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
1,132,362	86.89%	$100,819	H-1B
137,987	10.59%	$145,140	PERM
27,949	2.14%	$107,091	E-3 Australian
4,960	0.38%	$29,309	H-2A

As of May 2023, California has seen a total of 1,303,258 visa workers across all visa types. The most common visa class in California is the H-1B visa with 1,132,362 H-1B visas on record over all years accounting for 86.89% of California's total visas. The second most prevalent visa is the PERM visa with 137,987 PERM visas on record over all years accounting for 10.59% of California's total visas.

Top Occupations in California (All Years)

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Animal Scientists	68	$57,784	83.95%
Recreation and Fitness Studies Teachers, Postsecondary	68	$60,710	83.95%
Surgeons	65	$165,492	81.25%
Credit Counselors	64	$37,128	81.01%
Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes	64	$61,112	83.12%
Civil Engineering Technicians	63	$54,218	82.89%
Social Workers, All Other	62	$48,581	81.58%
Geographers	62	$59,089	82.67%
Logistics Managers	62	$105,785	82.67%
Set and Exhibit Designers	61	$46,893	83.56%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Manicurists and Pedicurists	13	$23,525	15.66%
Special Education Teachers, Secondary School	12	$54,365	14.46%
Fine Artists, Including Painters, Sculptors, and Illustrators	12	$76,268	14.63%
Marriage and Family Therapists	12	$39,834	14.63%
Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School	12	$98,028	14.63%
Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other	12	$74,890	14.63%
Librarians	12	$59,299	14.81%
Geoscientists, Except Hydrologists and Geographers	12	$69,436	15.00%
Set and Exhibit Designers	11	$47,367	13.75%
Sociology Teachers, Postsecondary	11	$55,094	13.92%

California Employees Over Time

California has been in the H1B Visa program since 2011 where 50,870 employees were hired. California peaked in 2022 with 107,868 employees, and has since been on a decline with the most recent number of employees being 90,720 in 2023.

Top Countries with Workers in California From PERM Program (All Years)

Country	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Bahrain	2	$124,103	66.67%
Togo	2	$80,388	66.67%
Brunei	2	$80,101	66.67%
Montenegro	2	$69,139	66.67%
Suriname	1	$88,356	33.33%
Malawi	1	$93,038	33.33%
Cote D'ivoire	1	$123,885	33.33%
Malta	1	$47,278	33.33%
Niger	1	$104,291	33.33%
Andorra	1	$130,603	33.33%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Hgst Inc	529	$110,258	88.17%
Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc	529	$107,971	88.17%
Lendingclub Corporation	528	$120,566	88.89%
Safeway Inc	527	$143,008	89.17%
Dew Software Inc	522	$84,019	88.32%
Niagara Bottling Llc	521	$81,240	88.31%
Stubhub Inc	520	$125,109	88.44%
Interface Rehab Inc	518	$82,929	88.10%
Mckinsey Company Inc United States	517	$96,067	87.93%
Twitch Interactive Inc	516	$118,042	89.27%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Dys Technologies Inc	44	$136,620	31.65%
Niantic Inc	44	$119,372	31.65%
Finisar Corporation	44	$116,515	31.88%
Palm Inc	44	$112,070	31.88%
Redback Networks Inc	44	$90,577	32.35%
Sambanova Systems Inc	44	$121,127	32.59%
Integral Development Corp	44	$131,393	32.59%
Fanatics Retail Group Fulfillment Inc Dba Fanatics	43	$110,088	32.09%
Litmus 7 Systems Consulting Inc	43	$122,230	32.33%
Westways Staffing Services Inc	43	$30,960	32.58%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services	312,578	$92,566	91.22%
Computer Systems Design Services	109,823	$112,222	89.12%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing	31,967	$136,456	89.17%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services	31,940	$105,105	95.47%
Other Computer Related Services	28,918	$96,928	86.88%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	25,329	$70,893	80.65%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services	22,511	$132,927	92.36%
Engineering Services	19,340	$88,113	87.03%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	19,317	$113,740	89.21%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	18,978	$114,532	89.43%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders	1,255	$29,995	100.00%
Sheep Farming	973	$28,127	100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production	556	$35,714	100.00%
Apiculture	306	$31,428	100.00%
Other Vegetable Except Potato And Melon Farming	234	$31,607	100.00%
Strawberry Farming	185	$28,901	100.00%
Noncitrus Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	174	$33,516	100.00%
Vegetable And Melon Farming	147	$34,652	100.00%
Grape Vineyards	106	$30,027	100.00%
Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	97	$34,426	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Computer Systems Design Services	29,897	$120,796	73.89%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	6,758	$112,365	22.60%
Other Computer Related Services	6,599	$114,410	36.13%
Financial Transactions Processing Reserve And Clearinghouse Activities	3,953	$119,753	37.81%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	3,799	$68,611	47.45%
Nursing Care Facilities Skilled Nursing Facilities	2,085	$82,066	30.85%
Full Service Restaurants	1,217	$37,937	18.44%
Religious Organizations	1,098	$124,462	16.73%
Architectural Services	992	$65,424	18.88%
Radio Broadcasting Stations	874	$101,751	19.22%

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 $100,819. 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 $99,834.