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 %
Optometrists	56	$105,540	83.58%
Bookkeeping, Accounting, and Auditing Clerks	56	$37,588	87.50%
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	56	$92,731	87.50%
Education Administrators, Elementary and Secondary School	55	$92,928	85.94%
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers	55	$51,506	87.30%
Property, Real Estate, and Community Association Managers	55	$68,925	87.30%
Fundraisers	53	$59,847	84.13%
Orthotists and Prosthetists	53	$59,569	84.13%
Compensation and Benefits Managers	51	$146,709	82.26%
Physician Assistants	51	$101,518	83.61%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Butchers and Meat Cutters	10	$24,449	13.16%
Dentists, All Other Specialists	10	$113,366	13.16%
Civil Engineering Technicians	10	$64,305	13.16%
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	10	$49,032	13.16%
Surgeons	10	$136,635	13.33%
Teacher Assistants	10	$32,752	13.33%
Fitness Trainers and Aerobics Instructors	10	$46,530	13.33%
Audio and Video Equipment Technicians	10	$48,345	13.33%
Mechanical Drafters	10	$65,194	13.51%
Environmental Science Teachers, Postsecondary	10	$61,924	13.70%

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 %
Etrade Financial Holdings Llc	28	$127,656	90.32%
Open Networking Foundation	28	$133,685	90.32%
Brightinsight Inc	28	$155,724	90.32%
Quinnox Inc	27	$69,266	87.10%
Panzura Inc	27	$102,047	87.10%
Insightly Inc	27	$114,110	87.10%
Ch2m Hill Engineers Inc	27	$92,531	87.10%
Radcom Software Services Llc	27	$104,875	87.10%
Prime Software Technologies Inc	27	$88,471	87.10%
Unigen Corporation	27	$75,070	87.10%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Zion Residential Care Inc	2	$18,450	33.33%
Generatione Consulting Llc	2	$125,466	33.33%
Ark Technology Inc	2	$34,850	33.33%
Dynasty Sports Group Llc	2	$106,028	33.33%
Roving Networks Inc	2	$82,306	33.33%
Polycoat Products	2	$86,809	33.33%
Jai Inc	2	$111,706	33.33%
Uti United States Inc	2	$72,977	33.33%
Sunhealthcare Group Dba Careerstaff Services Corp	2	$63,835	33.33%
Essen Polymers Inc	2	$80,735	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Research And Development In Biotechnology Except Nanobiotechnology	3,621	$114,059	89.39%
Computer And Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	3,157	$114,586	93.43%
Scientific Research And Development Services	2,860	$99,187	86.25%
Electromedical And Electrotherapeutic Apparatus Manufacturing	2,821	$101,489	85.46%
Other Scientific And Technical Consulting Services	2,801	$89,412	85.06%
Surgical And Medical Instrument Manufacturing	2,690	$101,426	86.97%
Pharmaceutical And Medicine Manufacturing	2,675	$99,787	88.93%
Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	2,577	$105,892	87.80%
Direct Health And Medical Insurance Carriers	2,430	$108,861	83.71%
Offices Of Physicians Except Mental Health Specialists	2,415	$130,028	88.75%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Goat Farming	13	$39,388	100.00%
Fruit And Tree Nut Combination Farming	11	$30,848	100.00%
Postharvest Crop Activities Except Cotton Ginning	11	$26,058	100.00%
Orange Groves	10	$40,265	100.00%
Business Associations	10	$34,251	100.00%
Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover	9	$40,308	100.00%
Oilseed And Grain Farming	9	$37,183	100.00%
Agriculture Construction And Mining Machinery Manufacturing	9	$26,434	100.00%
Horses And Other Equine Production	8	$37,279	100.00%
Oilseed And Grain Combination Farming	8	$37,762	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
All Other Travel Arrangement And Reservation Services	877	$120,012	100.00%
Radio Broadcasting Stations	877	$101,923	100.00%
Offices Of Physical Occupational And Speech Therapists And Audiologists	840	$5,563,112	100.00%
General Medical And Surgical Hospitals	826	$722,156	100.00%
Marketing Consulting Services	811	$101,405	100.00%
Offices Of Physicians Except Mental Health Specialists	808	$745,694	100.00%
Apparel Piece Goods And Notions Merchant Wholesalers	782	$53,198	100.00%
Surgical And Medical Instrument Manufacturing	774	$107,113	100.00%
Computer And Peripheral Equipment Manufacturing	758	$100,735	100.00%
Motion Picture And Video Production	711	$82,886	100.00%

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.