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 %
Operations Research Analysts 16,238 $93,664 91.43%
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 12,936 $66,669 87.79%
Mechanical Engineers 12,789 $98,621 90.14%
Financial Analysts 10,245 $90,545 89.55%
Network and Computer Systems Administrators 10,220 $82,486 89.52%
Statisticians 9,203 $103,052 90.17%
Database Administrators 9,007 $83,046 90.35%
Industrial Engineers 7,397 $101,984 90.39%
Sales Engineers 6,973 $117,619 90.34%
Computer Hardware Engineers 6,504 $123,071 88.39%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Market Research Analysts and Marketing Specialists 1,299 $113,868 118.09%
Management Analysts 1,160 $97,547 118.97%
Network and Computer Systems Administrators 1,062 $94,966 109.15%
Mechanical Engineers 979 $98,519 101.87%
Electrical Engineers 963 $106,370 101.58%
Home Health Aides 899 $23,546 96.56%
Industrial Engineers 829 $97,387 90.80%
Computer Hardware Engineers 691 $119,988 75.77%
Civil Engineers 666 $87,455 86.05%
Financial Analysts 659 $97,328 87.05%
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 %
Claremont Graduate University 30 $69,093 88.24%
Karl Storz Imaging Inc 30 $90,536 88.24%
Siluria Technologies Inc 30 $95,581 88.24%
Avenir Associates Inc 30 $78,240 88.24%
Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Professional Scientific Services Llc 30 $73,862 88.24%
Sony Pictures Television Inc 30 $82,817 88.24%
Bittorrent Inc 30 $102,756 88.24%
Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Of California 30 $120,934 88.24%
Cyber Professionals Inc 30 $76,781 88.24%
Numbers Only Inc 30 $81,532 88.24%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Wellcall Inc 2 $62,265 28.57%
Weir Floway Inc 2 $60,549 28.57%
Rhythm Newmedia Inc 2 $115,294 28.57%
Jt Finneran Inc 2 $52,905 28.57%
Hydro Aire Inc Dba Crane Aerospace Electroni 2 $95,899 28.57%
Mathematical Systems Solutions Inc 2 $84,947 28.57%
Tn Gutz Inc 2 $21,829 28.57%
Lim Nascimento Engineering Corp 2 $68,869 28.57%
Kavlico Corporation 2 $67,590 28.57%
Kph Satellite Inc 2 $76,409 28.57%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Metal Ore Mining 2 $72,010 100.00%
National Security 2 $88,119 100.00%
Starch And Vegetable Fats And Oils Manufacturing 2 $42,089 100.00%
Other Crushed And Broken Stone Mining And Quarrying 2 $93,662 100.00%
Bowling Centers 2 $38,948 100.00%
Support Activities For Water Transportation 2 $54,745 100.00%
Other Aluminum Rolling Drawing And Extruding 2 $111,083 100.00%
Soft Drink And Ice Manufacturing 2 $58,074 100.00%
Curtain And Linen Mills 2 $62,858 100.00%
Court Reporting And Stenotype Services 2 $57,263 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

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