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 %
South Africa	126	$1,506,303	47.01%
Romania	116	$103,817	45.31%
Greece	111	$108,048	44.40%
Venezuela	111	$92,241	46.06%
Sri Lanka	104	$89,876	44.83%
Jordan	100	$87,306	45.45%
Belarus	100	$107,700	45.66%
New Zealand	92	$106,312	42.99%
Mongolia	82	$69,472	41.62%
Belgium	78	$108,805	41.94%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Nokia Solutions And Networks Us Llc	28	$103,906	87.50%
Acropetal Inc	28	$70,969	87.50%
Cybervision Inc	28	$70,278	87.50%
Towers Watson Pennsylvania Inc	28	$70,962	87.50%
Jm Information Systems Llc	28	$69,461	87.50%
Lmk Infotech	28	$103,542	87.50%
Sriven Technologies Llc	28	$84,611	87.50%
Industrial Light Magic A Div Of Lucasfilm Enter	28	$82,681	87.50%
Emulex Design And Manufacturing Corporation	28	$94,502	87.50%
Key Solutions Inc	28	$76,905	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Better Horizons Development Corporation	2	$35,412	33.33%
Fotokem Industries	2	$89,118	33.33%
Ttm Intertrading Co Inc	2	$67,819	33.33%
Barbaras At The Brewery	2	$35,547	33.33%
Greenbergfarrow	2	$83,782	33.33%
Interactive Data Managed Solutions Llc	2	$86,382	33.33%
Elliott Laboratories Llc	2	$69,982	33.33%
Royale Home Health Care Inc	2	$62,723	33.33%
Analytic Investors	2	$85,083	33.33%
Cal Family Health Inc	2	$116,678	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Other Personal Care Services	34	$84,794	85.00%
Electric Bulk Power Transmission And Control	34	$89,168	85.00%
Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation	34	$119,990	85.00%
Household And Institutional Furniture Manufacturing	33	$60,312	82.50%
Plastics Bottle Manufacturing	33	$69,534	82.50%
Other Building Equipment Contractors	33	$64,837	84.62%
Other Grantmaking And Giving Services	33	$84,410	84.62%
Zoos And Botanical Gardens	33	$65,542	84.62%
Other Fabricated Metal Product Manufacturing	33	$78,930	84.62%
Petroleum And Petroleum Products Merchant Wholesalers Except Bulk Stations And Terminals	33	$76,413	84.62%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Pesticide And Other Agricultural Chemical Manufacturing	13	$94,949	86.67%
Ophthalmic Goods Merchant Wholesalers	13	$75,194	92.86%
Hospitals	12	$86,128	85.71%
Construction Machinery Manufacturing	12	$82,593	85.71%
Support Activities For Air Transportation	12	$62,468	85.71%
Regulation Licensing And Inspection Of Miscellaneous Commercial Sectors	12	$61,884	85.71%
All Other Ambulatory Health Care Services	12	$50,225	85.71%
Other Food Crops Grown Under Cover	12	$83,439	85.71%
Textile Product Mills	12	$64,638	85.71%
Nonscheduled Chartered Freight Air Transportation	12	$85,897	85.71%

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.