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 | 72,450 | 96.45% | 75,866 | 96.10% |
| Spanish | 822 | 1.09% | 1,639 | 2.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,403 | 1.87% | 958 | 1.21% |
| Asian Language** | 380 | 0.51% | 410 | 0.52% |
| Other | 58 | 0.08% | 70 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 75,113 | 100.00% | 78,943 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 522 | 31.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 252 | 26.30% |
| Asian Language** | 223 | 54.39% |
| Other Language | 12 | 17.14% |
| Total | 1,009 | 1.28% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 322 | 39.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 571 | 40.70% |
| Asian Language** | 115 | 30.26% |
| Other Language | 8 | 13.79% |
| Total | 1,016 | 1.35% |
* "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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