H-1B by State: Which States Have the Most Sponsors and Petitions, Ranked With FY2024-FY2026 Data

California leads, New Jersey beats New York, and one employer can make a whole state look big. Here is every state hub ranked, and how to read the numbers.

H-1B by state, ranked: California has the most H-1B sponsors and petitions, with 722 employers and 140,292 petitions in the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract behind our state hub pages (fiscal years 2024 through 2026, FY2026 partial). Texas is second (698 employers, 80,627 petitions), then New Jersey (499 / 59,986), New York (391 / 48,771) and Virginia (222 / 42,628). These are petition decisions filed under the employer's mailing address. They are not people and not open jobs, so one company can make a state look far bigger than its job market.

Status as of 2026-11-01. USCIS says its Employer Data Hub now runs through FY2026 Q4; the extract used here was built in July 2026, before that refresh, so its FY2026 figures are partial. DOL's newest LCA disclosure files are FY2026 Q3 (through 2026-06-30). Wage-weighted H-1B selection is in effect (since 2026-02-27). FY2028 registration is not announced. Texas and Florida freezes on new H-1B hiring at public universities are in effect (details below).

H-1B by state: the short answer

California ranks first for H-1B employers and petitions in FY2024-FY2026 USCIS Employer Data Hub figures, followed by Texas, New Jersey, New York and Virginia. The Hub files every petition under the employer's mailing address, not the worksite, so headquarters states such as Virginia (Amazon), Maryland (TCS) and Arkansas (Walmart) rank higher than their local job markets.

How this ranking was built, and what a "petition" means

Every state and employer total below comes from one source, the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, summed over FY2024, FY2025 and the partial FY2026. A petition here is a first decision, approval or denial, on an initial or continuing H-1B case, not a hire, a headcount or a job opening.

• Coverage. The USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub says it "includes data from fiscal year 2009 through fiscal year 2026 (quarter 4)" (checked 2026-11-01). Its explainer adds that the data "reflects USCIS' first decision"; later decisions such as appeals and revocations are excluded, and pending cases never appear.
• Initial vs continuing. Initial means the "New employment" box on Form I-129, typically a first H-1B (a cap case or a cap-exempt hire). Continuing covers extensions, amendments, concurrent employment and change-of-employer transfers for people already in H-1B status. USCIS describes each figure as a count of workers approved or denied, so one person can appear more than once across three years.
• Who is counted. Employers with at least 25 petitions across the three years, grouped by exact employer name. Each employer sits in one state, the one where most of its petitions are listed, and its whole total counts there. Among employers with 100+ petitions, about 73% of decisions are continuing cases (our arithmetic).
• Which states are ranked. A state gets a hub only when at least 20 such employers are based there. That leaves 32 hubs (31 states plus the District of Columbia). Arkansas, with exactly 20, is the smallest.
• Scale. The 32 hubs hold 649,825 petitions across 4,837 employer names. California alone is 21.6% of that, and the top five states are 57.3% (our arithmetic).

The full ranking: H-1B sponsors and petitions by state (as of November 2026)

USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub extract (built 2026-07-29, checked 2026-11-01), FY2024-FY2026 combined (FY2026 partial). "Employers" counts names with 25+ petitions; the figure in parentheses is the state's rank by employer count (= marks a tie). Each state links to its hub page.

How to read a row: Maryland. Maryland ranks 10th on petitions but 14th on employers, with only 81 names. Two Tata Consultancy Services entity names listed in Rockville account for 11,968 of its 20,047 petitions, about 60%. Take them out and the other 79 employers total 8,079, which would rank 18th (our arithmetic). The same test drops Virginia from 5th to 12th without its seven Amazon entity names. For the two biggest states in depth, see our California H-1B jobs guide and Texas H-1B jobs guide.

Which state has the most H-1B visa holders?

We found no federal dataset that counts the people currently holding H-1B status in each state. On petitions, California leads by a wide margin: 140,292 in FY2024-FY2026, about 1.7 times Texas's 80,627 (our arithmetic).

