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 | 35,443 | 95.88% | 39,714 | 95.32% |
| Spanish | 561 | 1.52% | 666 | 1.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 904 | 2.45% | 1,160 | 2.78% |
| Asian Language** | 21 | 0.06% | 90 | 0.22% |
| Other | 38 | 0.10% | 36 | 0.09% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 36,967 | 100.00% | 41,666 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 228 | 34.23% |
| Other Indo-European* | 388 | 33.45% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 33.33% |
| Other Language | 14 | 38.89% |
| Total | 660 | 1.58% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 157 | 27.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 274 | 30.31% |
| Asian Language** | 7 | 33.33% |
| Other Language | 6 | 15.79% |
| Total | 444 | 1.20% |
* "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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