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 %
Instructional Designers and Technologists 26 $68,090 81.25%
Mathematical Science Occupations, All Other 24 $71,320 77.42%
Conservation Scientists 24 $63,768 77.42%
Career/Technical Education Teachers, Secondary School 23 $51,531 74.19%
Historians 23 $59,433 76.67%
Anthropologists and Archeologists 22 $55,435 73.33%
Labor Relations Specialists 21 $58,956 75.00%
Education, Training, and Library Workers, All Other 21 $39,504 75.00%
Investment Fund Managers 20 $174,031 74.07%
Musicians and Singers 20 $53,651 74.07%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Data Entry Keyers 7 $29,785 11.29%
Insurance Sales Agents 7 $43,739 11.29%
Construction Laborers 7 $41,062 11.29%
Hydrologists 7 $76,969 11.29%
Logistics Engineers 7 $100,011 11.48%
Architectural Drafters 7 $46,660 11.48%
Curators 7 $44,367 11.48%
Merchandise Displayers and Window Trimmers 6 $31,412 10.00%
Structural Metal Fabricators and Fitters 6 $44,370 10.00%
Compensation and Benefits Managers 6 $136,011 10.00%
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 %
Newport Corporation 28 $94,955 87.50%
Ssc Technologies Inc 28 $114,270 87.50%
Lumos Labs Inc 28 $113,435 87.50%
Liveaction Inc 28 $101,904 87.50%
Bankruptcy Management Solutions Inc 28 $90,581 87.50%
Ibrain Technologies Inc 28 $90,607 87.50%
Expensify Inc 28 $101,679 87.50%
Icertis Inc 28 $128,346 87.50%
Interdigital Communications Inc 28 $124,460 87.50%
Denali Therapeutics Inc 28 $124,195 87.50%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Original Wireless Inc 2 $64,646 33.33%
Quorum Consulting Inc 2 $64,771 33.33%
Pentair Water Pool And Spa Inc 2 $102,721 33.33%
Ayuda Group Llc 2 $66,300 33.33%
Dereks Bistro Inc 2 $39,187 33.33%
Nextg Networks Inc 2 $80,871 33.33%
Multi Cable Inc 2 $58,302 33.33%
Homak Enterprises Inc 2 $54,881 33.33%
Cj Tech America Inc 2 $89,170 33.33%
I Many Inc 2 $111,977 33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services 328,913 $94,835 91.21%
Computer Systems Design Services 121,832 $116,724 89.70%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing 37,523 $142,016 95.44%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services 34,399 $108,216 89.27%
Other Computer Related Services 30,473 $99,261 87.04%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools 28,127 $71,811 80.45%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services 26,488 $136,777 92.89%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing 21,436 $116,803 90.15%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing 20,987 $117,887 88.28%
Engineering Services 20,720 $89,583 88.39%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders 1,804 $33,453 100.00%
Sheep Farming 1,164 $29,844 100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production 557 $35,723 100.00%
Apiculture 463 $34,353 100.00%
Other Vegetable Except Potato And Melon Farming 322 $34,093 100.00%
Strawberry Farming 238 $31,453 100.00%
Noncitrus Fruit And Tree Nut Farming 188 $34,068 100.00%
Vegetable And Melon Farming 174 $35,597 100.00%
Grape Vineyards 158 $34,478 100.00%
Fruit And Tree Nut Farming 115 $35,908 100.00%

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.

State Avg Wage