an essential skill for future career success. Because of this, 88% of those surveyed would encourage others to learn to code.

In February 2025, we surveyed 1,061 Americans about their knowledge and experience with coding. Among respondents, 50% were men, 48% were women, and 2% were non-binary or preferred not to answer. Respondents ranged in age from 18 to 69, with an average age of 30.

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