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 | 25,310 | 97.68% | 34,213 | 96.90% |
| Spanish | 220 | 0.85% | 552 | 1.56% |
| Other Indo-European* | 323 | 1.25% | 462 | 1.31% |
| Asian Language** | 57 | 0.22% | 46 | 0.13% |
| Other | 2 | 0.01% | 34 | 0.10% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 25,912 | 100.00% | 35,307 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 158 | 28.62% |
| Other Indo-European* | 93 | 20.13% |
| Asian Language** | 16 | 34.78% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 267 | 0.76% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 41 | 18.64% |
| Other Indo-European* | 77 | 23.84% |
| Asian Language** | 6 | 10.53% |
| Other Language | 2 | 100.00% |
| Total | 126 | 0.49% |
* "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