"Holders by state" maps online are built from one of two sources, and each measures something different:

• USCIS Hub petitions count first decisions per worker, at the employer's mailing address.
• DOL Labor Condition Applications (LCAs) record the worksite and the wage, but an LCA is a wage attestation, not a petition, and one LCA can cover several positions that never become petitions. DOL's FY2026 Q3 figures (through 2026-06-30) show 426,659 LCA applications received, down 8.8%, and 830,710 positions certified, with software developers at 29.1% of them.

So the holders question has no official answer we could find; the sponsors-and-petitions question does, and it is California.

Is H-1B data by state based on where people work or where the employer is?

Where the employer gets its mail. USCIS takes the state from Form I-129, page 1, Part 1, Question 3, and its explainer page is blunt: "This is the State indicated in the mailing address of the employer and is not necessarily the beneficiary(ies) work location."

That rule explains most surprises in the table. An IT services firm with a Rockville or Richardson address may place consultants at client sites across the country, and every one of those petitions counts for Maryland or Texas.

One filer, one state (our arithmetic, FY2024-FY2026 combined)

Without Walmart, Arkansas would hold 1,392 petitions and rank last. The skew also runs the other way: Wells Fargo Bank lists Sioux Falls, South Dakota, a state with too few qualifying employers for a hub, so its petitions appear in no state ranking at all.

Entity names matter too. The Hub aggregates by tax ID, and our extract groups by exact name, so related companies and even spelling variants show up separately. Ten Fidelity-branded names appear in Massachusetts, inflating its employer count without adding ten sponsors, and both "AMAZON COM SERVICES LLC" and "AMAZON.COM SERVICES LLC" appear in Virginia.

Does New Jersey have more H-1B petitions than New York?

Yes. New Jersey has 499 employers and 59,986 petitions in FY2024-FY2026 Hub data, against New York's 391 and 48,771. The gap comes mostly from IT services, staffing and consulting firms with New Jersey mailing addresses.

LTIMindtree (Warren), Wipro (East Brunswick), Compunnel (Plainsboro) and Tech Mahindra Americas (Bedminster) together account for about a quarter of New Jersey's petitions (our arithmetic), and two Ernst & Young names listed in Secaucus add 4,871 more. New York's leaders are banks and financial firms such as Citibank and Goldman Sachs, plus Mphasis, and its largest filer is only 5.6% of the state total, so its sponsor base is broader. Because of the mailing-address rule, some New Jersey-listed consultants may work in Manhattan, and some New York-listed employees may work elsewhere. Our New Jersey H-1B jobs guide covers the state's pharma and finance employers.

Which state has the most H-1B sponsors per capita?

Among the 32 state hubs, New Jersey, on both measures we tested. Dividing the hub figures by the Census Bureau's Vintage 2025 state population estimates gives New Jersey about 52 qualifying employers per million residents and about 6.3 petitions per 1,000 residents, against roughly 18 and 3.6 for California (our arithmetic).

On petitions per resident, Virginia (about 4.8 per 1,000) and Massachusetts (about 4.2) follow New Jersey, with California fourth. On employers per million, Massachusetts and the District of Columbia (about 33 each) come next, then Delaware and Virginia. Florida, the third most populous state, falls to about 0.6 petitions per 1,000 residents, near the bottom. Treat all of this as rough: per-capita figures inherit the mailing-address problem, and Delaware's rate partly reflects IT staffing firms with Delaware addresses.

Which smaller states have strong H-1B employers?

Many, and they are usually anchored by one or two large employers, a university or a hospital system. Names below are each hub's leading filers in FY2024-FY2026 data:

• Arkansas: Walmart and J.B. Hunt (Lowell).
• Minnesota: Optum, U.S. Bank and Mayo Clinic.
• Indiana: Elevance Health, Eli Lilly and Purdue University.
• Nebraska: University of Nebraska Medical Center, HDR and Kiewit.
• Iowa: University of Iowa and Collins Aerospace (Cedar Rapids).
• Kansas: Black and Veatch, Garmin and the University of Kansas.
• Utah: University of Utah, Cotiviti and ARUP Laboratories.
• Louisiana: Ochsner, Tulane and LSU.

