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 %
Securities and Commodities Traders	2	$109,221	66.67%
Craft Artists	2	$54,652	66.67%
Real Estate Sales Agents	2	$49,109	66.67%
Payroll and Timekeeping Clerks	2	$21,707	100.00%
Online Merchants	2	$66,560	100.00%
Medical Assistants	2	$26,686	100.00%
Machinists	2	$38,636	100.00%
Separating, Filtering, Clarifying, Precipitating, and Still Machine Setters, Operators, and Tenders	2	$35,787	100.00%
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic	1	$47,174	50.00%
Helpers--Painters, Paperhangers, Plasterers, and Stucco Masons	1	$25,917	50.00%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Surgical Technologists	1	$48,339	2.78%
Community Health Workers	1	$31,658	2.78%
Pharmacy Technicians	1	$26,478	2.78%
Therapists, All Other	1	$26,416	2.78%
Environmental Engineering Technicians	1	$77,376	2.78%
Gem and Diamond Workers	1	$49,878	2.78%
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Technologists	1	$58,718	2.78%
Computer-Controlled Machine Tool Operators, Metal and Plastic	1	$38,002	2.78%
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plant and System Operators	1	$76,731	2.78%
Nuclear Medicine Technologists	1	$68,515	2.78%

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 %
Nokia Solutions And Networks Us Llc	28	$103,906	87.50%
Acropetal Inc	28	$70,969	87.50%
Cybervision Inc	28	$70,278	87.50%
Towers Watson Pennsylvania Inc	28	$70,962	87.50%
Jm Information Systems Llc	28	$69,461	87.50%
Lmk Infotech	28	$103,542	87.50%
Sriven Technologies Llc	28	$84,611	87.50%
Industrial Light Magic A Div Of Lucasfilm Enter	28	$82,681	87.50%
Emulex Design And Manufacturing Corporation	28	$94,502	87.50%
Key Solutions Inc	28	$76,905	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Better Horizons Development Corporation	2	$35,412	33.33%
Fotokem Industries	2	$89,118	33.33%
Ttm Intertrading Co Inc	2	$67,819	33.33%
Barbaras At The Brewery	2	$35,547	33.33%
Greenbergfarrow	2	$83,782	33.33%
Interactive Data Managed Solutions Llc	2	$86,382	33.33%
Elliott Laboratories Llc	2	$69,982	33.33%
Royale Home Health Care Inc	2	$62,723	33.33%
Analytic Investors	2	$85,083	33.33%
Cal Family Health Inc	2	$116,678	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Motion Picture And Video Industries	640	$95,001	84.32%
Satellite Telecommunications	640	$118,553	88.52%
Home Health Care Services	632	$75,193	87.66%
Monetary Authorities Central Bank	630	$137,201	88.48%
Medical Dental And Hospital Equipment And Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	629	$87,846	88.34%
Bottled Water Manufacturing	625	$82,193	88.53%
Advertising Public Relations And Related Services	620	$75,452	88.57%
Highway Street And Bridge Construction	594	$88,399	85.96%
Real Estate Credit	594	$83,074	86.46%
Other Miscellaneous Nondurable Goods Merchant Wholesalers	591	$56,974	88.21%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Interior Design Services	204	$73,240	97.61%
Other Electronic Parts And Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	203	$88,559	98.54%
Jewelry Watch Precious Stone And Precious Metal Merchant Wholesalers	202	$60,728	99.02%
Residential Building Construction	198	$68,994	97.54%
Graphic Design Services	197	$61,152	97.52%
Electrical Contractors And Other Wiring Installation Contractors	191	$947,512	96.46%
Travel Agencies	185	$73,914	93.91%
Racetracks	184	$25,492	96.34%
Mortgage And Nonmortgage Loan Brokers	182	$94,272	98.38%
Media Representatives	182	$115,278	98.91%

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.