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 %
Emc Corporation	1,389	$105,891	90.25%
Cadence Design Systems Inc	1,376	$130,117	90.41%
Gilead Sciences Inc	1,368	$113,461	90.30%
Lyft Inc	1,364	$133,764	90.27%
Adobe Systems Incorporated	1,348	$114,849	89.81%
Igate Technologies Inc	1,304	$70,682	86.93%
Satyam Computer Services Ltd	1,296	$76,079	86.69%
The Leland Stanford Jr University	1,287	$66,304	86.55%
Pinterest Inc	1,287	$128,678	87.08%
Rivian Automotive Llc	1,268	$122,196	89.55%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Pfs Llc	148	$24,008	41.81%
Veritas Technologies Llc	145	$119,791	42.52%
Informatica Corporation	144	$101,335	42.73%
Erp Erp Corp	143	$110,575	44.27%
Robinhood Markets Inc	135	$130,219	42.45%
Fireeye Inc	129	$122,847	40.95%
Hortonworks Inc	129	$117,054	41.08%
First Republic Bank	129	$137,753	41.61%
Affirm Inc	126	$117,343	41.04%
Prospance Inc	124	$116,259	40.66%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services	312,578	$92,566	91.22%
Computer Systems Design Services	109,823	$112,222	89.12%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing	31,967	$136,456	89.17%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services	31,940	$105,105	95.47%
Other Computer Related Services	28,918	$96,928	86.88%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	25,329	$70,893	80.65%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services	22,511	$132,927	92.36%
Engineering Services	19,340	$88,113	87.03%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	19,317	$113,740	89.21%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	18,978	$114,532	89.43%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders	1,255	$29,995	100.00%
Sheep Farming	973	$28,127	100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production	556	$35,714	100.00%
Apiculture	306	$31,428	100.00%
Other Vegetable Except Potato And Melon Farming	234	$31,607	100.00%
Strawberry Farming	185	$28,901	100.00%
Noncitrus Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	174	$33,516	100.00%
Vegetable And Melon Farming	147	$34,652	100.00%
Grape Vineyards	106	$30,027	100.00%
Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	97	$34,426	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Computer Systems Design Services	29,897	$120,796	73.89%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	6,758	$112,365	22.60%
Other Computer Related Services	6,599	$114,410	36.13%
Financial Transactions Processing Reserve And Clearinghouse Activities	3,953	$119,753	37.81%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	3,799	$68,611	47.45%
Nursing Care Facilities Skilled Nursing Facilities	2,085	$82,066	30.85%
Full Service Restaurants	1,217	$37,937	18.44%
Religious Organizations	1,098	$124,462	16.73%
Architectural Services	992	$65,424	18.88%
Radio Broadcasting Stations	874	$101,751	19.22%

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.