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 %
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 %
Luxembourg 3 $97,386 50.00%
Ivory Coast 3 $110,501 50.00%
Kuwait 3 $59,619 60.00%
Democratic Republic Of Congo 2 $92,014 40.00%
Togo 2 $80,388 50.00%
Mali 2 $79,300 50.00%
Botswana 2 $97,084 50.00%
Bahrain 2 $124,103 50.00%
Barbados 2 $67,933 50.00%
Guyana 2 $93,839 50.00%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Claremont Graduate University 30 $69,093 88.24%
Karl Storz Imaging Inc 30 $90,536 88.24%
Siluria Technologies Inc 30 $95,581 88.24%
Avenir Associates Inc 30 $78,240 88.24%
Eurofins Lancaster Laboratories Professional Scientific Services Llc 30 $73,862 88.24%
Sony Pictures Television Inc 30 $82,817 88.24%
Bittorrent Inc 30 $102,756 88.24%
Workers Compensation Insurance Rating Bureau Of California 30 $120,934 88.24%
Cyber Professionals Inc 30 $76,781 88.24%
Numbers Only Inc 30 $81,532 88.24%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Wellcall Inc 2 $62,265 28.57%
Weir Floway Inc 2 $60,549 28.57%
Rhythm Newmedia Inc 2 $115,294 28.57%
Jt Finneran Inc 2 $52,905 28.57%
Hydro Aire Inc Dba Crane Aerospace Electroni 2 $95,899 28.57%
Mathematical Systems Solutions Inc 2 $84,947 28.57%
Tn Gutz Inc 2 $21,829 28.57%
Lim Nascimento Engineering Corp 2 $68,869 28.57%
Kavlico Corporation 2 $67,590 28.57%
Kph Satellite Inc 2 $76,409 28.57%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

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.

State Avg Wage