The Census asks questions about language use at home to locate groups of people who speak a language other than English. Their isolation or integration into a primarily English speaking community can be determined by their ability to speak English proficiently.
| Language Spoken at Home, 1990-2000 | ||||
| 1990 | 2000 | |||
| Number | Percent | Number | Percent | |
| Only English | 20,278 | 95.74% | 23,545 | 95.36% |
| Spanish | 424 | 2.00% | 666 | 2.70% |
| Other Indo-European* | 329 | 1.55% | 297 | 1.20% |
| Asian Language** | 106 | 0.50% | 132 | 0.53% |
| Other | 43 | 0.20% | 50 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 21,180 | 100.00% | 24,690 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 198 | 29.73% |
| Other Indo-European* | 78 | 26.26% |
| Asian Language** | 61 | 46.21% |
| Other Language | 9 | 18.00% |
| Total | 346 | 1.40% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 146 | 34.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 81 | 24.62% |
| Asian Language** | 45 | 42.45% |
| Other Language | 2 | 4.65% |
| Total | 274 | 1.29% |
* "Other Indo-European" excludes English and Spanish. "Indo-European" is not synonymous with "European." French, German, Hindi, and Persian are all classified as Indo-European. Hungarian, on the other hand, is lumped into "Other Language."
** "Asian Language" includes languages indigenous to Asia and Pacific islands areas that are not also Indo-European languages. Chinese, Japanese, Telugu, and Hawaiian are all classified here.
Also note that ability to speak English "very well" is based on the self-assessment of those responding to Census questions, not on a test of language ability.
Source: Census 2000 analyzed by the Social Science Data Analysis Network (SSDAN).
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