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 %
Food Scientists and Technologists 957 $63,316 83.95%
Interior Designers 954 $50,015 86.26%
Medical and Health Services Managers 911 $88,932 84.27%
Bioinformatics Scientists 895 $91,534 85.24%
Compliance Officers 890 $72,351 86.07%
Environmental Engineers 881 $78,899 85.45%
Materials Scientists 863 $83,786 84.94%
Foreign Language and Literature Teachers, Postsecondary 851 $58,251 83.93%
Technical Writers 834 $75,703 87.06%
Credit Analysts 811 $65,268 85.28%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Art Directors 114 $116,808 43.35%
Web Developers 111 $86,264 42.53%
Interior Designers 110 $50,500 43.14%
Personal Care Aides 110 $25,493 43.48%
Budget Analysts 107 $69,322 42.46%
Credit Analysts 105 $78,708 42.51%
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 103 $44,512 42.21%
Chief Executives 102 $178,544 41.98%
Chefs and Head Cooks 101 $50,985 42.08%
Engineering Teachers, Postsecondary 100 $75,509 42.02%
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 %
Bahrain 2 $124,103 66.67%
Togo 2 $80,388 66.67%
Brunei 2 $80,101 66.67%
Montenegro 2 $69,139 66.67%
Suriname 1 $88,356 33.33%
Malawi 1 $93,038 33.33%
Cote D'ivoire 1 $123,885 33.33%
Malta 1 $47,278 33.33%
Niger 1 $104,291 33.33%
Andorra 1 $130,603 33.33%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
University Of California Berkeley 1,586 $61,747 88.95%
University Of California San Diego 1,550 $58,734 88.47%
University Of California Davis 1,530 $55,734 88.49%
Visa Usa Inc 1,529 $120,676 88.79%
Compunnel Software Group Inc 1,505 $88,897 90.39%
Autodesk Inc 1,489 $120,155 91.13%
Bytedance Inc 1,488 $146,645 94.78%
Salesforce Inc 1,472 $151,881 94.60%
Amgen Inc 1,470 $90,280 94.78%
Etouch Systems Corporation 1,407 $85,409 91.19%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Esurance Insurance Services Inc 176 $104,681 44.22%
Aruba Networks Inc 175 $113,254 45.45%
Ariba Inc 171 $115,300 44.76%
Genentech 168 $84,529 45.28%
Texas Instruments Incorporated 168 $118,873 45.41%
Denken Solutions Inc 164 $98,499 44.69%
Panasonic Avionics Corporation 160 $113,821 43.72%
Snw Infotech Inc 160 $126,102 44.69%
Zillow Inc 155 $112,405 43.30%
Ellie Mae Inc 154 $118,383 43.26%

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.

State Avg Wage