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 %
Forescout Technologies Inc	28	$115,242	87.50%
Persistent Telecom Solutions Inc	28	$82,655	87.50%
City Of Sacramento	28	$85,379	87.50%
Fictiv Inc	28	$127,661	87.50%
Lyra Health Inc	28	$146,848	87.50%
Crosscircles Inc	28	$62,455	87.50%
Kairos Technologies Inc	28	$93,667	87.50%
Quadrant Resource Llc	28	$102,798	87.50%
Infosemantics Inc	28	$70,485	87.50%
Djo Llc	28	$98,419	90.32%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Central Farm Inc	2	$44,658	33.33%
Good Stuff Restaurant	2	$24,190	33.33%
Jc Bc Inc Dba Hama Restaurant	2	$28,829	33.33%
American Bureau Of Shipping	2	$83,273	33.33%
Leucadia Pizzaria Italian Restaurant	2	$23,837	33.33%
Pacific Asian Consortium In Employment Pace	2	$0	33.33%
Integrated Healthcare Medical Group Inc	2	$40,508	33.33%
Surveying Drafting Services Inc	2	$57,491	33.33%
La Piccola Scuola Italiana Di San Francisco	2	$46,260	33.33%
Mesriani Associates A Plc	2	$46,176	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
General Line Grocery Merchant Wholesalers	144	$58,800	87.80%
Lessors Of Nonresidential Buildings Except Miniwarehouses	143	$103,008	88.27%
Toy And Hobby Goods And Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	143	$73,436	88.27%
Postproduction Services And Other Motion Picture And Video Industries	143	$71,531	88.82%
Media Streaming Distribution Services Social Networks And Other Media Networks And Content Providers	143	$137,106	89.38%
Other Sound Recording Industries	142	$123,233	88.75%
Air Conditioning And Warm Air Heating Equipment And Commercial And Industrial Refrigeration Equipment Manufacturing	141	$95,876	88.68%
Tour Operators	139	$56,897	87.42%
Psychiatric And Substance Abuse Hospitals	139	$123,986	87.42%
Outpatient Mental Health And Substance Abuse Centers	137	$59,113	87.82%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Frozen Specialty Food Manufacturing	49	$80,923	92.45%
Residential Property Managers	49	$76,654	94.23%
Metal And Mineral Except Petroleum Merchant Wholesalers	48	$61,226	92.31%
Book Periodical And Newspaper Merchant Wholesalers	46	$111,858	88.46%
Cut And Sew Apparel Contractors	46	$44,822	90.20%
Indoor And Outdoor Display Advertising	46	$113,028	92.00%
Hardware And Plumbing And Heating Equipment And Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	46	$61,865	93.88%
Commercial And Industrial Machinery And Equipment Except Automotive And Electronic Repair And Maintenance	45	$59,391	91.84%
Automotive Repair And Maintenance	45	$43,399	91.84%
Ophthalmic Goods Manufacturing	45	$97,429	91.84%

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.