Census Trend Charts Demographic Maps Rankings & Comparisons Segregation Data  

Zoom in and out of geography at levels: US, States or Metro Areas, and Counties within States.

You can zoom out to California


Visit the SSDAN Web Site
CensusScope is a product of the Social Science Data Analysis Network.

Placer County

Print-Friendly Version

LANGUAGE

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 146,997 91.79% 208,034 89.41%
Spanish 7,028 4.39% 13,810 5.94%
Other Indo-European* 4,326 2.70% 6,610 2.84%
Asian Language** 1,549 0.97% 3,664 1.57%
Other 238 0.15% 561 0.24%
Total Population Age 5+ 160,138 100.00% 232,679 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 6,459 46.77%
Other Indo-European* 1,762 26.66%
Asian Language** 1,677 45.77%
Other Language 151 26.92%
Total 10,049 4.32%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 2,869 40.82%
Other Indo-European* 1,130 26.12%
Asian Language** 707 45.64%
Other Language 74 31.09%
Total 4,780 2.98%

* "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).

Home | About | Help | Contact | Use Policy