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 %
Computer Systems Engineers/Architects	6,347	$100,866	88.65%
Civil Engineers	6,170	$82,905	90.82%
Software Quality Assurance Engineers and Testers	6,123	$99,679	91.21%
Graphic Designers	5,882	$64,188	88.70%
Information Technology Project Managers	5,436	$115,387	83.52%
Computer and Information Research Scientists	5,407	$126,714	87.34%
Marketing Managers	5,310	$145,179	87.35%
Biochemists and Biophysicists	5,146	$96,909	88.53%
Architectural and Engineering Managers	4,803	$163,084	89.46%
Medical Scientists, Except Epidemiologists	4,419	$68,494	82.99%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
First-Line Supervisors of Production and Operating Workers	1	$93,600	2.78%
Helpers--Production Workers	1	$46,093	2.94%
Soil and Plant Scientists	1	$52,000	2.94%
Combined Food Preparation and Serving Workers, Including Fast Food	1	$33,384	2.94%
Nonfarm Animal Caretakers	1	$30,722	3.03%
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	1	$56,722	3.03%
Aircraft Mechanics and Service Technicians	1	$36,421	3.45%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Architectural and Engineering Managers	634	$146,820	84.20%
Multimedia Artists and Animators	605	$307,659	88.84%
Financial Managers	496	$134,652	73.70%
Information Security Analysts	493	$116,050	75.04%
Materials Engineers	489	$104,849	75.12%
Logisticians	458	$80,470	72.01%
Database Administrators	454	$96,395	74.06%
Graphic Designers	448	$48,308	75.04%
General and Operations Managers	398	$118,791	70.82%
Operations Research Analysts	389	$73,562	70.86%

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 %
Qualcomm Global Services Inc	28	$89,990	87.50%
Acerta Pharma Llc	28	$117,346	87.50%
Federal Home Loan Bank Of San Francisco	28	$142,010	87.50%
Lululemon Usa Inc	28	$121,517	87.50%
Deliverr Inc	28	$133,334	87.50%
Itamerica Inc	28	$108,361	87.50%
Invincible Tech Systems Inc	28	$106,000	87.50%
Mufg Bank Ltd	28	$124,842	87.50%
Cyphort Inc	28	$115,134	87.50%
Peel Technologies Inc	28	$123,166	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Wilshire United Methodist Church	2	$47,591	33.33%
Jae Electronics Inc	2	$125,195	33.33%
Mirrorplus Technologies Inc	2	$123,490	33.33%
First Imperial Trading Co	2	$120,256	33.33%
Sgs Testcom Inc	2	$76,565	33.33%
Pba Inc	2	$83,190	33.33%
Bling Bling Inc	2	$45,729	33.33%
La Noosha Inc	2	$29,557	33.33%
Asiana Airlines	2	$103,241	33.33%
Dci Llc Db In Ca As Dci Investment Management Llc	2	$112,757	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Document Preparation Services	67	$74,240	85.90%
Flower Nursery Stock And Florists Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	67	$68,258	87.01%
Snack And Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars	66	$83,000	85.71%
Other Communication And Energy Wire Manufacturing	65	$90,543	84.42%
Executive Legislative And Other General Government Support	65	$98,620	84.42%
Oil And Gas Pipeline And Related Structures Construction	65	$90,772	84.42%
Other Construction Material Merchant Wholesalers	65	$85,803	85.53%
Transportation Equipment And Supplies Except Motor Vehicle Merchant Wholesalers	65	$77,654	85.53%
Stationery And Office Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	64	$51,685	84.21%
Tire And Tube Merchant Wholesalers	64	$63,186	85.33%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Battery Manufacturing	26	$110,254	92.86%
Navigational Measuring Electromedical And Control Instruments Manufacturing	26	$105,896	92.86%
Pension Funds	26	$106,752	92.86%
Machine Shops Turned Product And Screw Nut And Bolt Manufacturing	26	$68,379	92.86%
Beverage Manufacturing	26	$97,586	92.86%
Paint And Coating Manufacturing	25	$74,434	89.29%
Security Systems Services	25	$87,521	89.29%
Other Building Equipment Contractors	25	$68,120	89.29%
In Vitro Diagnostic Substance Manufacturing	25	$83,791	89.29%
Commercial Screen Printing	25	$42,286	92.59%

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.