We now have Quarter 4 H1B visa FY 2023 data and Quarter 4 PERM visa FY 2023 data and Quarter 4 H2A visa FY 2023 data.
Employer Search tool is moved to it's own page: "H1B Visa Data Search Tool"

California Foreign Labor Visa Stats (All Years)

Total Visas	% of all Visas	Average Wage	Visa Type
1,236,055	87.25%	$104,510	H-1B
144,051	10.17%	$144,477	PERM
30,331	2.14%	$109,456	E-3 Australian
6,165	0.44%	$31,590	H-2A

As of May 2023, California has seen a total of 1,416,602 visa workers across all visa types. The most common visa class in California is the H-1B visa with 1,236,055 H-1B visas on record over all years accounting for 87.25% of California's total visas. The second most prevalent visa is the PERM visa with 144,051 PERM visas on record over all years accounting for 10.17% of California's total visas.

Top Occupations in California (All Years)

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Actuaries	711	$89,264	87.89%
Soil and Plant Scientists	684	$55,910	84.97%
Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education	683	$46,554	85.16%
Aerospace Engineers	675	$103,345	84.80%
Interpreters and Translators	666	$47,827	84.20%
Judicial Law Clerks	660	$57,899	84.51%
Internists, General	659	$157,117	84.49%
Chief Executives	640	$186,755	83.22%
Managers, All Other	630	$116,173	84.91%
Data Warehousing Specialists	628	$112,922	85.33%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Natural Sciences Managers	96	$145,604	42.67%
Childcare Workers	96	$27,331	42.86%
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	91	$56,479	41.55%
Instructional Coordinators	91	$54,697	41.55%
Economics Teachers, Postsecondary	88	$66,729	40.18%
Computer User Support Specialists	87	$76,836	40.09%
Environmental Engineers	87	$82,736	40.47%
Interpreters and Translators	87	$43,870	40.65%
Nonfarm Animal Caretakers	87	$25,572	41.23%
Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products	84	$59,568	39.81%

California Employees Over Time

California has been in the H1B Visa program since 2011 where 50,870 employees were hired. California peaked in 2018 with 106,682 employees, and has since been on a decline with the most recent number of employees being 18,356 in 2025.

Top Countries with Workers in California From PERM Program (All Years)

Country	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Sierra Leone	2	$65,707	50.00%
Guinea-bissau	2	$95,191	50.00%
Brunei	2	$80,101	50.00%
Montenegro	2	$69,139	66.67%
Liberia	1	$22,526	33.33%
Bhutan	1	$54,205	33.33%
Swaziland	1	$65,395	33.33%
Guinea	1	$103,459	33.33%
Malta	1	$47,278	33.33%
Cote D'ivoire	1	$123,885	33.33%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Charles R Drew University Of Medicine And Science	29	$55,667	87.88%
Inmyshow Usa Inc	29	$64,729	87.88%
Master System Inc	29	$62,652	87.88%
Silicon Valley Technology Innovation Club Inc	29	$64,486	87.88%
Global Pharmatek Llc	29	$62,005	87.88%
Zymo Research Corporation	29	$61,692	87.88%
Westfield Llc	29	$83,864	87.88%
Pixomondo Llc	29	$54,204	87.88%
Vensoft Inc	29	$81,532	87.88%
Sgs Technologie Llc	29	$60,224	87.88%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Merced Turlock Nephrology Medical Group	2	$150,030	33.33%
Rainmaker Systems Inc	2	$89,711	33.33%
Apex Energetics Inc	2	$74,110	33.33%
Prolink International Inc	2	$53,300	33.33%
I365 Inc A Seagate Company	2	$76,107	33.33%
Custom Deluxe Landscape Inc	2	$18,741	33.33%
Vincent Huang Associates Corp	2	$61,568	33.33%
Tiffanys Board And Care	2	$22,630	33.33%
Arcobaleno Groves	2	$16,848	33.33%
Take One Systems Inc	2	$47,143	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services	328,913	$94,835	91.21%
Computer Systems Design Services	121,832	$116,724	89.70%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing	37,523	$142,016	95.44%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services	34,399	$108,216	89.27%
Other Computer Related Services	30,473	$99,261	87.04%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	28,127	$71,811	80.45%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services	26,488	$136,777	92.89%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	21,436	$116,803	90.15%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	20,987	$117,887	88.28%
Engineering Services	20,720	$89,583	88.39%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders	1,804	$33,453	100.00%
Sheep Farming	1,164	$29,844	100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production	557	$35,723	100.00%
Apiculture	463	$34,353	100.00%
Other Vegetable Except Potato And Melon Farming	322	$34,093	100.00%
Strawberry Farming	238	$31,453	100.00%
Noncitrus Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	188	$34,068	100.00%
Vegetable And Melon Farming	174	$35,597	100.00%
Grape Vineyards	158	$34,478	100.00%
Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	115	$35,908	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services	42,277	$126,369	100.00%
Computer Systems Design Services	31,732	$121,451	100.00%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing	20,167	$122,175	100.00%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	11,113	$108,986	100.00%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services	8,432	$233,746	100.00%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	7,014	$113,231	100.00%
Other Computer Related Services	6,933	$115,320	100.00%
Radio And Television Broadcasting And Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing	6,653	$99,660	100.00%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services	6,193	$125,793	100.00%
Engineering Services	4,766	$119,176	100.00%

California Wage Comparison to Other States (All Years)

The chart below compares The average wage in California to that of the other top 9 states with the highest overall average H1-B wage. The average wage in California over all years is $104,510. California has the highest average wage of H1-B workers for all states, with the second highest average wage being WA with an average wage of $103,635.