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 %
Denmark	49	$118,372	47.57%
Kazakhstan	49	$97,849	48.04%
Austria	48	$109,088	48.00%
Czech Republic	46	$95,827	46.94%
Guatemala	42	$59,878	42.86%
Zimbabwe	41	$73,220	42.71%
Ethiopia	39	$102,255	43.82%
Kenya	37	$91,925	43.02%
Ghana	36	$87,852	44.44%
Ecuador	34	$92,896	43.04%

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 %
Other Nonmetallic Mineral Mining And Quarrying	2	$97,864	100.00%
Citrus Except Orange Groves	2	$104,624	100.00%
Libraries And Archives	2	$130,749	100.00%
Nursery And Floriculture Production	2	$51,252	100.00%
Wiring Device Manufacturing	2	$75,317	100.00%
Nonferrous Metal Except Copper And Aluminum Rolling Drawing Extruding And Alloying	2	$86,923	100.00%
Iron And Steel Forging	2	$124,769	100.00%
Wood Office Furniture Manufacturing	2	$67,746	100.00%
Nonferrous Metal Except Copper And Aluminum Rolling Drawing And Extruding	2	$60,601	100.00%
Hardwood Veneer And Plywood Manufacturing	2	$40,726	100.00%

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.