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 %
Software Developers, Applications	193,998	$113,139	89.21%
Computer Systems Analysts	104,772	$82,444	91.31%
Software Developers, Systems Software	58,151	$123,588	89.22%
Computer Programmers	52,515	$69,323	89.56%
Computer Occupations, All Other	51,521	$83,900	91.45%
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	39,912	$119,022	90.94%
Accountants and Auditors	23,125	$69,041	91.77%
Computer and Information Systems Managers	19,359	$173,059	91.40%
Management Analysts	17,285	$90,027	91.40%
Electrical Engineers	16,250	$117,766	88.31%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	2,366	$34,286	753.50%
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals	1,587	$30,893	510.29%
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop	714	$32,564	253.19%
Agricultural Equipment Operators	179	$35,796	68.58%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	53	$44,467	20.54%
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians	43	$45,492	17.20%
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers	21	$48,882	9.29%
Agricultural Workers, All Other	13	$31,001	6.31%
Food Preparation Workers	8	$35,844	7.08%
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	8	$33,545	8.99%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Software Developers, Applications	26,507	$160,581	96.90%
Software Developers, Systems Software	15,563	$135,396	61.52%
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	9,259	$111,482	219.88%
Computer Systems Analysts	6,744	$171,595	237.30%
Computer Occupations, All Other	3,491	$113,090	186.78%
Computer and Information Systems Managers	2,352	$165,802	148.96%
Accountants and Auditors	2,305	$123,676	162.21%
Statisticians	2,015	$82,718	149.70%
Sales Engineers	1,325	$118,264	104.83%
Marketing Managers	1,310	$141,709	107.73%

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 %
Albania	14	$39,878	43.75%
Slovenia	14	$111,527	45.16%
Cyprus	13	$92,349	43.33%
Azerbaijan	13	$92,112	43.33%
Latvia	13	$98,920	44.83%
Trinidad And Tobago	13	$110,441	46.43%
Macau	13	$75,324	52.00%
Uganda	12	$120,539	48.00%
Serbia And Montenegro	12	$91,713	50.00%
Rwanda	12	$102,038	50.00%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Paramount Farms International Llc	31	$65,394	88.57%
Novumind Inc	31	$107,642	88.57%
Cheetah Mobile America Inc	31	$95,878	88.57%
Zypmedia Inc	31	$84,522	88.57%
The Fountain Group Llc	31	$80,069	88.57%
Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute	31	$55,162	88.57%
Horizon Advanced Systems Inc	31	$91,471	88.57%
Fatpipe Technologies Inc	31	$85,472	88.57%
Appian Corporation	31	$112,955	88.57%
Openwave Computing Llc	31	$77,456	88.57%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Auto Motive Power Inc	3	$124,585	42.86%
Gooder Supply Home Design Inc	3	$41,142	42.86%
Consol Partners	3	$109,152	42.86%
Nextracker Inc	3	$88,351	42.86%
Studio Tsq	3	$67,552	42.86%
Valero Energy Corporation	3	$145,419	42.86%
Norvoc Bioscience Inc	3	$67,898	42.86%
Flawless Design Setting Inc	3	$49,878	42.86%
Atenar Llc	3	$29,099	42.86%
Microfabrica	3	$121,500	42.86%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Rubber Product Manufacturing	6	$74,149	85.71%
Rendering And Meat Byproduct Processing	6	$61,162	85.71%
Linen And Uniform Supply	6	$73,577	85.71%
Dairy Product Except Dried Or Canned Merchant Wholesalers	6	$57,217	85.71%
Iron Foundries	6	$74,849	85.71%
Paperboard Container Manufacturing	6	$92,154	85.71%
Building Equipment Contractors	6	$79,217	85.71%
Tortilla Manufacturing	6	$72,699	85.71%
Dairy Cattle And Milk Production	6	$52,652	85.71%
Bakeries And Tortilla Manufacturing	6	$60,615	85.71%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Recreational And Vacation Camps Except Campgrounds	1	$80,101	33.33%
Solid Waste Combustors And Incinerators	1	$48,214	33.33%
Plastics Pipe Pipe Fitting And Unlaminated Profile Shape Manufacturing	1	$67,850	33.33%
Other Justice Public Order And Safety Activities	1	$66,102	33.33%
Other Poultry Production	1	$48,485	33.33%
Plate Work And Fabricated Structural Product Manufacturing	1	$65,874	33.33%
Motor Home Manufacturing	1	$187,221	33.33%
Cookie Cracker And Pasta Manufacturing	1	$79,227	33.33%
Mining Except Oil And Gas	1	$83,387	33.33%
Legislative Bodies	1	$53,477	33.33%

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.