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 %
Occupational Health and Safety Specialists	102	$71,710	85.00%
Recreational Therapists	102	$57,543	85.71%
Mental Health and Substance Abuse Social Workers	98	$48,972	83.05%
Transportation Planners	96	$80,644	81.36%
Statistical Assistants	95	$51,179	80.51%
Financial Examiners	95	$73,688	80.51%
Insurance Underwriters	95	$61,848	81.90%
Registered Nurses	93	$85,176	84.55%
Hydrologists	93	$68,200	86.92%
Curators	85	$57,224	79.44%

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Occupation	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Securities, Commodities, and Financial Services Sales Agents	18	$105,277	18.56%
Bioinformatics Scientists	17	$79,742	17.53%
Biological Technicians	17	$45,629	17.71%
Financial Quantitative Analysts	17	$84,005	17.89%
Cooks, Institution and Cafeteria	17	$33,169	18.09%
Mathematicians	16	$83,689	17.20%
Nannies	16	$31,834	17.20%
Cooks, Private Household	16	$42,783	17.20%
Retail Salespersons	15	$26,117	16.13%
Cabinetmakers and Bench Carpenters	15	$31,461	16.30%

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 %
India	45,730	$175,901	47.43%
China	16,844	$109,259	50.79%
South Korea	4,340	$147,936	41.14%
Canada	3,905	$143,888	46.41%
Philippines	1,927	$470,682	35.63%
Taiwan	1,908	$260,805	44.94%
Mexico	1,361	$87,276	34.68%
United Kingdom	967	$111,850	44.71%
Japan	844	$231,744	40.04%
France	821	$108,315	46.73%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Interviewstreet Inc	26	$137,223	86.67%
Genapsys Inc	26	$87,221	86.67%
Ailaw Inc	26	$88,146	86.67%
Symbiosys Inc	26	$85,656	86.67%
Hilix International Inc	26	$55,031	86.67%
Sutter Valley Hospitals	26	$88,174	86.67%
Prime Healthcare Services San Dimas Llc	26	$76,048	86.67%
Ciber Global Llc	26	$89,666	86.67%
Nrg Energy Inc	26	$95,138	86.67%
Toshiba America Business Solutions Inc	26	$88,230	86.67%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Sungard Public Sector Inc	2	$53,414	33.33%
Melie Bianco Accessories Inc	2	$49,587	33.33%
Global Engineering Corporation	2	$42,484	33.33%
Silver Punzalan Inc	2	$21,882	33.33%
Gisoya Japanese Restaurant Inc	2	$35,838	33.33%
Tightrope Interactive	2	$92,789	33.33%
Wk World Inc	2	$36,099	33.33%
World Sushi Inc	2	$38,522	33.33%
Shemshad Food Products Inc	2	$40,207	33.33%
One Spot Japanese Restaurant Inc	2	$35,485	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Radio And Television Broadcasting And Wireless Communications Equipment Manufacturing	19,961	$109,757	86.75%
Offices Of Certified Public Accountants	17,707	$81,924	94.86%
Management Scientific And Technical Consulting Services	17,053	$94,338	94.34%
Financial Transactions Processing Reserve And Clearinghouse Activities	15,105	$131,156	92.28%
Administrative Management And General Management Consulting Services	10,366	$100,775	90.10%
Research And Development In The Physical Engineering And Life Sciences	10,083	$108,640	91.08%
Management Consulting Services	9,507	$90,053	96.03%
Accounting Tax Preparation Bookkeeping And Payroll Services	7,222	$77,852	94.74%
All Other Professional Scientific And Technical Services	6,675	$103,387	88.43%
Computer Storage Device Manufacturing	5,776	$117,561	90.32%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Greenhouse Nursery And Floriculture Production	104	$37,501	100.00%
Soil Preparation Planting And Cultivating	90	$30,617	100.00%
Crop Production	83	$35,077	100.00%
Other Crop Farming	61	$36,313	100.00%
Support Activities For Agriculture And Forestry	59	$35,754	100.00%
Agriculture Forestry Fishing And Hunting	58	$34,656	100.00%
Cattle Ranching And Farming	57	$33,065	100.00%
All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming	46	$25,623	100.00%
Beef Cattle Ranching And Farming	44	$33,573	100.00%
Nursery And Tree Production	41	$38,577	100.00%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Financial Transactions Processing Reserve And Clearinghouse Activities	4,197	$120,738	100.00%
Colleges Universities And Professional Schools	3,941	$69,250	100.00%
Offices Of Certified Public Accountants	2,414	$82,798	100.00%
Nursing Care Facilities Skilled Nursing Facilities	2,305	$77,367	100.00%
Administrative Management And General Management Consulting Services	1,789	$110,547	100.00%
Research And Development In The Physical Engineering And Life Sciences	1,569	$103,172	100.00%
Full Service Restaurants	1,483	$39,039	100.00%
Home Health Care Services	1,470	$76,033	100.00%
Computer Storage Device Manufacturing	1,436	$119,236	100.00%
Elementary And Secondary Schools	1,338	$236,018	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.