• CSS 2024 survey shows pay disparities persist.
• Top CSS features in demand include mixins, conditional logic, and masonry.

The latest CSS survey results are out, and they’re already sparking conversations among developers. For those who look forward to these annual insights, the findings offer a fascinating snapshot of where CSS stands today. While surveys may not always paint a complete picture, they do provide valuable nuggets that reflect current trends and sentiments in the front-end dev and design worlds.

Pay disparities and regional trends

The survey highlighted persistent and troubling pay disparities—with men consistently earning more than women—as well as the dominance of US-based respondents reporting six-figure salaries. The results hint at an industry snapshot that in many ways reflects the experience of well-compensated, Western developers.

One section that stood out was age demographics. Developers in their 30s make up the largest group (42%), while those in their 40s follow at 21%. It’s interesting for those in the older age brackets to consider what the future holds. If you’re typical of the 484 respondents aged 50 and above, you’re part of a smaller yet significant group navigating an industry that sometimes feels geared towards the young.

Another key takeaway: many in the field are relatively new to front-end development. Almost 44% of respondents have less than a decade of experience. To put that into context, developers who started around 2014 entered just as Flexbox was gaining traction and long after CSS3 and HTML5 had settled in. The newer cohort never had to battle table layouts, clearfix hacks, or spacer images. They missed the era when Ethan Marcotte’s “Responsive Web Design” was groundbreaking—by four years!

When it comes to features, the survey poses an intriguing question: how do you measure the most widely used CSS features when there are so many? While filter effects claimed top spot, some results were unexpected, with some lesser-used features catching our attention. For instance, hanging-punctuation was at the bottom of the table with only 1.57% usage, but over half of respondents said they planned to explore it. Anchor positioning, similarly low-rated at 4.8%, may see an uptick with growing browser support and the increase in tutorials, including Juan’s detailed guide.

Cascade Layers, a feature noted for simplifying CSS management, landed in the middle with 18.7% usage. While @scope remains underutilised at 4.8%, there’s a strong possibility that it will play a larger role as understanding and tools improve.

Developers were asked about their thoughts on the proposed new CSS logo. Voting is open now, and early versions cleverly referenced the popular “CSS is Awesome” meme.

In terms of layout features, viewport units ranked high in usage at 44.2% but surprisingly low in layout experience rankings. This raises questions: are layout tools like viewport units truly less popular than filters? It’s food for thought.

Frameworks saw Tailwind taking the crown as the most popular, overtaking Bootstrap. But perhaps more noteworthy is the rise of “No CSS framework,” which appeared in the list at unlucky-number 13. That would have been unheard of just a few years ago.

CSS pre/post-processors tell a similar story. Sass and PostCSS remain dominant, but 19% of respondents said they don’t use any pre-processing tool at all, signalling a shift towards relying on native CSS capabilities.

It was also noted that only 67% of developers reported testing their work on mobile devices. With the dominance of mobile web usage, this figure feels surprisingly low. Maybe some respondents equate tools like “Responsive Design Mode” with true mobile testing, but it’s hard to say for sure.

Most-wanted CSS features

The most-wanted CSS features list stirred up some excitement. Mixins, conditional logic, and masonry were the top three. There’s movement on all of these: a draft for CSS functions and mixins, the addition of conditional logic to the CSS Values Module, and competing masonry proposals from both Apple and Chrome. It’s an exciting time for front-end development as these features inch closer to reality.

It’s worth mentioning that CSS-Tricks continues to rank as a top blog for CSS resources, a testament to the team and its community’s dedication.

Rankings and statistics are just part of the story. For those behind the scenes, it’s about creating resources that resonate with developers and support their day-to-day work. Whether it’s through comprehensive guides, insightful notes, or spotlighting innovative work, the goal is to make CSS accessible and enjoyable for everyone.

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