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 %
Special Education Teachers, Preschool	50	$57,318	81.97%
Social Sciences Teachers, Postsecondary, All Other	47	$69,715	77.05%
Document Management Specialists	46	$54,807	77.97%
Models	46	$42,873	77.97%
Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants	45	$41,310	80.36%
Food Service Managers	45	$49,791	81.82%
Recreation Workers	43	$23,749	78.18%
Petroleum Engineers	42	$117,100	77.78%
Remote Sensing Scientists and Technologists	42	$86,426	77.78%
Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other	41	$47,874	75.93%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Child, Family, and School Social Workers	10	$49,032	13.70%
Credit Counselors	10	$37,810	13.70%
Cooks, Short Order	9	$27,137	12.33%
Slaughterers and Meat Packers	9	$20,821	12.33%
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	9	$43,237	12.33%
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	9	$74,214	12.68%
Molding, Coremaking, and Casting Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders, Metal and Plastic	9	$27,213	12.68%
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop	9	$16,663	12.68%
Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary	9	$69,994	12.68%
Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products	9	$54,054	12.86%

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 %
Advertising Agencies	1,966	$81,788	82.67%
Process Physical Distribution And Logistics Consulting Services	1,932	$91,841	85.71%
Research And Development In The Physical Engineering And Life Sciences Except Nanotechnology And Biotechnology	1,849	$112,158	87.46%
Radio Broadcasting Stations	1,800	$93,527	85.23%
Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing	1,648	$114,747	87.52%
Offices Of Dentists	1,577	$113,273	89.76%
Direct Property And Casualty Insurance Carriers	1,526	$103,838	89.29%
Department Stores	1,525	$143,848	90.77%
All Other Financial Investment Activities	1,521	$114,061	92.69%
Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing	1,464	$107,242	89.32%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Other Grain Farming	3	$27,484	100.00%
Spectator Sports	2	$36,421	100.00%
Transportation Equipment And Supplies Except Motor Vehicle Merchant Wholesalers	2	$35,360	100.00%
Fruit And Vegetable Retailers	2	$33,571	100.00%
Oilseed Except Soybean Farming	2	$26,058	100.00%
Other Commercial And Industrial Machinery And Equipment Rental And Leasing	2	$30,722	100.00%
Floriculture Production	2	$29,796	100.00%
Food Crops Grown Under Cover	2	$37,606	100.00%
Rice Farming	2	$39,936	100.00%
Machinery Manufacturing	2	$32,053	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Private Households	521	$144,777	100.00%
Other Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers	511	$61,292	100.00%
Pharmaceutical Preparation Manufacturing	494	$105,298	97.05%
Educational Support Services	493	$82,973	99.80%
Direct Health And Medical Insurance Carriers	490	$112,322	99.39%
Advertising Agencies	470	$93,562	95.92%
Other Management Consulting Services	455	$105,630	96.81%
Offices Of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners	441	$203,971	96.92%
Supermarkets And Other Grocery Retailers Except Convenience Retailers	439	$81,756	99.55%
Computer And Electronic Product Manufacturing	423	$91,011	96.36%

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.