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 | 52,780 | 92.37% | 59,193 | 93.59% |
| Spanish | 496 | 0.87% | 1,062 | 1.68% |
| Other Indo-European* | 3,265 | 5.71% | 1,878 | 2.97% |
| Asian Language** | 513 | 0.90% | 1,091 | 1.72% |
| Other | 84 | 0.15% | 26 | 0.04% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 57,138 | 100.00% | 63,250 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 393 | 37.01% |
| Other Indo-European* | 617 | 32.85% |
| Asian Language** | 640 | 58.66% |
| Other Language | 0 | 0.00% |
| Total | 1,650 | 2.61% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 114 | 22.98% |
| Other Indo-European* | 1,122 | 34.36% |
| Asian Language** | 383 | 74.66% |
| Other Language | 40 | 47.62% |
| Total | 1,659 | 2.90% |
* "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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