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 | 27,363 | 95.67% | 28,391 | 95.92% |
| Spanish | 137 | 0.48% | 177 | 0.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,060 | 3.71% | 862 | 2.91% |
| Asian Language** | 30 | 0.10% | 29 | 0.10% |
| Other | 10 | 0.03% | 141 | 0.48% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 28,600 | 100.00% | 29,600 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 40 | 22.60% |
| Other Indo-European* | 275 | 31.90% |
| Asian Language** | 14 | 48.28% |
| Other Language | 42 | 29.79% |
| Total | 371 | 1.25% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 29 | 21.17% |
| Other Indo-European* | 294 | 27.74% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 30.00% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 332 | 1.16% |
* "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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