Outside the 32 hubs, several states have one strong sponsor but fewer than 20 qualifying employers: Idaho (Micron, Boise), Oregon (Nike, Beaverton), Kentucky (Humana, Louisville), Rhode Island (CVS's Caremark, Woonsocket) and Oklahoma (Paycom). Universities can file outside the annual cap under current rules (in effect); whether an affiliated hospital or nonprofit qualifies turns on rules such as a written affiliation agreement with a university, which its HR or counsel can confirm. Two caveats for OPT holders. Cap-gap protection does not apply to cap-exempt petitions. And a draft USCIS proposal, "Reforming the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program" (RIN 1615-AD00), has been under OIRA review (unpublished) since 2026-08-24; its agenda abstract lists "revising eligibility for cap exemptions". Its text is not public, and today's rules still apply.

What the ranking means for where you look on OPT, STEM OPT or H-1B

Use the ranking to find employers, not to pick a state for better lottery odds. The H-1B lottery is national, and since 2026-02-27 it is weighted by the wage level of the offered job, not by state.

Under the weighted selection final rule (in effect), a Level IV registration is entered four times and a Level I once. DHS weighs each registration by "the highest OEWS prevailing wage level that the proffered wage equals or exceeds", which takes the area of intended employment into account, so the same salary can sit at a different level in different metros. FY2028 registration is not announced as of 2026-11-01; USCIS must announce it at least 30 days ahead (8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(iii)(A)(3)), so watch its registration page.

Three more things change how you should read the table this fall:

• Breadth beats depth for a job seeker (our reading). Georgia ranks 13th on petitions but 8th on employers; Ohio is 16th and 13th. More sponsors usually means more doors. Where one company holds half or more of a state's petitions (Arkansas, Virginia, Maryland, Washington), your prospects there ride on that one employer's hiring plans.
• Public-university freezes (in effect). Texas froze new H-1B petitions at state agencies and public universities from 2026-01-27 to 2027-05-31 unless the Texas Workforce Commission gives written permission, per Gov. Abbott's letter; K-12 and private employers are not covered. Florida's Board of Governors paused new H-1B hires at 12 public universities from 2026-03-02 until at least 2027-01-05, with renewals unaffected. Texas A&M, UT Austin and the University of Florida still show past petitions on the hubs; a historical count is not a current hiring signal. Our Texas and Florida freeze explainer has the details.
• PERM actions are not H-1B bans (in effect, announced 2026-10-08). DOL's announced PERM suspension of eight employers, including Infosys, TCS and Cognizant, had no written notice or end date as of 2026-11-01, and Mayer Brown notes it "does not suspend any employer from the H-1B program". It does matter if you are counting on that employer for a green card.

How to check any state yourself

1. Open the USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub, filter by state and fiscal year, and download the rows (Excel or CSV) for the years you care about. Your totals will differ from ours, because the Hub's state filter counts each address row while our hubs put an employer's whole total in its main state.
2. Separate initial approvals from continuing approvals in the Hub columns. A high initial share points to employers bringing in people new to H-1B, which is the group an F-1 or OPT applicant joins; change-of-employer transfers sit under continuing.
3. Group related entities using the last four digits of the tax ID the Hub shows, so one company is not counted as several.
4. Download the FY2026 Q3 LCA disclosure file and its LCA Worksites file from DOL OFLC's Performance Data page to see where positions are actually located; our walkthrough on searching LCA filings shows the filters.
5. Check each shortlisted employer against the DOL Wage and Hour Division's H-1B debarment list, which names six willful violators "effective as of October 1, 2026".
6. Build a ranked target list from the survivors, using the method in our guide to the LCA data and the USCIS Employer Data Hub.
7. Ask the employer's HR or immigration counsel where the worksite will be and whether the role is cap-subject or cap-exempt before you relocate. If you move on OPT or STEM OPT, report the new employer and address through the SEVP Portal or to your DSO, as your school directs.

