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 | 147,727 | 83.82% | 175,709 | 78.68% |
| Spanish | 24,546 | 13.93% | 40,276 | 18.04% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,584 | 1.47% | 3,199 | 1.43% |
| Asian Language** | 1,285 | 0.73% | 3,460 | 1.55% |
| Other | 98 | 0.06% | 669 | 0.30% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 176,240 | 100.00% | 223,313 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 15,430 | 38.31% |
| Other Indo-European* | 655 | 20.48% |
| Asian Language** | 1,482 | 42.83% |
| Other Language | 103 | 15.40% |
| Total | 17,670 | 7.91% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 9,252 | 37.69% |
| Other Indo-European* | 662 | 25.62% |
| Asian Language** | 736 | 57.28% |
| Other Language | 8 | 8.16% |
| Total | 10,658 | 6.05% |
* "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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