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 %
Graders and Sorters, Agricultural Products	6	$39,527	7.50%
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	5	$31,999	6.58%
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	4	$40,867	5.88%
First-Line Supervisors of Agricultural Crop and Horticultural Workers	4	$37,414	5.97%
Nursery Workers	4	$31,387	6.15%
Machinists	3	$37,211	4.84%
Food Preparation and Serving Related Workers, All Other	2	$30,722	3.51%
Maintenance and Repair Workers, General	2	$55,089	3.70%
Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food	1	$33,384	2.13%
Nonfarm Animal Caretakers	1	$30,722	2.17%

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 %
Nokia Solutions And Networks Us Llc	28	$103,906	87.50%
Acropetal Inc	28	$70,969	87.50%
Cybervision Inc	28	$70,278	87.50%
Towers Watson Pennsylvania Inc	28	$70,962	87.50%
Jm Information Systems Llc	28	$69,461	87.50%
Lmk Infotech	28	$103,542	87.50%
Sriven Technologies Llc	28	$84,611	87.50%
Industrial Light Magic A Div Of Lucasfilm Enter	28	$82,681	87.50%
Emulex Design And Manufacturing Corporation	28	$94,502	87.50%
Key Solutions Inc	28	$76,905	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Better Horizons Development Corporation	2	$35,412	33.33%
Fotokem Industries	2	$89,118	33.33%
Ttm Intertrading Co Inc	2	$67,819	33.33%
Barbaras At The Brewery	2	$35,547	33.33%
Greenbergfarrow	2	$83,782	33.33%
Interactive Data Managed Solutions Llc	2	$86,382	33.33%
Elliott Laboratories Llc	2	$69,982	33.33%
Royale Home Health Care Inc	2	$62,723	33.33%
Analytic Investors	2	$85,083	33.33%
Cal Family Health Inc	2	$116,678	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Wood Container And Pallet Manufacturing	25	$122,054	86.21%
Freestanding Ambulatory Surgical And Emergency Centers	25	$121,513	89.29%
Marine Cargo Handling	25	$84,670	89.29%
Support Activities For Nonmetallic Minerals Except Fuels Mining	25	$66,411	89.29%
All Other Rubber Product Manufacturing	25	$71,404	89.29%
Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover	24	$94,038	85.71%
Roofing Contractors	24	$64,798	85.71%
Wood Window And Door Manufacturing	24	$63,285	85.71%
Welding And Soldering Equipment Manufacturing	24	$68,333	85.71%
Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers	24	$54,429	85.71%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
All Other Transit And Ground Passenger Transportation	9	$80,753	81.82%
Other Concrete Product Manufacturing	9	$77,187	81.82%
Industrial Gas Manufacturing	9	$85,136	81.82%
Electric Power Transmission Control And Distribution	9	$121,352	81.82%
Legal Counsel And Prosecution	9	$85,213	81.82%
Oil And Gas Pipeline And Related Structures Construction	9	$69,636	81.82%
Plastics Pipe And Pipe Fitting Manufacturing	9	$89,828	81.82%
Food Product Machinery Manufacturing	8	$95,108	72.73%
Residential Intellectual And Developmental Disability Mental Health And Substance Abuse Facilities	8	$48,040	72.73%
Tire Manufacturing Except Retreading	8	$96,897	72.73%

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.