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 | 42,689 | 92.51% | 52,480 | 90.03% |
| Spanish | 2,165 | 4.69% | 4,164 | 7.14% |
| Other Indo-European* | 844 | 1.83% | 1,014 | 1.74% |
| Asian Language** | 367 | 0.80% | 527 | 0.90% |
| Other | 82 | 0.18% | 109 | 0.19% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 46,147 | 100.00% | 58,294 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,363 | 56.75% |
| Other Indo-European* | 263 | 25.94% |
| Asian Language** | 265 | 50.28% |
| Other Language | 39 | 35.78% |
| Total | 2,930 | 5.03% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 789 | 36.44% |
| Other Indo-European* | 127 | 15.05% |
| Asian Language** | 213 | 58.04% |
| Other Language | 13 | 15.85% |
| Total | 1,142 | 2.47% |
* "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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