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 | 29,397 | 94.70% | 33,690 | 94.23% |
| Spanish | 324 | 1.04% | 512 | 1.43% |
| Other Indo-European* | 448 | 1.44% | 617 | 1.73% |
| Asian Language** | 77 | 0.25% | 164 | 0.46% |
| Other | 795 | 2.56% | 771 | 2.16% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 31,041 | 100.00% | 35,754 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 230 | 44.92% |
| Other Indo-European* | 97 | 15.72% |
| Asian Language** | 66 | 40.24% |
| Other Language | 212 | 27.50% |
| Total | 605 | 1.69% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 68 | 20.99% |
| Other Indo-European* | 135 | 30.13% |
| Asian Language** | 0 | - |
| Other Language | 228 | 28.68% |
| Total | 431 | 1.39% |
* "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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