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 | 160,176 | 95.41% | 177,563 | 94.66% |
| Spanish | 1,697 | 1.01% | 2,647 | 1.41% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,148 | 3.07% | 6,038 | 3.22% |
| Asian Language** | 542 | 0.32% | 926 | 0.49% |
| Other | 320 | 0.19% | 398 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 167,883 | 100.00% | 187,572 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 783 | 29.58% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,333 | 22.08% |
| Asian Language** | 303 | 32.72% |
| Other Language | 63 | 15.83% |
| Total | 2,482 | 1.32% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 360 | 21.21% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,281 | 24.88% |
| Asian Language** | 159 | 29.34% |
| Other Language | 59 | 18.44% |
| Total | 1,859 | 1.11% |
* "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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