Census Trend Charts Demographic Maps Rankings & Comparisons Segregation Data  

Zoom in and out of geography at levels: US, States or Metro Areas, and Counties within States.

You can zoom out to Texas


Visit the SSDAN Web Site
CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.

Jefferson County

Print-Friendly Version

LANGUAGE

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 199,929 90.15% 204,093 86.77%
Spanish 8,825 3.98% 19,723 8.39%
Other Indo-European* 8,653 3.90% 5,628 2.39%
Asian Language** 4,104 1.85% 5,297 2.25%
Other 257 0.12% 466 0.20%
Total Population Age 5+ 221,768 100.00% 235,207 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 9,322 47.26%
Other Indo-European* 1,520 27.01%
Asian Language** 2,817 53.18%
Other Language 148 31.76%
Total 13,807 5.87%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 3,555 40.28%
Other Indo-European* 2,459 28.42%
Asian Language** 2,381 58.02%
Other Language 44 17.12%
Total 8,439 3.81%

* "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