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 | 19,330 | 97.95% | 19,590 | 97.34% |
| Spanish | 160 | 0.81% | 282 | 1.40% |
| Other Indo-European* | 234 | 1.19% | 223 | 1.11% |
| Asian Language** | 10 | 0.05% | 25 | 0.12% |
| Other | 0 | 0.00% | 6 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 19,734 | 100.00% | 20,126 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 125 | 44.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 32 | 14.35% |
| Asian Language** | 11 | 44.00% |
| Other Language | 6 | 100.00% |
| Total | 174 | 0.86% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 50 | 31.25% |
| Other Indo-European* | 64 | 27.35% |
| Asian Language** | 2 | 20.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 116 | 0.59% |
* "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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