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 %
Palestinian Territories	1	$108,805	33.33%
Chad	1	$109,325	33.33%
Mauritania	1	$102,003	50.00%
Madagascar	1	$118,456	50.00%
Suriname	1	$68,994	50.00%
Malawi	1	$93,038	50.00%
Somalia	1	$116,522	50.00%
Marshall Islands	1	$69,160	50.00%
Antigua And Barbuda	1	$109,762	50.00%
Comoros	1	$71,926	50.00%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Qualcomm Global Services Inc	28	$89,990	87.50%
Acerta Pharma Llc	28	$117,346	87.50%
Federal Home Loan Bank Of San Francisco	28	$142,010	87.50%
Lululemon Usa Inc	28	$121,517	87.50%
Deliverr Inc	28	$133,334	87.50%
Itamerica Inc	28	$108,361	87.50%
Invincible Tech Systems Inc	28	$106,000	87.50%
Mufg Bank Ltd	28	$124,842	87.50%
Cyphort Inc	28	$115,134	87.50%
Peel Technologies Inc	28	$123,166	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Wilshire United Methodist Church	2	$47,591	33.33%
Jae Electronics Inc	2	$125,195	33.33%
Mirrorplus Technologies Inc	2	$123,490	33.33%
First Imperial Trading Co	2	$120,256	33.33%
Sgs Testcom Inc	2	$76,565	33.33%
Pba Inc	2	$83,190	33.33%
Bling Bling Inc	2	$45,729	33.33%
La Noosha Inc	2	$29,557	33.33%
Asiana Airlines	2	$103,241	33.33%
Dci Llc Db In Ca As Dci Investment Management Llc	2	$112,757	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Aerospace Product And Parts Manufacturing	370	$106,058	86.45%
Offices Of All Other Miscellaneous Health Practitioners	366	$69,895	86.52%
All Other Personal Services	364	$93,838	87.08%
Home Furnishing Merchant Wholesalers	363	$58,564	87.47%
Wineries	363	$82,378	87.47%
Instruments And Related Products Manufacturing For Measuring Displaying And Controlling Industrial Process Variables	363	$101,323	88.32%
Plumbing Heating And Air Conditioning Contractors	361	$84,957	88.26%
Legal Services	360	$69,764	88.67%
Direct Insurance Except Life Health And Medical Carriers	356	$97,160	88.34%
Dental Equipment And Supplies Manufacturing	355	$103,742	88.31%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Biological Product Except Diagnostic Manufacturing	125	$110,899	96.90%
Furniture Merchant Wholesalers	120	$119,180	95.24%
Payroll Services	119	$1,409,571	95.20%
Human Resources Consulting Services	117	$101,511	97.50%
General Line Grocery Merchant Wholesalers	116	$58,563	97.48%
Office Administrative Services	114	$73,105	97.44%
Aerospace Product And Parts Manufacturing	113	$154,606	97.41%
Insurance Carriers	112	$102,455	96.55%
Credit Bureaus	112	$103,799	98.25%
Satellite Telecommunications	111	$109,335	97.37%

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.