Common mistakes

• Calling petition counts job openings. The hub pages say it plainly: counts describe past federal filings, not current openings, and most are continuing cases.
• Treating the employer's state as the job's state. USCIS warns the mailing address is "not necessarily" the work location.
• Moving to a big H-1B state for better lottery odds. Selection is national and weighted by wage level (in effect since 2026-02-27).
• Treating the partial FY2026 as a full year, or quoting third-party "Q4 rankings" instead of pulling figures from the Hub itself.
• Counting entity names as separate sponsors. Fidelity's ten Massachusetts names are one employer family.
• Reading a state freeze as a federal rule. Texas's freeze reaches state agencies and public universities, Florida's its 12 public universities; private employers are not covered.
• Asking the wrong expert. Your DSO handles OPT and SEVIS reporting; a licensed immigration attorney handles petition and status strategy.

Frequently asked questions

Which state has the most H-1B visa holders?

We found no federal dataset that counts people currently holding H-1B status by state. On petitions, California leads clearly, with 722 employers and 140,292 petitions in USCIS H-1B Employer Data Hub figures for FY2024 through FY2026 (FY2026 partial), about 1.7 times second-place Texas. Those counts sit at the employer's mailing address, so they show where sponsors are based, not exactly where workers live.

Which state has the most H-1B sponsors per capita?

Among the 32 state hubs, New Jersey, by our arithmetic. Dividing the FY2024-FY2026 Employer Data Hub figures by Census Bureau Vintage 2025 population gives New Jersey about 52 qualifying employers per million residents and about 6.3 petitions per 1,000 residents, against roughly 18 and 3.6 for California. The figures inherit the Hub's mailing-address basis, so treat them as a rough guide checked in November 2026.

Does New Jersey have more H-1B petitions than New York?

Yes. In FY2024-FY2026 Employer Data Hub figures, New Jersey has 499 employers and 59,986 petitions, against 391 employers and 48,771 petitions for New York. About a quarter of New Jersey's total comes from four IT services and staffing firms with New Jersey addresses (LTIMindtree, Wipro, Compunnel and Tech Mahindra Americas), whose workers can be placed at client sites in other states.

Is H-1B data by state based on where people work or where the employer is?

The USCIS Employer Data Hub uses the employer's mailing address from Form I-129, and USCIS says it is not necessarily the worker's work location. For where jobs actually are, use DOL's LCA disclosure data and its separate LCA worksites file; the latest files on DOL's Performance Data page are FY2026 Q3, through June 30, 2026.

Which smaller states have strong H-1B employers?

Arkansas (Walmart, J.B. Hunt), Minnesota (Optum, U.S. Bank, Mayo Clinic), Indiana (Elevance Health, Eli Lilly, Purdue), Nebraska (University of Nebraska Medical Center, HDR, Kiewit), Iowa (University of Iowa, Collins Aerospace) and Kansas (Black and Veatch, Garmin) all have state hubs in FY2024-FY2026 data. Idaho (Micron), Oregon (Nike) and Kentucky (Humana) have strong single sponsors but too few for a hub.

Sources

• USCIS, H-1B Employer Data Hub and Understanding Our H-1B Employer Data Hub
• USCIS, H-1B Electronic Registration Process
• Federal Register, Weighted Selection Process final rule
• Unified Agenda, RIN 1615-AD00, Reforming the H-1B Nonimmigrant Visa Classification Program
• DOL Office of Foreign Labor Certification, Performance Data
• DOL Wage and Hour Division, H-1B debarment list
• Mayer Brown, DOL announces enforcement actions in H-1B and PERM fraud probe
• U.S. Census Bureau, State Population Totals and Components of Change, 2020-2025
• Office of the Texas Governor, letter to state agency heads, 2026-01-27; Texas Tribune, Texas H-1B freeze and K-12 proposal; Central Florida Public Media, Florida Board of Governors freeze

How we checked this: state totals come from the USCIS Employer Data Hub extract behind our /companies pages (FY2024-FY2026, FY2026 partial); definitions were read on uscis.gov, LCA figures on dol.gov, population (Vintage 2025) on census.gov, the weighting rule in the Federal Register text and the Texas freeze terms in the governor's letter, all on 2026-11-01. Shares and per-capita rates are our arithmetic.

This is general information, not legal or tax advice; your own I-797, I-20 and I-94, your DSO and a licensed immigration attorney govern your situation.

A state ranking tells you where sponsors file, not where your offer will come from. If you want help turning these hubs into a shortlist of employers that actually hire people on your status, F1Jobs can help you plan the search.