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 | 41,069 | 94.72% | 60,072 | 93.79% |
| Spanish | 308 | 0.71% | 1,704 | 2.66% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,759 | 4.06% | 1,541 | 2.41% |
| Asian Language** | 185 | 0.43% | 610 | 0.95% |
| Other | 36 | 0.08% | 125 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 43,357 | 100.00% | 64,052 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 863 | 50.65% |
| Other Indo-European* | 300 | 19.47% |
| Asian Language** | 321 | 52.62% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,484 | 2.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 83 | 26.95% |
| Other Indo-European* | 528 | 30.02% |
| Asian Language** | 113 | 61.08% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 724 | 1.67% |
* "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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