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 %
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 %
Republic Of Congo 1 $93,704 50.00%
Bhutan 1 $54,205 50.00%
Liberia 1 $22,526 50.00%
Guinea 1 $103,459 50.00%
Swaziland 1 $65,395 50.00%
Cote D'ivoire 1 $123,885 50.00%
Malta 1 $47,278 50.00%
Gambia 1 $65,998 100.00%
United Arab Emirates 1 $35,776 100.00%
Micronesia 1 $86,320 100.00%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Motivity Labs Inc 32 $126,972 86.49%
Ziphq Inc 32 $172,266 86.49%
Macys Systems And Technology Inc 32 $137,484 86.49%
Friendly Franchisees Corporation 32 $59,264 86.49%
Phenomenex Inc 32 $61,870 86.49%
Meritek Electronics Corporation 32 $54,866 86.49%
Alpine Electronics Research Of America Inc 32 $67,689 86.49%
Welocalize Inc 32 $62,250 86.49%
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney Llc 32 $90,961 86.49%
Azusa Pacific University 32 $63,589 86.49%
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Company # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Parallax Volatility Advisers Lp 3 $157,075 42.86%
Michael H Lester Jd Cpa 3 $61,013 42.86%
Hs Hospitality Services 3 $35,609 42.86%
Botrista Technology Inc 3 $83,207 42.86%
Barefoot Networks 3 $142,751 42.86%
Usdm Life Sciences 3 $102,835 42.86%
Prime Pacific Islands Grill Inc 3 $37,031 42.86%
Mobileforming Llc 3 $99,050 42.86%
Nephila Advisors Llc 3 $131,373 42.86%
Enj Dining Group Inc 3 $28,351 42.86%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %
Industry # of Jobs Avg Wage Approval %

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