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 | 6,324 | 82.13% | 7,563 | 76.95% |
| Spanish | 1,159 | 15.05% | 2,109 | 21.46% |
| Other Indo-European* | 47 | 0.61% | 51 | 0.52% |
| Asian Language** | 33 | 0.43% | 17 | 0.17% |
| Other | 137 | 1.78% | 88 | 0.90% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 7,700 | 100.00% | 9,828 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 1,137 | 53.91% |
| Other Indo-European* | 15 | 29.41% |
| Asian Language** | 8 | 47.06% |
| Other Language | 26 | 29.55% |
| Total | 1,186 | 12.07% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 571 | 49.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 5 | 10.64% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 27.27% |
| Other Language | 50 | 36.50% |
| Total | 635 | 8.25% |
* "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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