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 | 66,285 | 94.72% | 73,184 | 94.40% |
| Spanish | 586 | 0.84% | 984 | 1.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,649 | 3.79% | 2,434 | 3.14% |
| Asian Language** | 373 | 0.53% | 752 | 0.97% |
| Other | 90 | 0.13% | 170 | 0.22% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 69,983 | 100.00% | 77,524 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 164 | 16.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 434 | 17.83% |
| Asian Language** | 208 | 27.66% |
| Other Language | 41 | 24.12% |
| Total | 847 | 1.09% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 190 | 32.42% |
| Other Indo-European* | 603 | 22.76% |
| Asian Language** | 126 | 33.78% |
| Other Language | 20 | 22.22% |
| Total | 939 | 1.34% |
* "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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