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 | 57,463 | 97.58% | 77,707 | 96.36% |
| Spanish | 662 | 1.12% | 1,385 | 1.72% |
| Other Indo-European* | 517 | 0.88% | 1,076 | 1.33% |
| Asian Language** | 233 | 0.40% | 302 | 0.37% |
| Other | 15 | 0.03% | 173 | 0.21% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 58,890 | 100.00% | 80,643 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 442 | 31.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 251 | 23.33% |
| Asian Language** | 123 | 40.73% |
| Other Language | 33 | 19.08% |
| Total | 849 | 1.05% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 275 | 41.54% |
| Other Indo-European* | 145 | 28.05% |
| Asian Language** | 146 | 62.66% |
| Other Language | 0 | - |
| Total | 566 | 0.96% |
* "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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