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 %
Lithuania	18	$98,405	39.13%
Uzbekistan	17	$77,721	39.53%
Jamaica	17	$65,783	42.50%
Georgia	17	$98,550	44.74%
Tunisia	16	$96,939	43.24%
Cambodia	16	$77,044	44.44%
Iceland	16	$105,401	47.06%
Dominican Republic	16	$105,647	48.48%
Moldova	15	$84,771	45.45%
Croatia	15	$109,838	45.45%

Top Hiring Companies in California (All Years)

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Newport Corporation	28	$94,955	87.50%
Ssc Technologies Inc	28	$114,270	87.50%
Lumos Labs Inc	28	$113,435	87.50%
Liveaction Inc	28	$101,904	87.50%
Bankruptcy Management Solutions Inc	28	$90,581	87.50%
Ibrain Technologies Inc	28	$90,607	87.50%
Expensify Inc	28	$101,679	87.50%
Icertis Inc	28	$128,346	87.50%
Interdigital Communications Inc	28	$124,460	87.50%
Denali Therapeutics Inc	28	$124,195	87.50%

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Company	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Original Wireless Inc	2	$64,646	33.33%
Quorum Consulting Inc	2	$64,771	33.33%
Pentair Water Pool And Spa Inc	2	$102,721	33.33%
Ayuda Group Llc	2	$66,300	33.33%
Dereks Bistro Inc	2	$39,187	33.33%
Nextg Networks Inc	2	$80,871	33.33%
Multi Cable Inc	2	$58,302	33.33%
Homak Enterprises Inc	2	$54,881	33.33%
Cj Tech America Inc	2	$89,170	33.33%
I Many Inc	2	$111,977	33.33%

Top Industries in California (All Years)

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Household Appliances And Electrical And Electronic Goods Merchant Wholesalers	513	$62,919	87.69%
Employment Placement Agencies	507	$92,990	88.17%
Other Heavy And Civil Engineering Construction	480	$83,833	84.81%
Wholesale Trade Agents And Brokers	479	$82,910	84.78%
Hmo Medical Centers	466	$95,822	88.93%
Apparel Piece Goods And Notions Merchant Wholesalers	440	$51,593	87.48%
Biological Product Except Diagnostic Manufacturing	434	$106,727	86.45%
Credit Card Issuing	433	$124,591	86.77%
Household Appliances Electric Housewares And Consumer Electronics Merchant Wholesalers	428	$85,723	87.53%
Office Administrative Services	427	$80,029	87.50%

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %

Industry	# of Jobs	Avg Wage	Approval %
Other Professional Scientific And Technical Services	165	$104,491	98.21%
Motor Vehicle Supplies And New Parts Merchant Wholesalers	161	$79,017	97.58%
Web Search Portals Libraries Archives And Other Information Services	156	$101,804	94.55%
Offices Of Physicians	155	$1,095,339	96.27%
Sports And Recreation Instruction	154	$44,804	98.72%
Real Estate Property Managers	152	$68,311	98.06%
Architectural Engineering And Related Services	152	$80,138	98.70%
Dental Equipment And Supplies Manufacturing	151	$94,769	99.34%
Fine Arts Schools	149	$53,016	98.03%
Plumbing Heating And Air Conditioning Contractors	148	$76,619	98.01%

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.