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 %
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Commercial Pilots 8 $72,754 12.12%
Automotive Body and Related Repairers 8 $43,612 12.31%
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects 8 $87,300 12.31%
Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary 8 $60,856 12.31%
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers 8 $63,037 12.31%
Cartographers and Photogrammetrists 7 $68,574 10.94%
Curators 7 $44,367 10.94%
Hydrologists 7 $76,969 11.11%
Automotive Master Mechanics 7 $34,998 11.11%
Architectural Drafters 7 $46,660 11.11%
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 %
India 42,735 $178,228 48.91%
China 15,777 $108,656 53.06%
South Korea 4,032 $154,868 40.97%
Canada 3,684 $145,079 47.74%
Taiwan 1,769 $272,719 36.38%
Philippines 1,733 $517,903 45.04%
Mexico 1,231 $85,995 37.92%
United Kingdom 913 $111,050 45.38%
Japan 796 $241,546 40.24%
France 786 $107,939 47.61%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Intuit Inc 4,118 $127,421 92.79%
Nvidia Corporation 3,704 $144,731 93.07%
Tech Mahindra Americasinc 3,592 $86,479 92.15%
Deloitte Touche Llp 3,215 $75,014 85.85%
Ibm India Private Limited 3,215 $75,845 89.21%
Ibm Corporation 3,109 $96,824 87.80%
Tech Mahindra Americas Inc 2,905 $88,997 89.27%
A2z Development Center Inc 2,828 $106,798 87.53%
Western Digital Technologies Inc 2,704 $114,142 90.50%
Servicenow Inc 2,700 $130,783 90.51%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Pure Storage Inc 367 $128,170 46.11%
Tesla Motorsinc 358 $94,641 46.02%
Doordash Inc 358 $136,096 46.86%
Fortinet Inc 341 $131,512 46.52%
Waymo Llc 304 $119,773 42.34%
Samsung Semiconductor Inc 303 $131,552 42.68%
Agreeya Solutions Inc 303 $98,240 42.98%
Alcatel Lucent Usa Inc 297 $113,601 42.55%
Ibm Corporation 287 $107,142 41.72%
Inovant Llc 278 $116,870 42.57%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Nursery And Tree Production 25 $34,380 100.00%
Sheep And Goat Farming 24 $30,795 100.00%
Flower Nursery Stock And Florists Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 17 $30,575 100.00%
Tree Nut Farming 17 $34,754 100.00%
Hay Farming 17 $35,034 100.00%
Other Animal Production 15 $33,355 100.00%
Crop Harvesting Primarily By Machine 13 $30,080 100.00%
Nursery And Floriculture Production 13 $36,296 100.00%
All Other Crop Farming 12 $36,859 100.00%
Postharvest Crop Activities Except Cotton Ginning 11 $26,058 100.00%

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 $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.

State Avg Wage