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 %
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 %
Lenovo United States Inc	29	$113,302	85.29%
Qbe Americas Inc	29	$96,200	85.29%
El Camino Hospital	29	$122,209	85.29%
Cercacor Laboratories Inc	29	$97,406	87.88%
Harman International Industries Inc	29	$138,011	87.88%
Ubiquiti Networks Inc	29	$115,882	87.88%
Dpp Tech Inc	29	$118,210	87.88%
Okcoin Usa Inc	29	$111,672	87.88%
Pjt Partners Holdings Lp	29	$104,818	87.88%
Ampcus Inc	29	$88,749	87.88%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Precise Fit Limited One Llc	2	$96,034	33.33%
Infospectrum Inc	2	$84,063	33.33%
Fakouri Electrical Engineering Inc	2	$46,759	33.33%
Calypto Design Systems Inc	2	$114,223	33.33%
Cargill Incorporated	2	$109,044	33.33%
Solarmer Energy Inc	2	$71,448	33.33%
Risa Technologies Llc	2	$81,786	33.33%
Beauty Hair Trading Inc	2	$66,602	33.33%
Business Semantics Inc	2	$73,299	33.33%
Arya Group Inc	2	$75,608	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Prefabricated Wood Building Manufacturing	12	$93,805	80.00%
Carpet And Rug Mills	12	$75,785	80.00%
Office Furniture Except Wood Manufacturing	12	$75,194	80.00%
Farm And Garden Machinery And Equipment Merchant Wholesalers	12	$69,905	80.00%
Other Support Activities For Road Transportation	12	$94,475	80.00%
Deep Sea Coastal And Great Lakes Water Transportation	12	$64,977	80.00%
Animal Except Poultry Slaughtering	12	$84,783	80.00%
Photographic Services	12	$72,753	80.00%
All Other Miscellaneous Crop Farming	12	$56,808	80.00%
Petroleum Lubricating Oil And Grease Manufacturing	12	$74,303	85.71%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Other Motor Vehicle Dealers	4	$57,336	66.67%
Rubber And Plastics Hoses And Belting Manufacturing	4	$91,504	66.67%
Other Nondepository Credit Intermediation	4	$66,149	66.67%
Social Assistance	4	$47,372	66.67%
Other Metal Container Manufacturing	4	$103,698	66.67%
General Freight Trucking Long Distance Less Than Truckload	4	$58,271	66.67%
Narrow Fabric Mills And Schiffli Machine Embroidery	4	$49,577	66.67%
Travel Trailer And Camper Manufacturing	4	$53,399	66.67%
Fluid Milk Manufacturing	4	$82,103	66.67%
Metal Heat Treating	4	$60,409	66.67%

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.