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 %
Welders, Cutters, Solderers, and Brazers	9	$43,237	13.04%
Anesthesiologists	9	$98,027	13.04%
Anthropology and Archeology Teachers, Postsecondary	9	$61,091	13.04%
Buyers and Purchasing Agents, Farm Products	9	$54,054	13.04%
Marine Engineers and Naval Architects	8	$87,300	11.59%
Farmers, Ranchers, and Other Agricultural Managers	8	$63,037	11.59%
Social Scientists and Related Workers, All Other	8	$80,972	11.59%
Criminal Justice and Law Enforcement Teachers, Postsecondary	8	$68,689	11.76%
Packers and Packagers, Hand	8	$25,982	11.76%
Geography Teachers, Postsecondary	8	$62,404	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 %
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 %
Medical Equipment And Supplies Manufacturing	5,546	$113,270	87.85%
Web Search Portals And All Other Information Services	5,472	$175,878	95.70%
Offices Of Physical Occupational And Speech Therapists And Audiologists	5,147	$76,018	90.11%
Elementary And Secondary Schools	5,061	$57,232	88.71%
Architectural Services	4,868	$60,468	86.34%
General Medical And Surgical Hospitals	4,798	$88,394	90.12%
Commercial Banking	4,636	$104,495	89.65%
Marketing Consulting Services	4,499	$93,449	87.56%
Software Publishers	4,342	$162,333	96.49%
Offices Of Lawyers	3,653	$104,423	82.67%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming	40	$36,074	100.00%
Hay Farming	27	$37,299	100.00%
Tree Nut Farming	25	$37,348	100.00%
Sheep And Goat Farming	24	$30,795	100.00%
Crop Harvesting Primarily By Machine	20	$33,439	100.00%
All Other Crop Farming	19	$38,414	100.00%
Other Animal Production	18	$34,515	100.00%
Flower Nursery Stock And Florists Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	17	$30,575	100.00%
Wineries	15	$39,276	100.00%
Nursery And Floriculture Production	14	$36,474	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Medical Equipment And Supplies Manufacturing	1,297	$108,838	100.00%
All Other Professional Scientific And Technical Services	1,293	$205,455	100.00%
Commercial Banking	1,148	$108,721	100.00%
Religious Organizations	1,123	$122,781	100.00%
Architectural Services	1,067	$66,121	100.00%
Accounting Tax Preparation Bookkeeping And Payroll Services	995	$87,255	100.00%
Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	981	$106,053	100.00%
Management Consulting Services	961	$109,090	100.00%
Offices Of Lawyers	940	$88,352	100.00%
Offices Of Dentists	911	$269,149	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 $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.