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 %
Agricultural Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	85	$63,243	79.44%
Education Administrators, All Other	85	$63,276	83.33%
Media and Communication Workers, All Other	84	$38,644	84.00%
Mechanical Drafters	83	$54,381	83.00%
Search Marketing Strategists	83	$101,606	85.57%
Adult Basic and Secondary Education and Literacy Teachers and Instructors	82	$51,668	85.42%
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	80	$70,746	88.89%
Nanosystems Engineers	79	$109,184	88.76%
Athletic Trainers	77	$39,064	86.52%
Librarians	77	$64,853	86.52%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Travel Agents	15	$37,934	16.30%
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	15	$91,657	16.48%
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	15	$31,461	16.48%
Electricians	15	$52,720	16.48%
Insurance Underwriters	14	$85,029	15.56%
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	14	$34,839	15.56%
Atmospheric, Earth, Marine, and Space Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary	14	$67,783	15.73%
Heating, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Mechanics and Installers	14	$54,801	15.73%
Financial Examiners	14	$93,029	15.73%
Animal Trainers	14	$38,544	16.09%

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 %
Google Llc	45,446	$133,608	94.96%
Infosys Limited	37,522	$84,487	99.62%
Apple Inc	25,956	$142,891	94.77%
Qualcomm Technologies Inc	14,390	$114,487	86.28%
Tata Consultancy Services Limited	14,022	$78,702	90.37%
Facebook Inc	13,287	$138,722	90.39%
Amazoncom Services Llc	12,940	$128,801	91.42%
Ernst Young Us Llp	12,526	$89,783	94.52%
Intel Corporation	11,647	$115,842	91.57%
Google Inc	11,217	$104,626	91.86%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Western Range Association	453	$25,613	100.00%
Fresh Harvest Inc	241	$31,210	100.00%
Elkhorn Packing Co Llc	215	$31,758	100.00%
Peri Sons Farms Of California Llc	147	$35,137	100.00%
Empire Farm Labor Contractor Llc	140	$38,746	100.00%
Foothill Packing Inc	128	$30,971	100.00%
Rancho Nuevo Harvesting Inc	128	$31,374	100.00%
Coastal Farm Labor Services Inc	113	$35,712	100.00%
Mendoza Bros Harvesting	109	$37,395	100.00%
Sarc Inc	106	$34,054	100.00%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Apple Inc	10,944	$122,780	86.71%
Google Inc	6,753	$104,685	61.71%
Cisco Systems Inc	6,089	$116,842	80.68%
Oracle America Inc	3,834	$116,836	55.11%
Linkedin Corporation	3,265	$123,988	48.35%
Amazoncom Services Llc	2,846	$120,091	46.74%
Paypal Inc	2,226	$117,874	58.06%
Microsoft Corporation	1,817	$113,954	49.27%
Yahoo Inc	1,800	$109,314	54.23%
Broadcom Corporation	1,456	$111,645	44.59%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Public Relations Agencies	277	$64,883	85.23%
Motion Picture And Video Distribution	276	$99,775	85.71%
Other Activities Related To Credit Intermediation	276	$110,795	85.98%
Exam Preparation And Tutoring	273	$65,418	85.31%
Vocational Rehabilitation Services	272	$69,453	86.62%
Commercial And Service Industry Machinery Manufacturing	271	$133,427	86.31%
Motor Vehicle Manufacturing	270	$121,317	87.38%
Diet And Weight Reducing Centers	268	$113,456	86.73%
All Other Business Support Services	267	$103,807	88.12%
Electric Power Generation Transmission And Distribution	264	$94,585	87.71%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Plastics Product Manufacturing	90	$65,103	97.83%
Restaurants And Other Eating Places	90	$46,981	98.90%
Cut And Sew Apparel Manufacturing	89	$57,238	98.89%
All Other Insurance Related Activities	89	$108,465	98.89%
Tax Preparation Services	89	$64,293	98.89%
Sporting And Athletic Goods Manufacturing	88	$893,635	97.78%
Exam Preparation And Tutoring	88	$66,432	97.78%
General Automotive Repair	86	$56,083	96.63%
Electric Power Generation Transmission And Distribution	85	$97,102	95.51%
Recyclable Material Merchant Wholesalers	84	$61,904	94.38%

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.