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 | 14,465 | 97.66% | 16,370 | 97.02% |
| Spanish | 99 | 0.67% | 297 | 1.76% |
| Other Indo-European* | 181 | 1.22% | 149 | 0.88% |
| Asian Language** | 22 | 0.15% | 47 | 0.28% |
| Other | 45 | 0.30% | 9 | 0.05% |
| Total Population Age 5+ | 14,812 | 100.00% | 16,872 | 100.00% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 2000 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 60 | 20.20% |
| Other Indo-European* | 24 | 16.11% |
| Asian Language** | 9 | 19.15% |
| Other Language | 2 | 22.22% |
| Total | 95 | 0.56% |
| Population Speaking English Less Than "Very Well" in 1990 | ||
| Language Spoken at Home: | Number | Percent |
| Spanish | 27 | 27.27% |
| Other Indo-European* | 43 | 23.76% |
| Asian Language** | 17 | 77.27% |
| Other Language | 31 | 68.89% |
| Total | 118 | 0.80% |
* "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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