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%
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 %
Ghana 33 $87,702 53.23%
Ecuador 33 $56,311 53.23%
Burma (myanmar) 27 $99,536 47.37%
Morocco 24 $89,089 43.64%
Panama 24 $10,089,086 44.44%
Honduras 24 $71,825 45.28%
Saudi Arabia 23 $99,245 44.23%
Uruguay 18 $115,432 41.86%
Lithuania 18 $98,405 41.86%
Estonia 18 $100,030 42.86%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Thermo Fisher Scientific 121 $104,203 88.32%
Stratedge Inc 121 $74,538 88.97%
General Motors Company 121 $123,594 88.97%
Teamsoft Technologies Llc 121 $87,076 88.97%
Southern California Edison 121 $90,700 88.97%
Opendoor Labs Inc 121 $140,223 88.97%
Bofa Securities Inc 121 $99,109 88.97%
I3 Infotek Inc 121 $92,809 88.97%
Cintel Systemsinc 121 $62,486 89.63%
Cougar Tech 121 $66,301 89.63%

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 $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