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 | 45,082 | 97.24% | 51,781 | 97.85% |
| Spanish | 298 | 0.64% | 504 | 0.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 824 | 1.78% | 573 | 1.08% |
| Asian Language** | 75 | 0.16% | 17 | 0.03% |
| Other | 84 | 0.18% | 44 | 0.08% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 46,363 | 100.00% | 52,919 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 111 | 22.02% |
| Other Indo-European* | 143 | 24.96% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 35.29% |
| Other Language | 7 | 15.91% |
| Total | 267 | 0.50% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 92 | 30.87% |
| Other Indo-European* | 188 | 22.82% |
| Asian Language** | 26 | 34.67% |
| Other Language | 45 | 53.57% |
| Total | 351 | 0.76% |
* "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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