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 %
Regulatory Affairs Managers	229	$153,362	85.77%
Special Education Teachers, Kindergarten and Elementary School	228	$59,303	85.39%
Pharmacists	227	$124,045	85.34%
Film and Video Editors	224	$50,810	85.50%
Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education	222	$33,200	85.38%
Engineering Technicians, Except Drafters, All Other	221	$55,578	85.66%
Architectural Drafters	220	$55,984	85.94%
Purchasing Agents, Except Wholesale, Retail, and Farm Products	218	$61,048	86.51%
Energy Engineers	213	$94,852	85.89%
Compensation, Benefits, and Job Analysis Specialists	209	$73,424	85.66%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Education Administrators, Postsecondary	34	$86,504	24.29%
Communications Teachers, Postsecondary	34	$62,317	24.64%
Medical Secretaries	33	$36,249	24.09%
First-Line Supervisors of Personal Service Workers	33	$41,808	24.44%
Tailors, Dressmakers, and Custom Sewers	33	$33,664	24.44%
Production, Planning, and Expediting Clerks	33	$47,538	25.38%
Healthcare Social Workers	33	$48,589	25.38%
Farmworkers, Farm, Ranch, and Aquacultural Animals	32	$24,824	25.00%
Heavy and Tractor-Trailer Truck Drivers	31	$55,839	24.80%
Health and Safety Engineers, Except Mining Safety Engineers and Inspectors	30	$99,283	24.00%

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 %
Sierra Leone	2	$65,707	50.00%
Guinea-bissau	2	$95,191	50.00%
Brunei	2	$80,101	50.00%
Montenegro	2	$69,139	66.67%
Liberia	1	$22,526	33.33%
Bhutan	1	$54,205	33.33%
Swaziland	1	$65,395	33.33%
Guinea	1	$103,459	33.33%
Malta	1	$47,278	33.33%
Cote D'ivoire	1	$123,885	33.33%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Right Click Systems Llc	28	$73,691	87.50%
Varnar Inc	28	$94,662	87.50%
Sony Music Holdings Inc	28	$89,444	87.50%
Mci Communications Services Llc	28	$153,897	87.50%
Nominum Inc	28	$114,981	87.50%
Kiranam Technologies Inc	28	$85,232	87.50%
Hughes Network Systems Llc	28	$83,809	87.50%
Anjus Llc	28	$88,991	87.50%
M9 Consulting Inc	28	$100,243	87.50%
Therapy Mantra Inc	28	$78,484	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Int Technologies Llc	2	$78,364	33.33%
Otis Spunkmeyer	2	$80,423	33.33%
Js Auto Tech Inc	2	$68,422	33.33%
Mellanox Technologies Inc	2	$98,634	33.33%
Ljb Group Llc Dba For Speed Oil Change Center	2	$74,495	33.33%
Saion Corp	2	$71,094	33.33%
Edgile Inc	2	$127,774	33.33%
Heschong Mahone Group Inc	2	$64,407	33.33%
Sabocor Co Llp	2	$67,902	33.33%
German American International School	2	$86,039	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services	328,913	$94,835	91.21%
Computer Systems Design Services	121,832	$116,724	89.70%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing	37,523	$142,016	95.44%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services	34,399	$108,216	89.27%
Other Computer Related Services	30,473	$99,261	87.04%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	28,127	$71,811	80.45%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services	26,488	$136,777	92.89%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	21,436	$116,803	90.15%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	20,987	$117,887	88.28%
Engineering Services	20,720	$89,583	88.39%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Farm Labor Contractors And Crew Leaders	1,804	$33,453	100.00%
Sheep Farming	1,164	$29,844	100.00%
Support Activities For Crop Production	557	$35,723	100.00%
Apiculture	463	$34,353	100.00%
Other Vegetable Except Potato And Melon Farming	322	$34,093	100.00%
Strawberry Farming	238	$31,453	100.00%
Noncitrus Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	188	$34,068	100.00%
Vegetable And Melon Farming	174	$35,597	100.00%
Grape Vineyards	158	$34,478	100.00%
Fruit And Tree Nut Farming	115	$35,908	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Custom Computer Programming Services	42,277	$126,369	100.00%
Computer Systems Design Services	31,732	$121,451	100.00%
Electronic Computer Manufacturing	20,167	$122,175	100.00%
Semiconductor And Other Electronic Component Manufacturing	11,113	$108,986	100.00%
Computer Systems Design And Related Services	8,432	$233,746	100.00%
Semiconductor And Related Device Manufacturing	7,014	$113,231	100.00%
Other Computer Related Services	6,933	$115,320	100.00%
Radio And Television Broadcasting And Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing	6,653	$99,660	100.00%
Computing Infrastructure Providers Data Processing Web Hosting And Related Services	6,193	$125,793	100.00%
Engineering Services	4,766	$119,176	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 $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.