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 %
Software Developers, Applications	194,395	$113,169	89.39%
Computer Systems Analysts	104,820	$82,449	91.36%
Software Developers, Systems Software	58,461	$123,631	89.70%
Computer Programmers	52,531	$69,328	89.59%
Computer Occupations, All Other	51,542	$83,906	91.49%
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	35,308	$115,630	90.24%
Accountants and Auditors	20,885	$66,832	91.51%
Computer and Information Systems Managers	16,526	$166,691	91.14%
Management Analysts	16,324	$88,735	91.36%
Electrical Engineers	14,812	$115,370	88.12%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop, Nursery, and Greenhouse	1,722	$31,984	677.95%
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals	1,264	$28,731	499.60%
Farmworkers and Laborers, Crop	714	$32,564	291.43%
Agricultural Equipment Operators	115	$33,388	47.52%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	34	$38,233	15.81%
Farm Equipment Mechanics and Service Technicians	25	$37,078	12.69%
Agricultural Workers, All Other	12	$30,352	6.94%
First-Line Supervisors of Farming, Fishing, and Forestry Workers	11	$37,981	7.14%
Maids and Housekeeping Cleaners	7	$32,112	7.53%
Food Preparation Workers	5	$33,159	7.69%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Software Developers, Applications	26,501	$160,578	100.57%
Software Developers, Systems Software	15,558	$135,395	61.50%
Electronics Engineers, Except Computer	9,042	$110,904	216.89%
Computer Systems Analysts	6,736	$171,673	247.47%
Computer Occupations, All Other	3,487	$113,110	196.12%
Computer and Information Systems Managers	2,245	$163,817	154.30%
Accountants and Auditors	2,162	$125,666	152.15%
Statisticians	1,989	$82,692	150.34%
Marketing Managers	1,281	$141,556	106.48%
Sales Engineers	1,278	$117,607	114.52%

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 %
Grenada	3	$95,604	60.00%
Burkina Faso	3	$101,046	60.00%
Luxembourg	3	$97,386	60.00%
Guyana	2	$93,839	50.00%
Barbados	2	$101,061	50.00%
Guinea-bissau	2	$95,191	50.00%
Bahrain	2	$124,103	50.00%
Togo	2	$80,388	50.00%
Brunei	2	$80,101	50.00%
Montenegro	2	$69,139	50.00%

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 %
Sporting And Recreational Goods And Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	285	$70,239	87.16%
Bare Printed Circuit Board Manufacturing	282	$100,374	86.24%
Industrial Building Construction	281	$81,049	87.27%
Software Publishers	280	$154,499	87.77%
Dental Laboratories	280	$77,249	88.61%
Agents And Managers For Artists Athletes Entertainers And Other Public Figures	277	$65,306	87.94%
Sales Financing	277	$97,091	88.50%
Language Schools	276	$49,076	88.18%
Other Grocery And Related Products Merchant Wholesalers	274	$65,032	88.39%
Medical And Diagnostic Laboratories	274	$86,360	88.67%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Diagnostic Imaging Centers	19	$80,784	19.00%
Service Establishment Equipment And Supplies Merchant Wholesalers	19	$80,854	19.19%
Collection Agencies	18	$96,209	18.18%
Heating Equipment Except Warm Air Furnaces Manufacturing	18	$73,834	18.37%
Kidney Dialysis Centers	18	$82,369	18.37%
Cement Manufacturing	18	$93,030	18.56%
Battery Manufacturing	17	$103,457	17.53%
Drilling Oil And Gas Wells	17	$95,580	17.71%
Scheduled Passenger Air Transportation	17	$78,881	17.71%
Agencies Brokerages And Other Insurance Related Activities	17	$66,798	17.89%

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.