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 %
Chemical Engineers 1,286 $90,156 85.51%
Physicians and Surgeons, All Other 1,276 $127,080 86.57%
Cost Estimators 1,268 $63,163 88.80%
Construction Managers 1,224 $95,574 88.44%
Molecular and Cellular Biologists 1,166 $76,661 87.60%
Economists 1,131 $93,455 89.06%
Industrial Production Managers 1,118 $111,277 88.94%
Elementary School Teachers, Except Special Education 1,084 $56,954 87.84%
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 1,063 $54,277 87.56%
Business Teachers, Postsecondary 1,037 $77,964 89.32%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Medical and Health Services Managers 140 $1,521,405 47.30%
Financial Specialists, All Other 136 $79,774 46.42%
Secondary School Teachers, Except Special and Career/Technical Education 134 $51,667 46.69%
Human Resources Specialists 131 $66,640 45.80%
Economists 127 $95,652 45.36%
Chemical Engineers 125 $95,305 45.29%
Purchasing Managers 124 $111,008 45.59%
Veterinarians 122 $75,865 45.69%
Food Scientists and Technologists 116 $59,978 43.94%
Compliance Officers 115 $76,754 43.73%
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 %
Nextgen Technologies Inc 384 $91,156 86.68%
Bio Rad Laboratories Inc 383 $108,911 86.46%
Cloudera Inc 381 $129,128 86.20%
Logic Planet Cs Inc 380 $55,793 86.17%
Infinera Corporation 380 $124,034 86.17%
Delta Dental Of California 379 $116,161 86.93%
Intel Mobile Communications North America 378 $109,228 87.30%
Mastech Inc A Mastech Holdings Inc Company 378 $95,475 87.30%
Altera Corporation 377 $102,327 87.47%
Cepheid 377 $114,572 87.47%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Skidmore Owings Merrill Llp 32 $75,131 34.41%
Novatel Wireless 32 $96,233 34.41%
Metricstream Inc 32 $120,402 34.78%
University Of California San Francisco 32 $94,127 34.78%
Jds Uniphase Corporation 32 $106,971 35.16%
Fluor Enterprises Inc 31 $106,816 34.44%
Apn Software Services Inc 31 $101,486 34.44%
Sri International 31 $77,983 34.44%
Mercedes Benz Research Development 31 $114,404 34.44%
Spokeo Inc 31 $100,550 34.44%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Music Publishers 41 $89,011 23.43%
Deep Sea Passenger Transportation 41 $101,089 24.12%
Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing 39 $111,867 23.21%
Footwear Manufacturing 39 $92,668 23.21%
Electrical Equipment Manufacturing 39 $99,796 23.93%
Promoters Of Performing Arts Sports And Similar Events Without Facilities 37 $62,379 22.84%
Other Personal Care Services 37 $60,071 22.98%
Caterers 37 $55,893 22.98%
Flooring Contractors 36 $48,055 22.93%
Other Chemical And Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers 36 $82,271 23.08%

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