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 | 22,443 | 96.15% | 22,940 | 96.34% |
| Spanish | 196 | 0.84% | 253 | 1.06% |
| Other Indo-European* | 574 | 2.46% | 501 | 2.10% |
| Asian Language** | 69 | 0.30% | 16 | 0.07% |
| Other | 59 | 0.25% | 101 | 0.42% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 23,341 | 100.00% | 23,811 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 116 | 45.85% |
| Other Indo-European* | 100 | 19.96% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 50.00% |
| Other Language | 16 | 15.84% |
| Total | 240 | 1.01% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 27 | 13.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 134 | 23.34% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 37.68% |
| Other Language | 4 | 6.78% |
| Total | 191 | 0.82% |
* "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