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 | 14,820 | 98.37% | 18,312 | 97.68% |
| Spanish | 148 | 0.98% | 226 | 1.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 76 | 0.50% | 147 | 0.78% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 0.05% | 47 | 0.25% |
| Other | 13 | 0.09% | 14 | 0.07% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 15,065 | 100.00% | 18,746 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 106 | 46.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 61 | 41.50% |
| Asian Language** | 31 | 65.96% |
| Other Language | 7 | 50.00% |
| Total | 205 | 1.09% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 29 | 19.59% |
| Other Indo-European* | 19 | 25.00% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 2 | 15.38% |
| Total | 50 | 0.33% |
* "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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