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 | 287,073 | 96.44% | 329,182 | 92.94% |
| Spanish | 3,711 | 1.25% | 13,924 | 3.93% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5,266 | 1.77% | 6,865 | 1.94% |
| Asian Language** | 1,104 | 0.37% | 3,208 | 0.91% |
| Other | 526 | 0.18% | 1,011 | 0.29% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 297,680 | 100.00% | 354,190 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 7,783 | 55.90% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,979 | 28.83% |
| Asian Language** | 1,732 | 53.99% |
| Other Language | 378 | 37.39% |
| Total | 11,872 | 3.35% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,371 | 36.94% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,317 | 25.01% |
| Asian Language** | 504 | 45.65% |
| Other Language | 124 | 23.57% |
| Total | 3,316 | 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).
Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy