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 %
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 %
India 45,730 $175,901 47.43%
China 16,844 $109,259 50.79%
South Korea 4,340 $147,936 41.14%
Canada 3,905 $143,888 46.41%
Philippines 1,927 $470,682 35.63%
Taiwan 1,908 $260,805 44.94%
Mexico 1,361 $87,276 34.68%
United Kingdom 967 $111,850 44.71%
Japan 844 $231,744 40.04%
France 821 $108,315 46.73%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Netapp Inc 1,254 $125,945 88.50%
Genentech Inc 1,247 $107,443 88.06%
Pure Storage Inc 1,247 $148,703 89.45%
Intuitive Surgical Operations Inc 1,227 $129,587 88.53%
Splunk Inc 1,213 $148,085 87.71%
Snap Inc 1,207 $133,963 87.34%
Tiktok Inc 1,207 $157,369 87.65%
Synopsys Inc 1,206 $124,827 87.65%
Qualcomm Innovation Center Inc 1,182 $109,607 86.98%
Tesla Motors Inc 1,179 $92,369 87.14%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Imperial Lamb 12 $25,756 100.00%
Jr Custom Harvesting Co Inc 12 $41,510 100.00%
Alexandre Dairy 12 $33,719 100.00%
Traveling Honey Bees Inc 12 $29,787 100.00%
Uhb Llc 12 $33,540 100.00%
Rodriguez Farms Inc 11 $29,684 100.00%
Nm Ranch 11 $36,245 100.00%
Mcpherrin Damboriena Sheep Co 11 $22,015 100.00%
Bypass Sheep Company Llc 11 $35,687 100.00%
Alco Harvesting Llc 11 $33,329 100.00%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Jp Morgan Chase Co 119 $136,018 38.51%
Keysight Technologies Inc 114 $121,300 37.50%
Becton Dickinson And Company 113 $109,794 38.05%
Fujitsu America Inc 112 $117,279 37.71%
Shutterfly Inc 111 $117,745 37.63%
Slack Technologies Inc 109 $126,506 37.46%
Altera Corporation 108 $106,379 37.50%
Invensense Inc 108 $126,666 37.63%
Mediatek Usa Inc 107 $118,578 37.68%
Integrated Support Solutions Inc 107 $21,414 38.49%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Gasket Packing And Sealing Device Manufacturing 42 $72,968 79.25%
Switchgear And Switchboard Apparatus Manufacturing 42 $79,309 79.25%
Other Support Services 41 $70,737 78.85%
Basic Chemical Manufacturing 41 $79,901 80.39%
Plastics Bag And Pouch Manufacturing 41 $75,527 80.39%
Direct Mail Advertising 41 $98,612 82.00%
Other Plastics Product Manufacturing 40 $87,894 81.63%
Legal Counsel And Prosecution 40 $78,680 81.63%
Other Warehousing And Storage 40 $118,092 81.63%
Cut And Sew Apparel Contractors 40 $80,310 81.63%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Building Finishing Contractors 16 $52,843 84.21%
Home Centers 16 $97,326 84.21%
Farm Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 16 $66,332 84.21%
Heavy And Civil Engineering Construction 16 $85,920 84.21%
Berry Except Strawberry Farming 16 $79,171 84.21%
Textile And Fabric Finishing And Fabric Coating Mills 16 $47,191 84.21%
Sound Recording Industries 16 $106,568 88.89%
Frozen Food Manufacturing 16 $54,781 88.89%
Fabricated Structural Metal Manufacturing 16 $78,361 88.89%
Offices Of Optometrists 16 $52,731 88.89%

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.

State Avg Wage