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 | 69,969 | 90.31% | 77,373 | 86.80% |
| Spanish | 1,944 | 2.51% | 4,582 | 5.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 4,886 | 6.31% | 6,147 | 6.90% |
| Asian Language** | 411 | 0.53% | 610 | 0.68% |
| Other | 267 | 0.34% | 426 | 0.48% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 77,477 | 100.00% | 89,138 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,888 | 41.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,856 | 30.19% |
| Asian Language** | 225 | 36.89% |
| Other Language | 105 | 24.65% |
| Total | 4,074 | 4.57% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 528 | 27.16% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,392 | 28.49% |
| Asian Language** | 110 | 26.76% |
| Other Language | 62 | 23.22% |
| Total | 2,092 | 2.70% |
* "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