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 | 88,132 | 96.04% | 89,030 | 96.04% |
| Spanish | 839 | 0.91% | 1,229 | 1.33% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,490 | 2.71% | 1,955 | 2.11% |
| Asian Language** | 230 | 0.25% | 430 | 0.46% |
| Other | 78 | 0.08% | 58 | 0.06% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 91,769 | 100.00% | 92,702 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 372 | 30.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 625 | 31.97% |
| Asian Language** | 108 | 25.12% |
| Other Language | 25 | 43.10% |
| Total | 1,130 | 1.22% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 275 | 32.78% |
| Other Indo-European* | 883 | 35.46% |
| Asian Language** | 114 | 49.57% |
| Other Language | 37 | 47.44% |
| Total | 1,309 | 1.43% |
* "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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