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 %
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 %
Other Accounting Services 1,094 $73,533 80.15%
Communications Equipment Manufacturing 1,062 $127,600 83.95%
Testing Laboratories And Services 1,049 $73,009 85.77%
Freight Transportation Arrangement 1,040 $60,742 86.52%
Other Communications Equipment Manufacturing 991 $98,959 87.16%
Human Resources Consulting Services 989 $92,946 87.14%
Other Financial Investment Activities 956 $98,547 84.45%
All Other Outpatient Care Centers 954 $137,838 86.73%
Audio And Video Equipment Manufacturing 946 $90,859 87.35%
Industrial Design Services 946 $75,778 87.51%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Soybean Farming 1 $38,792 100.00%
Merchant Wholesalers Nondurable Goods 1 $30,722 100.00%
Saw Blade And Handtool Manufacturing 1 $36,421 100.00%
Rice Farming 1 $38,792 100.00%
Citrus Except Orange Groves 1 $38,792 100.00%
All Other Animal Production 1 $23,469 100.00%

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.

State Avg Wage