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 | 64,493 | 95.55% | 72,795 | 94.27% |
| Spanish | 580 | 0.86% | 1,209 | 1.57% |
| Other Indo-European* | 2,171 | 3.22% | 2,548 | 3.30% |
| Asian Language** | 175 | 0.26% | 517 | 0.67% |
| Other | 78 | 0.12% | 154 | 0.20% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 67,497 | 100.00% | 77,223 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 351 | 29.03% |
| Other Indo-European* | 665 | 26.10% |
| Asian Language** | 112 | 21.66% |
| Other Language | 14 | 9.09% |
| Total | 1,142 | 1.48% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 144 | 24.83% |
| Other Indo-European* | 567 | 26.12% |
| Asian Language** | 82 | 46.86% |
| Other Language | 17 | 21.79% |
| Total | 810 | 1.20% |
* "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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