WHICH US CITIES ATTRACT H-1B WORKERS?

The Pew Research Center has a new, fascinating study that shows the destination of H-1B workers.  The most surprising result is that the Bay Area attracts fewer H-1B workers than one might expect. 

From the study:

The San Jose, California, metro area, home of Silicon Valley, trailed the leading metro area on these measures, despite being home to some of the world’s most famous technology companies. The San Jose metro area had 22,200 H-1B approvals from fiscal 2010 to 2016, which amounted to two approvals per 100 workers.

The average H-1B worker earns $80,600, which is considerably higher than the average college-educated American, who earns $72,376.  In many Midwestern cities, it is impossible to make the case that H-1B workers are driving down salaries or that H-1B workers are saturating the supply of workers.

Metro Area	H-1B worker per 1,000 US workers	Avg H-1B Salary
Indianapolis	0.640	$71,700
Minneapolis	1.000	$90,500
Birmingham	1.240	$80,900
St. Louis	1.260	$84,700
Kansas City	1.260	$76,500
Denver	1.270	$91,300
Cincinnati	1.370	$70,200
Omaha	1.440	$90,400
Oklahoma City	1.470	$72,800
Columbus	1.760	$72,500

In all of these metropolitan areas, there are only 1 or 2 H-1B workers per 1,000 US workers, which is a minuscule percentage of the workforce.  As usual, the bluster around the H-1B program pales in comparison to the actual facts.