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 | 84,873 | 95.75% | 96,112 | 92.95% |
| Spanish | 2,292 | 2.59% | 5,871 | 5.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 912 | 1.03% | 882 | 0.85% |
| Asian Language** | 462 | 0.52% | 369 | 0.36% |
| Other | 97 | 0.11% | 171 | 0.17% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 88,636 | 100.00% | 103,405 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,975 | 50.67% |
| Other Indo-European* | 197 | 22.34% |
| Asian Language** | 81 | 21.95% |
| Other Language | 41 | 23.98% |
| Total | 3,294 | 3.19% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 848 | 37.00% |
| Other Indo-European* | 220 | 24.12% |
| Asian Language** | 193 | 41.77% |
| Other Language | 55 | 56.70% |
| Total | 1,316 | 1.48% |
* "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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