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 %
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 %
Confectionery Manufacturing From Purchased Chocolate 1 $144,726 100.00%
Apiculture 1 $49,920 100.00%
Racetracks 1 $52,707 100.00%
Administration Of Veterans Affairs 1 $136,510 100.00%
Cafeterias Grill Buffets And Buffets 1 $45,781 100.00%
Steel Wire Drawing 1 $52,582 100.00%
Foundries 1 $71,822 100.00%
Other Aluminum Rolling Drawing And Extruding 1 $128,856 100.00%
Creamery Butter Manufacturing 1 $47,278 100.00%
Telecommunications Resellers And Agents For Wireless Telecommunication Services 1 $117,104 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

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