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 %
Russia	712	$109,305	50.04%
Brazil	660	$87,111	47.08%
Germany	555	$109,791	48.43%
Australia	553	$118,656	49.38%
Vietnam	534	$72,606	48.99%
Iran	478	$82,056	47.61%
Turkey	429	$98,614	45.83%
Ukraine	420	$111,206	45.36%
Israel	407	$119,118	48.68%
Pakistan	357	$876,287	43.33%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Emc Corporation	1,389	$105,891	90.25%
Cadence Design Systems Inc	1,376	$130,117	90.41%
Gilead Sciences Inc	1,368	$113,461	90.30%
Lyft Inc	1,364	$133,764	90.27%
Adobe Systems Incorporated	1,348	$114,849	89.81%
Igate Technologies Inc	1,304	$70,682	86.93%
Satyam Computer Services Ltd	1,296	$76,079	86.69%
The Leland Stanford Jr University	1,287	$66,304	86.55%
Pinterest Inc	1,287	$128,678	87.08%
Rivian Automotive Llc	1,268	$122,196	89.55%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Pfs Llc	148	$24,008	41.81%
Veritas Technologies Llc	145	$119,791	42.52%
Informatica Corporation	144	$101,335	42.73%
Erp Erp Corp	143	$110,575	44.27%
Robinhood Markets Inc	135	$130,219	42.45%
Fireeye Inc	129	$122,847	40.95%
Hortonworks Inc	129	$117,054	41.08%
First Republic Bank	129	$137,753	41.61%
Affirm Inc	126	$117,343	41.04%
Prospance Inc	124	$116,259	40.66%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Monetary Authorities Central Bank	500	$127,761	87.57%
All Other Miscellaneous Ambulatory Health Care Services	493	$121,223	87.72%
Highway Street And Bridge Construction	479	$86,405	85.23%
Junior Colleges	469	$58,252	83.45%
Offices Of Real Estate Agents And Brokers	469	$75,664	85.74%
Electric Power Distribution	468	$467,842	86.99%
Web Search Portals And All Other Information Services	464	$169,105	87.22%
Employment Services	459	$55,213	86.60%
Other Heavy And Civil Engineering Construction	447	$82,618	88.87%
Employment Placement Agencies	443	$89,623	88.42%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Music Publishers	41	$89,011	23.43%
Deep Sea Passenger Transportation	41	$101,089	24.12%
Fiber Optic Cable Manufacturing	39	$111,867	23.21%
Footwear Manufacturing	39	$92,668	23.21%
Electrical Equipment Manufacturing	39	$99,796	23.93%
Promoters Of Performing Arts Sports And Similar Events Without Facilities	37	$62,379	22.84%
Other Personal Care Services	37	$60,071	22.98%
Caterers	37	$55,893	22.98%
Flooring Contractors	36	$48,055	22.93%
Other Chemical And Allied Products Merchant Wholesalers	36	$82,271	23.08%

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.