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.

Butte 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 153,779 90.49% 167,598 87.52%
Spanish 8,682 5.11% 14,862 7.76%
Other Indo-European* 3,699 2.18% 3,193 1.67%
Asian Language** 3,340 1.97% 5,038 2.63%
Other 447 0.26% 813 0.42%
Total Population Age 5+ 169,947 100.00% 191,504 100.00%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 6,913 46.51%
Other Indo-European* 693 21.70%
Asian Language** 3,522 69.91%
Other Language 93 11.44%
Total 11,221 5.86%

Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990
Language Spoken at Home: Number Percent
Spanish 3,827 44.08%
Other Indo-European* 912 24.66%
Asian Language** 2,115 63.32%
Other Language 125 27.96%
Total 6,979 4.11%

* "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