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 | 28,402 | 83.58% | 33,871 | 81.85% |
| Spanish | 4,740 | 13.95% | 6,608 | 15.97% |
| Other Indo-European* | 760 | 2.24% | 708 | 1.71% |
| Asian Language** | 70 | 0.21% | 182 | 0.44% |
| Other | 9 | 0.03% | 14 | 0.03% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 33,981 | 100.00% | 41,383 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 2,699 | 40.84% |
| Other Indo-European* | 204 | 28.81% |
| Asian Language** | 51 | 28.02% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 2,954 | 7.14% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,644 | 34.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 120 | 15.79% |
| Asian Language** | 37 | 52.86% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 1,801 | 5.30% |
* "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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