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 %
Mechanical Engineering Technicians	41	$55,477	75.93%
Chefs and Head Cooks	41	$57,017	78.85%
Fuel Cell Engineers	39	$125,040	75.00%
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians	38	$61,881	82.61%
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians	38	$51,387	82.61%
Genetic Counselors	37	$92,894	80.43%
Chemical Technicians	37	$40,351	80.43%
Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists	36	$98,318	81.82%
Audiologists	35	$83,183	81.40%
Environmental Economists	34	$72,970	79.07%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Vocational Education Teachers, Postsecondary	9	$69,994	13.04%
Animal Scientists	9	$62,217	13.04%
Life, Physical, and Social Science Technicians, All Other	9	$56,814	13.04%
Slaughterers and Meat Packers	9	$20,821	13.04%
Geography Teachers, Postsecondary	8	$62,404	11.59%
Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other	8	$80,972	11.59%
Automotive Body and Related Repairers	8	$43,612	11.59%
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	8	$87,300	11.76%
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	8	$63,037	11.76%
Cement Masons and Concrete Finishers	8	$40,235	11.94%

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 %
Vce Company Llc	28	$99,328	87.50%
Ziontech Solutions Llc	28	$66,107	87.50%
Financialoxygen Inc	28	$86,888	87.50%
Sai Technologies Llc	28	$86,408	87.50%
Livermore Software Technology Corp	28	$92,569	87.50%
Enterprise It Resources Inc	28	$79,865	87.50%
Hill International Inc	28	$108,080	87.50%
Silicon Valley Optics Technology Inc	28	$77,629	87.50%
V5 Systems Inc	28	$99,479	87.50%
Dataquad Inc	28	$100,188	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Progress Speech Language Center Inc	2	$59,457	33.33%
Ace Engineering Inc	2	$66,872	33.33%
Infrawareinc	2	$166,400	33.33%
Urth Caffe Associates Iv Llc	2	$22,547	33.33%
Timmons Design Engineers Inc	2	$97,906	33.33%
California Waste Solutions Inc	2	$49,857	33.33%
Jigsaw Data Corp	2	$86,757	33.33%
Cactus Fashion Inc	2	$49,993	33.33%
Sea Breeze Care Home Inc	2	$19,895	33.33%
Hunter Douglas	2	$93,392	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.