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 | 86,134 | 94.79% | 84,839 | 88.23% |
| Spanish | 1,888 | 2.08% | 7,774 | 8.08% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,543 | 1.70% | 1,231 | 1.28% |
| Asian Language** | 965 | 1.06% | 2,004 | 2.08% |
| Other | 337 | 0.37% | 309 | 0.32% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 90,867 | 100.00% | 96,157 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 4,579 | 58.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 252 | 20.47% |
| Asian Language** | 1,387 | 69.21% |
| Other Language | 73 | 23.62% |
| Total | 6,291 | 6.54% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 896 | 47.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 477 | 30.91% |
| Asian Language** | 740 | 76.68% |
| Other Language | 6 | 1.78% |
| Total | 2,119 | 2.33% |
* "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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy