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 %
Mechanical Engineering Technicians 41 $55,477 75.93%
Chefs and Head Cooks 41 $57,017 78.85%
Fuel Cell Engineers 39 $125,040 75.00%
Aerospace Engineering and Operations Technicians 38 $61,881 82.61%
Medical and Clinical Laboratory Technicians 38 $51,387 82.61%
Genetic Counselors 37 $92,894 80.43%
Chemical Technicians 37 $40,351 80.43%
Geospatial Information Scientists and Technologists 36 $98,318 81.82%
Audiologists 35 $83,183 81.40%
Environmental Economists 34 $72,970 79.07%
Occupation # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
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 %
Etrade Financial Holdings Llc 28 $127,656 90.32%
Open Networking Foundation 28 $133,685 90.32%
Brightinsight Inc 28 $155,724 90.32%
Quinnox Inc 27 $69,266 87.10%
Panzura Inc 27 $102,047 87.10%
Insightly Inc 27 $114,110 87.10%
Ch2m Hill Engineers Inc 27 $92,531 87.10%
Radcom Software Services Llc 27 $104,875 87.10%
Prime Software Technologies Inc 27 $88,471 87.10%
Unigen Corporation 27 $75,070 87.10%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Zion Residential Care Inc 2 $18,450 33.33%
Generatione Consulting Llc 2 $125,466 33.33%
Ark Technology Inc 2 $34,850 33.33%
Dynasty Sports Group Llc 2 $106,028 33.33%
Roving Networks Inc 2 $82,306 33.33%
Polycoat Products 2 $86,809 33.33%
Jai Inc 2 $111,706 33.33%
Uti United States Inc 2 $72,977 33.33%
Sunhealthcare Group Dba Careerstaff Services Corp 2 $63,835 33.33%
Essen Polymers Inc 2 $80,735 33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Medical Equipment And Supplies Manufacturing 5,546 $113,270 87.85%
Web Search Portals And All Other Information Services 5,472 $175,878 95.70%
Offices Of Physical Occupational And Speech Therapists And Audiologists 5,147 $76,018 90.11%
Elementary And Secondary Schools 5,061 $57,232 88.71%
Architectural Services 4,868 $60,468 86.34%
General Medical And Surgical Hospitals 4,798 $88,394 90.12%
Commercial Banking 4,636 $104,495 89.65%
Marketing Consulting Services 4,499 $93,449 87.56%
Software Publishers 4,342 $162,333 96.49%
Offices Of Lawyers 3,653 $104,423 82.67%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Other Noncitrus Fruit Farming 40 $36,074 100.00%
Hay Farming 27 $37,299 100.00%
Tree Nut Farming 25 $37,348 100.00%
Sheep And Goat Farming 24 $30,795 100.00%
Crop Harvesting Primarily By Machine 20 $33,439 100.00%
All Other Crop Farming 19 $38,414 100.00%
Other Animal Production 18 $34,515 100.00%
Flower Nursery Stock And Florists Supplies Merchant Wholesalers 17 $30,575 100.00%
Wineries 15 $39,276 100.00%
Nursery And Floriculture Production 14 $36,474 100.00%
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Medical Equipment And Supplies Manufacturing 1,297 $108,838 100.00%
All Other Professional Scientific And Technical Services 1,293 $205,455 100.00%
Commercial Banking 1,148 $108,721 100.00%
Religious Organizations 1,123 $122,781 100.00%
Architectural Services 1,067 $66,121 100.00%
Accounting Tax Preparation Bookkeeping And Payroll Services 995 $87,255 100.00%
Other Electronic Component Manufacturing 981 $106,053 100.00%
Management Consulting Services 961 $109,090 100.00%
Offices Of Lawyers 940 $88,352 100.00%
Offices Of Dentists 911 $269,149 100.00%

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.

State Avg Wage