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 %
Database Architects	618	$108,881	85.60%
Art Directors	615	$106,547	87.86%
Regulatory Affairs Specialists	603	$88,580	87.01%
Editors	596	$51,581	87.39%
Natural Sciences Managers	589	$137,855	86.36%
Microbiologists	581	$65,145	86.20%
Purchasing Managers	558	$110,987	84.55%
Biostatisticians	554	$102,605	85.49%
Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary	551	$65,998	87.32%
Human Factors Engineers and Ergonomists	550	$115,883	87.58%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Self-Enrichment Education Teachers	83	$47,481	39.52%
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	81	$768,894	38.94%
Janitors and Cleaners, Except Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	80	$28,488	38.46%
Biological Scientists, All Other	78	$65,846	37.86%
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary	77	$61,688	37.56%
Aerospace Engineers	75	$106,566	36.76%
Computer Science Teachers, Postsecondary	75	$71,312	37.50%
Materials Scientists	75	$94,728	37.69%
Technical Writers	75	$82,018	37.88%
Mathematical Science Teachers, Postsecondary	74	$65,348	37.56%

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 %
Guinea	1	$103,459	50.00%
Malta	1	$47,278	50.00%
Cote D'ivoire	1	$123,885	50.00%
United Arab Emirates	1	$35,776	50.00%
Gambia	1	$65,998	50.00%
Niger	1	$104,291	50.00%
Micronesia	1	$86,320	50.00%
Laos	1	$27,768	100.00%
Oman	1	$93,267	100.00%
Palestinian Territories	1	$108,805	100.00%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Lenovo United States Inc	29	$113,302	85.29%
Qbe Americas Inc	29	$96,200	85.29%
El Camino Hospital	29	$122,209	85.29%
Cercacor Laboratories Inc	29	$97,406	87.88%
Harman International Industries Inc	29	$138,011	87.88%
Ubiquiti Networks Inc	29	$115,882	87.88%
Dpp Tech Inc	29	$118,210	87.88%
Okcoin Usa Inc	29	$111,672	87.88%
Pjt Partners Holdings Lp	29	$104,818	87.88%
Ampcus Inc	29	$88,749	87.88%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Precise Fit Limited One Llc	2	$96,034	33.33%
Infospectrum Inc	2	$84,063	33.33%
Fakouri Electrical Engineering Inc	2	$46,759	33.33%
Calypto Design Systems Inc	2	$114,223	33.33%
Cargill Incorporated	2	$109,044	33.33%
Solarmer Energy Inc	2	$71,448	33.33%
Risa Technologies Llc	2	$81,786	33.33%
Beauty Hair Trading Inc	2	$66,602	33.33%
Business Semantics Inc	2	$73,299	33.33%
Arya Group Inc	2	$75,608	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.